Assistant Practitioner/Trainee

The Newcastle upon Tyne Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust; Newcastle upon Tyne; On-site; GBP 26,000 - 34,000; Full time

Job summary

The Newcastle upon Tyne Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust is seeking an Assistant Practitioner in Mammography to join the Breast Imaging team. The role involves performing screening mammography under supervision and supporting the delivery of a high quality breast service.

Training posts are available with progression to Band 4 upon completion of competencies within 12 months. A current driving licence is essential for mobile screening duties across the North East region.

Qualifications

• Higher Certificate of Education or a Foundation Degree with mammography modules.
• NVQ Level 3 in Diagnostic and Therapeutic Support or equivalent experience.
• Knowledge of NHS Breast Screening Programme and driving licence requirements.

Responsibilities

• Undertake screening mammography examinations under indirect supervision.
• Assist radiographic and clerical teams to deliver a high quality service.
• Act as chaperone and support breast clinics as directed by radiographers/consultants.

Skills

Communication skills

Driving licence

Education

Foundation Degree (mammography)

NVQ Level 3 in Diagnostic & Therapeutic Support

Job description

Newcastle Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust is one of the busiest and largest NHS hospital trusts in the country. We have around 16,000 staff and an annual budget of £1.7 billion.

With strong history of providing high quality care, clinical excellence, research and innovation regionally, nationally and internationally, w e’re in the top five providers of specialised health services in the country.

As well as providing a wide range of hospital and community services, we support people with a range of rare and complex medical, surgical and neurological conditions, cancers and genetic orders.

We are committed to promoting equality and diversity and recognise the benefit in providing an inclusive environment. We value and respect the diversity of our employees and aim to recruit a workforce which reflects the communities we serve, and is equipped to deliver the best service to our patients. We welcome all applications irrespective of people’s race, disability, sex, sexual orientation, religion or belief, age, gender identity, marriage and civil partnership, pregnancy and maternity and in particular those from under- represented groups.

Newcastle Hospitals are proud to be one of the exemplar organisations across the NHS on sustainability, with a long history of delivering Sustainable Healthcare in Newcastle and the first healthcare organisation in the world to declare a climate emergency. Our strategy includes commitments to being Net Zero by 2030, for our direct carbon footprint, and Net Zero by 2040 for our footprint plus. Delivering these ambitions will not be possible without the help, support and action of every single member of our team.

Job overview

We are seeking a highly motivated Assistant Practitioner in Mammography to join our Breast Imaging team in the Newcastle upon Tyne Hospitals NHS Trust. Our aim is to provide a high quality, timely, multi-disciplinary breast diagnostic service. We do this in a supportive environment, whilst embracing new technologies and always putting our patients at the heart of what we do.

As well as qualified Assistant Practitioners, we also welcome applications for a training post whereby the successful candidate will be paid Band 3 during the training period and at Band 4 upon successful completion of training and all competencies within a 12 month period.

The Breast Unit is a busy department working within both the National Breast Screening service and a Symptomatic Breast service. Therefore, the ability to work both in a team and independently and to communicate in a wide variety of settings is essential.

You should have a relevant Assistant Practitioner qualification, or, for the training post, you should have NVQ Level 3 in Diagnostic & Therapeutic Support or equivalent or similar certification or evidence of personal development or previous experience as a Radiographic Assistant. A basic knowledge of the NHS Breast Screening Programme would be an advantage, together with some experience of working in this environment.

Due to the sensitive nature of this post, only female applicants will be considered (this provision applies under Section 7(2)(b) of the Sex Discrimination Act 1975)

Main duties of the job

The role involves undertaking routine specified radiographic examinations as per achieved competency under the supervision of a registered practitioner, and to assist in the delivery of a high quality and accurate breast service. A high level of professionalism and technical standard of work is required.

The hours are 37.5 per week working Monday-Friday. Although based at the Royal Victoria Infirmary you will be required to work on our Mobile Breast Screening Units on a rotational basis at sites across the North East region and therefore a current driving license and access to a car is essential.

Working for our organisation

As a flexible working friendly organisation, we want to be sure that you can work in a way that is best for us and for our patients, and for you. Speak to us about how we might be able to accommodate a flexible working arrangement. If it works for the service, we will do our best to make it work for you.

With around 2 million contacts with patients every year, we deliver care from:

• Northern Centre for Cancer Care, North Cumbria

These include a range of flagship services which deliver cutting-edge care (supported by state-of-the-art diagnostic services in both radiology and pathology) and are a catalyst for innovation to support pioneering clinical practice in the NHS.

We also have offices at Regent Point in Gosforth and community sites.

Please see attached information on what Staff Benefits we have to offer at our Trust under ‘Documents to download’ or ‘Supporting documents’.

For further information on The Newcastle upon Tyne Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust please visit: Careers | Newcastle Hospitals | NHS | Newcastle Hospitals and Newcastle Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

Band 4

• To undertake screening mammography examinations under the indirect supervision of a State Registered Radiographer
• Assisting the radiographic, radiology and clerical teams in delivering a high quality efficient and effective mammography imaging service and demonstrate a professional, caring and responsible approach to patients
• Act as chaperone and assist in breast clinics as directed by the radiographers and radiologists

Band 3

• To learn the skills and undertake the appropriate under pinning theoretical knowledge in order to undertake mammography radiographic imaging under the direct supervision of a State
• Registered Radiographer. Assisting the radiographic and clerical teams in delivering a high quality efficient and effective mammography service and demonstrate a professional, caring and responsible approach to patients
• Act as chaperone and assist in breast clinics as directed by radiologists/advanced practitioners

NO AGENCIES PLEASE

Person specification

Meets All Band 4 Criteria

• Higher Certificate of Education or a Foundation Degree both with relevant radiography modules (mammography)
• NVQ level 3 in Diagnostic and Therapeutic Support or experience as a radiographic assistant
• Knowledge of NHS Breast Screening Programme
• Current driving licence and car owner
• Knowledge of the National Health Service Breast Screening Programme (NHSBSP)
• Knowledge of organisational and health and safety policies
• IT skills with knowledge of data protection and patient confidentiality

Meets All Band 3 Criteria

• NVQ 3 in Diagnostic & Therapeutic Support or equivalent or similar certification or evidence of personal development or previous experience as a Radiographic Assistant
• Good educational background
• Knowledge of the data protection act and patient confidentiality
• Understanding of the importance of working to agreed standards/protocols
• Current driving licence and car owner
• Good communication skills and ability to work in a team
• Basic IT skills
• Basic knowledge of the National Health
• Knowledge of radiation protection
• Knowledge of organisational and health and safety policies

Whilst Newcastle Hospitals are a forward thinking and highly innovative organisation, the use of Third-Party Artificial Intelligence (AI) presents a risk to the integrity of our Recruitment & Selection processes. If you use AI, and it poses a risk to the integrity of your individual application or to the recruitment process, we may withdraw your application at any stage of the process.

Important note on completion of reference section of Application Form

All references from current and previous employers will be sought and must cover a minimum of 3 years employment. Therefore, when completing the reference section of your application form, please give the address, telephone number and work email address of each of your current/previous line managers that cover 3 years employment. Failure to complete this section may result in your application not being processed.

Please note it is a requirement of The Newcastle upon Tyne Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust that all successful candidates who require a DBS for the post they have been offered pay for their DBS certificate. The method of payment is a salary deduction from your first month’s pay.

Candidates who are shortlisted for interview will be contacted by e-mail. You should check your SPAM folders as well as your inbox. If you have not been contacted within 4 weeks of the closing date you should assume your application has been unsuccessful.

Employer certification / accreditation badges

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.