Sterile Service Technician

Job overview

A full time vacancy for a Sterile Service Technician role is now available at UHCW NHS Trust. The successful candidate will work as part of a dedicated and hard-working team in the decontamination and reprocessing of reusable medical devices within the Sterile Services Department.

If you are flexible, hard working and have a keen eye for detail, come and join the team that keeps the surgical services throughout the Trust going, saving lives 365 days a year.

Main duties of the job

We decontaminate, reprocess and return all reusable surgical equipment from UHCW NHS Trust and various other facilities - over 200 000 items a year, from single instruments up to surgical sets containing 100+ instruments.

Previous experience of working within a sterile services environment would be advantageous but not essential, as full training will be given by our experienced training team.

The ideal candidates will:

• Be diligent in their work
• Have an excellent eye for detail
• Possess the ability to focus and avoid distractions
• Be team players but also confident working on their own initiative
• Be confident in closely following specific work instructions once trained

Closing Date: Please be advised that this job advert is capped for numbers and will close as soon as sufficient applications have been received.

Previous applicants need not apply.

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

• Collect used equipment from service users in a safe and efficient manner in accordance with departmental and Trust procedures.
• Sort used equipment by decontamination category as specified by departmental procedures.
• Participate in daily housekeeping and equipment preparation checks in accordance with Trust and national standards.
• Undertake daily user tests & approvals as required on washer-disinfectors
• Undertake cleaning of medical devices by the use of washer-disinfectors or manually where required using personal protective equipment provided.
• Be able to recognise all surgical instruments and identify trays used within the trust once full competence training is completed.
• Examination of cleaned devices to validate cleaning processes.
• Assemble instruments and checking for safety and correct function in accordance with departmental procedures, specifications and best practice.
• Ensure cleanliness / follow clean room dress procedures and dress codes in the rest of the department and hospital.
• Package instruments as specified in the clean room.
• Maintain correct work patterns in dirty and clean zones of the sterile supply unit and conform to clean room requirements as per operational directives.
• Use of autoclaves to sterilize devices ensuring cycle runs meet prescribed parameters and undertaking daily user tests as required following training.
• Receipt of equipment requisitions from service users, preparation, dispatch and transportation to destination ensuring correct delivery of items.
• Maintain stocks of process / raw materials and identify any deficiencies to department supervisors.
• Assist with stock inventory checks in accordance with Trust and departmental procedures.
• Ascertain priorities during times of peak workload by discussion with departmental supervisors.
• Comply with departmental systems for signing off items assembled/checked and adhering completely to the use of tracking and traceability systems and documentation.
• Take part in on call rota once competence training is completed.
• Ensure that departmental policies are followed to ensure departmental registration to European quality standards for sterile services.

For further details please see the attached job description.