Band 6 Trainee Organ Perfusion Practitioner

Job overview

The Royal Free Hospital Department of Surgery is offering a new and exciting post for a perfusion practitioner to join the team. The successful candidate will be trained in operating the ex-situ liver perfusion machine: OrganOx metra, Maquet’s Cardiohelp machine for normothermic regional perfusion of donors who have died from cardiovascular arrest in organ retrieval and the Medtronic Ltd. Veno venous bypass machine in liver transplant cases. The job requires the candidate to be a part of a 24-hour on-call rota in a team of four organ procurement specialists, to work in close relation with surgeons, transplant co-ordinators, operation department practitioners and nurses. Apart from a clinical role, the job entails auditing, stock upkeep and patient data entry. The role will thus require the candidate to work well in a team, exhibit good communication skills and enthusiasm to take part in the on-call rota. The candidate is expected to be a keen learner and proactive in their career development. The training will have 6-month assessments over a period of two years, to progress to a Band 7 role when competent in all machine perfusion procedures.

Main duties of the job

The post holder is responsible for training in machine perfusion service to the Royal Free London Liver Transplant and National Organ Retrieval Service (NORS) Teams. Duties include but are not limited to:

• Participate in, usually on a 1:3, a 24 hour on call rota to ensure 24/7 coverage for perfusion technology in the transplant and NORS teams.
• Train to operate the ex-situ machine perfusion when required during ex situ liver assessment and conditioning.
• Train to operate the Cardiohelp machine when required during in situ normothermic regional perfusion.
• Train to operate the Venous-venous bypass machine when required during liver transplantation.
• Train and provide cross cover and undertake cold organ perfusion as a member of the Royal Free NORS team.
• Take part in machine perfusion audits and be a part of ongoing NORS and Transplant meetings. Utilise analysis of audits to inform and facilitate service development.
• Ensure maintenance of perfusion machines and equipment ensuring adequate stock levels of consumables.
• Support the Royal Free Liver Transplant Service by completing and returning UK Liver Transplant Forms to NHSBT.

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

Please see attached Job Description for more information about this role and working at royal free London NHS foundation Trust