Your health in their hands

YOU won't have seen NHS scientists in any TV hospital drama.

But it is in the quietly industrious hospital laboratories, with their crates of test-tubes and banks of electronic machinery, that some of the most important - and unsung - NHS work is done. Hospital scientists hold the key to the diagnosis of a number of diseases - including heart problems and cancer - by carrying out a range of tests on samples of body tissues and fluids. Their work also helps doctors monitor the ongoing condition of patients and, when necessary, find out the cause of death.

Take cancer: although ultimately it is a doctor who decides whether or not a patient has cancer, that decision is based on the findings of scientists working in the hospital laboratories.

Their tests are designed to screen the samples, so they can alert doctors to any potentially troublesome specimens. It is a considerable responsibility - one which could mean the difference between life and death.

"If you get it wrong, the pathologists can make the wrong diagnosis," says Sharon King, a senior biomedical scientist at King's Healthcare NHS trust in south London. During the 1990s, cervical cancer screening blunders at Kent and Canterbury Hospitals NHS trust infa-mously led to a series of women being wrongly diagnosed. It caused a public outcry and led to a tightening of quality standards in labs across the NHS.

Sharon works in King's histopathology department, which carries out tests on specimens sent in by doctors from operating theatres, GP surgeries and post mortems. She says her job, while not particularly well-paid, is rewarding.

"You are helping the public - even though we are not seen by the public and most of them wouldn't know we exist. And, in its own way, it [the preparation of specimens for a pathologist] is quite an art form."

It also throws up the odd surprise: "Most of the work we do is routine, although we do get the odd strange thing. We have had postmortem specimens from a person who had a penchant for swallowing glass, knives and rubber bands, and whose stomach was full of these."

Liz Sutcliffe (pictured) is a medical laboratory scientific officer at King's. She works as a cytologist - which includes cervical cancer screening.

This involves examining slides on which sample cells taken from the cervix, or neck of the womb, have been placed. She alerts the pathologist to any potentially cancerous abnormalities. "The majority of the work is looking down a microscope. You have to be able to sit down and concentrate for a good two hours at a time. It's a big responsibility and you don't get a lot of money for what you do. But you're not just pressing buttons on a machine - you are part of the diagnosis."

Frank Wood is a biomedical scientist involved in ensuring King's massive biochemical testing programme runs smoothly. King's laboratories will do around 1.5 million tests a year. These vary from simple, machine-processed blood tests to more complex tests for rare tumours or congenital deformities in children.

"Biochemistry is a 24-hour service, 365 days a year. People work here on Christmas Day and New Year's Eve. It's a busy department, it can be stressful and repetitive, and the quality standards required are exacting.

"But work can be interesting. If you put a lot into it there are a lot of interesting opportunities to be had."

WHAT YOU NEED TO WORK AS AN NHS SCIENTIST

NHS scientists need to be methodical, able to concentrate for fairly long periods, and able to work without too much supervision as well as part of a team. Most NHS scientist jobs are graduate entry - with some jobs requiring a biomedical degree from specifically accredited courses. Some staff go on to take higher degrees while on the job.

If you have the right qualifications and aptitude, you stand an excellent chance of getting a job as an NHS scientist, particularly in London where many trusts are suffering from severe shortages of laboratory staff.

According to staff and unions, the biggest bar to recruitment and retention is low pay. Graduate NHS scientists start on 7,500 plus London weighting of around 2,000. Senior scientists at the top of the scale can earn around 34,000. Apart from the pay, scientists complain of stress, long shifts and repetitive work.

On the positive side, the work can be interesting and satisfying, with opportunities for research. The career structure is steady and fairly secure - although some scientists move to the private sector where salaries are higher.

There are some jobs - such as cardiac technicians who work alongside doctors and nurses on heart operations - which require just two A-levels.There is a similar demand for cardiac technicians in London's NHS.

"There's a real lack of cardiac technicians. Everyone is desperate for them. Because we have such difficulty recruiting trained staff and are dependent on staff from abroad, we are going to hire student trainees next year," says Dr Mark Monaghan, cardiac care group director at King's Healthcare NHS trust.

Cardiac technicians also start on around 7,500 a year plus London weighting.

Check local papers for vacancies, or write to the chief cardiac technician at your local hospital.

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