Sterile Service Manager / Trust Decontamination Lead

Overview

• Employer: Lancashire Teaching Hospital NHS Foundation Trust
• Location: Chorley, PR7 1PP
• Pay:
• Contract Type: Permanent
• Hours: Full time
• Disability Confident: No
• Closing Date: 05/03/2026

About this job

A Vacancy at Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust.

Please note on 1st March 2026, the Estates and Facilities Services for Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, will transfer to East Lancashire Hospitals NHS Trust and become part of OneLSC. East Lancashire Hospitals NHS Trust will be the Lead Provider of the service and the employer of colleagues working within the service, across sites.

If you are successful in your application, and commence work prior to 1st March 2026, your employment will transfer to East Lancashire Hospitals NHS Trust on 1st March 2026 under the Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) Regulations, 2006. There will be no impact for your job role, terms and conditions of employment or location of work.

If you are successful in your application, and commence work after 1st March 2026, your employer will be East Lancashire Hospitals NHS Trust.

Working behind the scenes of the hospital, there is a team of driven and meticulous individuals ensuring that all reusable surgical instrumentation is processed in line with current legislation ready to use in the next procedure.

In this environment safety is paramount, and the role demands a high level of competence and assured accountability.

The team work following the ethos 'It might be my relative on that operating table', and so understandably strive to give their best all the time.

The service follows a stringent structure through the process through the wash room to the controlled clean room packing, sterilisation and to storage.

The successful candidate will lead and manage all aspects of the Decontamination Service throughout the trust and undertake the role of decontamination Lead.

You will manage the sterile service team, including a Deputy Manager, two Assistant Managers, Team Leaders and technicians, overseeing a 24/7 service split into three shifts.

Your team will provide sterile services for both Royal Preston Hospital and Chorley and South Ribble Hospital, supported by dedicated drivers operating Trust-owned logistics vehicles between the sites.

A major aspect of your role involves ensuring continuous testing, maintenance, and documentation of all equipment and tools to uphold the highest standards of quality and compliance.

The post holder will be professionally accountable as Trust Decontamination Lead and HSDU manager for ensuring the delivery of decontamination services throughout the Trust, providing leadership and technical expertise for all aspects of decontamination of reusable medical devices across the Trust.

They will be the line manager responsible for the HSDU (Sterile Services Unit), ensuring effective and safe operational delivery, compliance with national guidance (including HTM 01-01 and related standards), and maintenance of quality assurance systems.

The post holder will provide assurance to the Board, Divisional Triumvirates, and Infection Prevention and Control Committee on all decontamination matters, ensuring that standards of patient safety, quality, and regulatory compliance are consistently achieved.

To take the lead role in the development and co-ordination of Trust wide strategies, policies, standards and practices; this will include ensuring the Trust remains up to date with all areas of disinfection and sterilisation of all reusable medical devices including endoscopes.

Try as we might, we just cannot cram everything into one advert, so we really encourage you to get in touch to find out more.

Lee Taylor, Assistant Director of Estates really welcomes you to contact him to arrange to come and visit or have an informal chatlee.taylorlthtr.nhs.uk We have 10000 fantastic people working hard to deliver quality services to our patients.

Whatever your role, you help look after 370,000 people in our local area & give specialist care to 1.5 million people across Lancashire & Cumbria.

Working with us gives you the knowledge and sense of pride that every activity you do genuinely does make a difference to support our patients & staff, ensuring we keep thriving & delivering outstanding healthcare right across our local towns.

You'll have access to varied development opportunities to learn new skills.

You'll learn about working in a hospital, interacting with people from all different roles to build skills & enhance your career path.

You'll make an impact, be challenged to think differently, be bold & help innovate to keep improving things.

Everything we do centres around patient care and enhancing their experience which means your role is pivotal and something really to be proud of.

Strategic & Professional Leadership

Act as the Trust Decontamination Lead (appointed by the Chief Executive via the DIPC, although line manged through the divisional structure of Estates and Facilities).

Provide expert advice on decontamination to the Board, Infection Prevention and Control Committee, and clinical/operational services.

Ensure Trust compliance with Department of Health, MHRA, Care Quality Commission, ISO and HTM requirements for decontamination.

Develop, implement and monitor Trust-wide policies and procedures for decontamination.

Maintain professional knowledge of evolving standards, legislation, and best practice in decontamination.

Prepare and present an annual report on decontamination compliance to the DIPC/Trust Board.

Operational Management

HSDU

Provide line management for all staff within the HSDU, including workforce planning, recruitment, appraisal, training, and professional development.

Ensure effective operational delivery of sterile services, meeting turnaround, safety and quality requirements for clinical users.

Maintain compliance with ISO 13485, ISO 9001, MHRA regulations, and other external accreditation/audit requirements.

Ensure all HSDU staff receive ongoing competency-based training in line with national requirements.

Monitor and manage HSDU budgets, resources, and equipment replacement programmes within delegated authority.

Provide professional assurance and governance oversight of endoscope decontamination facilities within the Trust, even where direct line management sits with clinical divisions.

Ensure compliance with HTM 01-06, JAG standards, and the Joint Advisory Group audit (JAQ).

Lead or contribute to audits, policies, and risk assessments for endoscope decontamination.

Work closely with Estates and Authorised Persons (Decontamination) to ensure validation, water quality, ventilation, and engineering support for decontamination services meet national requirements.

Attend and contribute to relevant governance meetings with Estates, Authorising Engineers, and external auditors.

Quality, Safety & Governance

Ensure robust quality management systems are in place across HSDU and decontamination processes, including audit, incident reporting, and corrective action.

Lead investigations into incidents, complaints or failures in sterile services, ensuring lessons learned are embedded.

Work closely with the Trust's Infection Prevention and Control Team, Estates, and relevant clinical services to manage risks related to decontamination.

Ensure all decontamination practices meet statutory, regulatory, and professional standards.

Business Continuity & Emergency Planning

Lead the development and implementation of business continuity and major incident plans for decontamination services.

Ensure contingency arrangements are in place for equipment failure, capacity shortages, or emergencies (e.g. pandemic surge).

Participate in Trust emergency planning exercises where decontamination services are involved.

Lead continuous improvement of decontamination and sterile service processes to enhance safety, quality, and efficiency.

Contribute to business cases for service development and capital investment in decontamination equipment or facilities.

Engage with regional and national networks to benchmark practice and introduce innovation.

This advert closes on Tuesday 17 Feb 2026

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