Apprentice Mortuary Assistant

At NNUH it is our privilege to provide healthcare to over one million people across Norfolk and surrounding areas. Our vision is to ‘provide every patient with the care we want for those we love the most’, and if this inspires you and you share our values, we really want you to join our team.

Our values support our vision and guide the behaviour of everything we do, these are:

People-focused: We look after the needs of our patients, carers and colleagues, to provide a safe and caring experience for all.

Respect: We act with care, compassion and kindness and value others’ diverse needs.

Integrity: We take an honest, open and ethical approach to everything we do.

Dedication: We work as one team and support each other to maintain the highest professional standards.

Excellence: We continuously learn and improve to achieve the best outcomes for our patients and our hospital.

Wish you were here..? Take a look at our recruitment brochure under the 'Further links' section to find out more about our Hospital and what we have to offer

**12 month Fixed Term Contract - Apprenticeship**

We welcome applications from individuals wishing to become an Apprentice and gain experience in the NHS. You will develop new skills and knowledge whilst working with an established team gaining valuable work experience and a recognised apprenticeship qualification.

You will be enrolled with a local education provider and will be required to complete your Level 2 Healthcare Support Services Apprenticeship Programme within the duration of the placement.

The mortuary department forms part of the Cellular Pathology service, which also includes bereavement services, histopathology and cytopathology. This is a busy and diverse service, which acts as both a hospital and public mortuary. There are approximately 4 000+ patients per annum under the care of the mortuary (including HM coroner’s referrals, neonatal/perinatal and paediatric cases and forensic post mortems). Approximately 1,500 post-mortems carried out each year. The Mortuary also annually performs approximately 800-1000 viewings for the bereaved and ID for police/Coroner’s cases.

The successful post-holder will complete a period of appropriate in house training to enable them to give safe and practical assistance to the Anatomical Pathology Technologists and Histopathologists in the post mortem room, maintaining the Mortuary in a clean and efficient manner and ensuring maintenance of Mortuary facilities. Apply appropriate techniques in post mortem reconstructive practice. Identify potential hazards to health and take measures to minimise or eliminate these risks in the Mortuary. Demonstrate knowledge of the laws and codes of practice relating to the Mortuary and implement legal requirements in relation to the deceased and/or their tissues and organs. Demonstrate appropriate administrative procedures and deal correctly with visitors to the Mortuary and post mortem room.

There is a strong element of repetitive, heavy manual handling, including that of deceased patients, so adherence to Trust manual handling procedures is essential. The post holder must also be able to possess the emotional strength and resilience to deal with all related Mortuary duties whilst maintaining a calm, mature and compassionate disposition.

Eligibility Criteria:

All applicants must be:

• Aged 16+
• Resident in the UK/EEA for the last three years
• Must not have a Degree, Level 4 qualification or above
• Must NOT be in any form of formal government-funded education

Qualifications and Skills Required:

• Good general standard of education
• 4 GCSE’s at Grade D / 3 or above (or equivalent)
• Good standard of literacy and numeracy
• Good communication and interpersonal skills
• Good IT skills

Full time: 37.5 hours per week; Monday-Friday between 08:00 and 16:30. The post holder will (after a suitable period of training and with supervision) be required to support the out of hours on-call service.

Interview date: 19th August 2019

The interviews will feature a second, enhanced interview process (dates outlined above), during which time, shortlisted candidates will be expected to attend the Mortuary to observe post mortem evisceration and reconstruction techniques as well as experience in aspects of the Mortuary environment, allied services and duties associated with the role.

Open for applications: 23rd July 2019

Close for applications: 4th August 2019