Advanced Nurse Practitioner - Eye Casualty/Ophthalmology

Transformation Unit; Reading; Hybrid; GBP 42,000 - 55,000; Full time

Job summary

Royal Berkshire NHS Foundation Trust seeks a Band 7 Advanced Nurse Practitioner for Eye Casualty/Ophthalmology in Reading. The post involves autonomous assessment, advanced clinical decision making and non‑medical prescribing within ophthalmology pathways.

The role requires robust ophthalmic clinical skills, leadership ability, and commitment to high‑quality patient care in a busy Eye Casualty service. Sponsorship details apply as per NHS policy.

Qualifications

• Registered Nurse Adult with active NMC registration.
• Level 7 studies or willingness to undertake.
• Specialist postgraduate education in Ophthalmology or equivalent.

Responsibilities

• Assess patients at first point of contact in Eye Casualty.
• Deliver autonomous advanced clinical care and complex decision making.
• Develop and implement treatment plans within protocols.
• Prescribe and monitor non-medical treatments where appropriate.
• Escalate complex cases to medical staff as required.

Skills

Ophthalmology knowledge

Clinical assessment

Independent prescriber

Education

Registered Nurse Adult (NMC)

Level 7 qualification

Specialist Ophthalmology training

Tools

OCT interpretation

Job description

Advanced Nurse Practitioner - Eye Casualty/Ophthalmology

NHS AfC: Band 7

At the Royal Berkshire NHS Foundation Trust we put our patients at the heart of every element of health and care that we provide. The Trust works together as a community to deliver its vision which is “Working together to provide outstanding care for our community.”

Royal Berkshire Hospital are pleased to announce that following our CQC inspection we have been rated Good with inspectors reporting that we have made significant improvements. The Trust’s overall rating has also improved to ‘good’.

We areCompassionate in our thoughts, words and actions

We areAspirational and have a true desire to be dynamic and to innovate

We areResourceful and responsible in the way we work and live

We areExcellent in our development, fairness and sharing best practice

At the Royal Berkshire NHS Foundation Trust, we value candidates who bring their unique personalities, skills, and experiences to the Trust. When completing your application, we encourage you to highlight your individual achievements and strengths, showing us how they align with the requirements outlined in the job description and person specification. While we recognise that some applicants may use AI tools during the process, please be mindful that AI-generated responses can often lack the personal detail and relevance needed to demonstrate your suitability for the role. AI generated content is discouraged by the Trust and may diminish the candidates chances of success.

Amazing things happen at the Royal Berkshire NHS Foundation Trust; delivered by amazing people so why don’t you come and join us. We offer a range of learning and development for all employees may you be clinical or non-clinical.

Please note: all vacancies automatically close when 50 applications have been received.

Job overview

Band 7 Advanced Nurse Practitioner - Eye Casualty/Ophthalmology

PLEASE NOTE: Sponsorship is not normally available for this vacancy - applicants must have the right-to-work in the UK for this role by their proposed start date.

An exciting opportunity has arisen for a Band 7 Advanced Nurse Practitioner to work within our Ophthalmology department.

The successful candidate will be responsible for assessing the patients at the first point of contact within Eye Casualty, providing autonomous practice which demonstrates high level of accountability at an advanced clinical level, delivering high-quality direct patient care, and providing treatment based on advanced clinical skills assessment and non-medical prescribing.

The successful candidate will also support the Age-related Macular Degeneration, considering the role as an injector and also supporting clinical reviewing.

The Advanced Nurse Practitioner should continuously seek to develop and implement improvement, meet key performance indicators, quality and safety standards relevant to the service.

Main duties of the job

Practise autonomously with a high level of accountability, delivering advanced clinical care and making complex decisions based on expert assessment, diagnostic reasoning and clinical management skills.

Work in partnership with patients, families and carers, undertaking comprehensive history taking, holistic assessment, risk identification, mental health assessment, and the requesting, performance and interpretation of diagnostic investigations to determine health and care needs.

Assess, diagnose and manage patients with a wide range of ophthalmic conditions, developing and implementing treatment plans within agreed protocols and scope of practice.

Independently assess and manage patients attending AMD and Medical Retina services, interpreting OCT and retinal imaging, monitoring disease progression, determining treatment requirements in line with established pathways, providing patient education, and escalating complex cases where necessary.

Independently assess, diagnose and treat patients presenting to Eye Casualty with urgent and emergency ophthalmic conditions. Prioritise care according to clinical need, initiate appropriate investigations and treatment, arrange follow up, and refer sight‑threatening or complex presentations to medical staff.

Practise as a Non-Medical Independent Prescriber, prescribing and monitoring treatments safely within professional standards, current legislation, local policies and Patient Group Directions (PGDs).

Working for our organisation

Reading sits on the River Thames and is served by great road and rail links to London, Oxford, and Southampton. With excellent leisure and shopping facilities, and a thriving cultural scene, Reading is a wonderful place to live, work, and play and provides excellent facilities for families, including some of the best state and private schools in the UK.

The CQC rated the care provided by the Royal Berkshire NHS Foundation Trust as Good.

Our Trust "CARE" values: Compassionate,Aspirational,Resourceful,Excellent, reflect the type of Trust we aspire to be and you can join our dedicated and talented staff to make this happen.

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

We are looking for a talented individual who has excellent communication skills promoting high quality care and service delivery.

The attached job description provides an overview of the key tasks and responsibilities of the role and the person specification outlines the qualifications, skills, experience and knowledge required.

Person specification

Education, Qualifications and Training

• Registered Nurse Adult (NMC)
• Specialist post‑graduate education/qualifications relevant to Ophthalmology
• Demonstrable evidence of ability to study at Level 7 (either previous Level 6 or level 7 study)
• Mentoring, Facilitating Workplace Learning or Clinical Supervision Qualification
• Hold History Taking and Clinical Assessment module
• Completed or completing Level 7 MSc, relevant to clinical area or speciality, or willing to undertake
• Hold or able to undertake & register with professional regulatory body (NMC) as an Independent/Supplementary Prescriber
• Leadership course/qualification

Experience

• Significant post‑registration clinical experience with evidence of sustained professional development and a minimum of 3 years experience within Ophthalmology
• Proven evidence of management ability and leadership
• Evidence of existing clinical skills / procedures as per job description
• Experience of Change Management
• Post‑registration clinical experience in Emergency Eye Care

We are an approved sponsoring organisation. Applications will be considered from applicants requiring sponsorship alongside all other applications. Please be aware, not all roles are eligible for sponsorship.You can review the list of eligible role and requirements on the government website.

• Flexible working opportunities and a strong emphasis on your work, life balance
• Annual leave – 27 days for new starters, plus bank holidays. Increasing to 29 days after 5 years and 33 days after 10 years NHS service. Pro rata for part time staff
• Employee Assistance Programme
• Money Advice Service
• Generous maternity, paternity and adoption leave for eligible staff
• On‑site nursery (based at RBH)
• Full educational library services
• Cycle to work scheme, lockable storage for cycles
• Bus to work scheme
• Excellent rail and bus links
• A huge range of Health Service Discounts at hundreds of big brands from holidays to gadgets and restaurants to retail.

Employer certification / accreditation badges

You must have appropriate UK professional registration.

This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (Exceptions) Order 1975 (Amendment) (England and Wales) Order 2020 and it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service.

Application numbers

This vacancy will automatically close when 50 applications have been received.