Medical Laboratory Assistant

Band 3

Main area

Cellular Pathology

Grade

Band 3

Contract

Permanent

Hours

Full time - 37.5 hours per week

Job ref

396-8202217-GO-LP

Site

Department of Cellular Pathology, Kingston NHS foundation trust

Town

Kingston Upon Thames

Salary

£25,760 - £27,476 per annum Inc Outer London HCAS (pro-rata)

Salary period

Yearly

Closing

27/08/2026 23:59

Home, community, hospital

Kingston and Richmond NHS Foundation Trust offers a range of fantastic opportunities to grow your career across both hospital and community settings in south London. Whether you're looking to build new skills or take your experience to the next level, we are uniquely placed to provide the right environment to support your professional development. With colleagues working in people’s homes, in community clinics, and in our two hospitals, we have an outstanding breadth of knowledge and experience to draw from.

Our commitment to exceptional care is reflected in being the first trust of our kind in London to achieve an ‘Outstanding’ rating from the CQC for both overall quality and leadership. We exist to provide the best possible care for our patients and we do that by giving our colleagues what they need to be their best at work. We have won numerous awards from the HSJ and Nursing Times for the way we support our colleagues across all our services.

We are proud to be recognised for our outstanding cancer care, children's services, pioneering surgical teams, and exceptional rehabilitation services. Our maternity services have been rated the "Best in London" by women surveyed by the Care Quality Commission (CQC), with parents travelling to Kingston to take advantage of our considerable experience and expertise.

Our Trust values

These words are important reminders, but it’s our behaviours that tell people who we are. We expect all colleagues to bring our values to life in their work.

• Compassionate: We provide care with kindness, understanding, and empathy for all.
• Inclusive: We embrace diversity and respect the unique contributions of every individual.
• Collaborative: We foster teamwork across all levels, working together and with our partners to deliver the best outcomes.
• Inspiring: We are committed to continuous improvement and excellence in patient care, staff development, and innovation.

Job overview

• The post holder will work as a member of the Cellular Pathology team providing data, scientific and technical services used for the diagnosis and treatment of patients. This department consists of Histology and non-gynae cytology.
• Where appropriate the post holder will work under the guidance of more experience staff in undertaking the scientific tasks in most sections of the department. Assisting senior staff in training of new staff as required.
• The post holder will be expected to ensure the effective delivery of a high-quality service that meets the needs and requirements of all users, meeting the requirements to maintain continuing accreditation with ISO 15189:2012 and continuing compliance with other statutory and non-statutory bodies.

Main duties of the job

Technical

• To receive tissue samples and request forms and enter onto the Laboratory Information and Management System (LIMS) following departmental SOPs.

• Prepare and assist BMS and consultant staff at surgical specimen assessment.

• Prepare specimens for disposal according to lab SOP’s.

• Preparation of non-gynae specimens.

• Using specialist knowledge orientate and wax embed processed material.

• Trim blocks for sectioning.

• Cutting blocks for staining.

• Staining sections with H&E or special stains.

• To prepare samples and requests for specialist tests for despatch to referral laboratories by courier or by post ensuring adherence to relevant postal and Health and Safety regulations.

• Wash laboratory glassware, specimen containers and slide transit boxes. Re label and fill if appropriate.

• File slides, tissue blocks, and any other archiving required.

• To participate in routine equipment maintenance procedures to provide a clean, healthy and high-quality analytical environment.

• Assist in the daily internal quality control of the staining machine.

• Assist in the routine maintenance of all equipment in use in the department.

• Assist in all other daily tasks as necessary.

• To prepare chemical solutions following instructions in SOP’s ensuring compliance with Health and safety requirements and COSHH guidelines.

Working for our organisation

Kingston Hospital NHS Trust has five key values and we want to employ and work with people who share these values and demonstrate behaviours that support them. They are:

Caring – Design and deliver care around each individual patient’s needs and wants.

Safe – Make the safety of patients and staff our prime concern as safety comes first

Responsible – All staff take responsibility for the hospital, its services and reputation

Value Each Other – Value each other's contribution

Inspiring - We always strive to empower each other to develop and deliver improvements to benefit our patients

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

Please see attached the job description for more details on the main responsibilities for this role.

Person specification

Qualifications

Essential criteria

• BSc (Hons) in Biomedical Sciences or equivalent experience

Experience

Essential criteria

• Basic Science skills from School and university

Desirable criteria

• Experience in laboratory work

Skills

Essential criteria

• Able to self-organise and delegate tasks as appropriate
• Computer literate and confident of using IT
• Numerate and able to undertake scientific calculations

Knowledge

Essential criteria

• Knowledge of Health and Safety and Good Laboratory Practice

Desirable criteria

• Good general education

We support the NHS Flex for the Future pledge

We welcome conversations about flexible working from day one, including options such as adjusted hours, compressed hours and other arrangements. If flexibility matters to you, please talk to us - we’ll be happy to explore what’s possible for the role and the service.

Your recruitment team

The NHS South West London Recruitment Hub is your dedicated recruitment team, here to support you at every stage of the process. If you have a query, please contact us:

E: [email protected]

Your application

Please ensure your supporting statement clearly reflects the job description and person specification, as shortlisting will be based on these criteria.

Please refer to the latest UKVI guidance and ensure you have the appropriate right to work before applying for this role.

Use of Artificial Intelligence
We kindly ask that you avoid using AI tools to draft your application. We value authentic, individual responses that reflect your own experience and communication style.

References

Please provide a minimum of 3 years’ employment and/or education history, including professional email addresses (not personal accounts such as Hotmail or Gmail). If you cannot provide these, please inform the interview panel to avoid delays in pre-employment checks.

Closing date

To help us manage recruitment efficiently, some vacancies may close early once we have received a sufficient number of applications.

Shortlisting

If you are successfully shortlisted, you will be contacted by email or SMS from the South West London Recruitment Hub. Please check your registered TRAC email regularly.

Application feedback

If you do not hear from us within four weeks of the closing date, please assume your application has not been successful on this occasion.

Safeguarding and DBS Checks

We are committed to safeguarding children and vulnerable adults. For roles with direct access to these groups, an Enhanced Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check will be required. All staff are expected to understand and uphold their safeguarding responsibilities as part of their role.

Applicant requirements

The postholder will have access to vulnerable people in the course of their normal duties and as such this post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (Exceptions) Order 1975 (Amendment) (England and Wales) Order 2020 and as such it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service to check for any previous criminal convictions.

Application numbers

This vacancy may have an application cap, so please apply promptly to avoid disappointment. Ensure your supporting statement clearly shows how you meet the job specifications.

Further details / informal visits contact

Name

Sweta Patel

Job title

Advanced Biomedical Scientist

Email address

[email protected]

Telephone number

020 8934 2236

If you have problems applying, contact

Address

South West London Recruitment Hub

Telephone

07553092255