Aural Care Practitioner/Nurse

Norfolk Deaf Association (NDA) operating as Hear for Norfolk; Norwich; Hybrid; GBP 30,000 - 45,000; Full time

Job summary

A community health charity is seeking a qualified Aural Care Practitioner to deliver ear wax removal services. This role emphasizes quality patient care and inclusivity, adapting to patients' specific needs. The flexible hours mean that part-time work is possible, giving the opportunity for candidates to balance other commitments. Applicants should have relevant experience and a background in healthcare, with opportunities for training and clinical supervision provided.

Benefits

Free car parking on site

Flexible working hours

Qualifications

• 2+ years experience within clinical area relevant to service.
• Experience working in NHS or other healthcare settings.
• Familiarity with ear wax removal procedures.

Responsibilities

• Provide safe ear wax removal using microsuction.
• Document treatment in patient records system.
• Liaise with ENT and Audiology colleagues as required.

Skills

Experience working with vulnerable people

Understanding of ear anatomy and common conditions

Communication skills

Education

Registered Nurse/Qualified Registered Audiologist

4 GCSE or A Level equivalent grade C or above

Educated to degree level

Job description

Hear for Norfolk is dedicated to improving the lives of people of all ages with all degrees of hearing loss and related conditions. This is achieved by providing a range of holistic and accessible services: hearing assessments and fitting of hearing aids, hearing aids maintenance, otoscopy screening, aural care using microsuction, emotional support, information, advice, and training.

Our service users identify us as the key provider of healthcare services for people with hearing loss.

Our Aural Care Service is registered with the Care Quality Commission.

We are seeking a qualified, experienced and registered Aural Care Practitioner with a passion for quality and patient‑centric care to join our forward‑thinking charity and help develop further our Aural Care Service. If you are a caring individual, enthusiastic and motivated about providing the best care to our patients then this could be the opportunity for you! We are looking for a conscientious, hard working, professional and motivated individual.

Working hours can be arranged to suit the applicant/s. The number of hours is flexible, so we envisage that some applicants may offer to work for us one or two days per week, and retain some of their existing NHS job, for example. We are looking to recruit to a full‑time equivalent position, however the 37.5 hours per week can be covered by more than one person.

Training and clinical supervision will be provided.

Main duties of the job

Please see the job description and person specification for full details of the role and responsibilities.

To provide safe ear wax removal through either microsuction or dry removal, as required, for the best patient care, meeting their individual needs, to a professional standard and in line with best practice and organisational policies and guidance, and approved quality standards (British Society of Audiology Practice Guidance Aural Care (Ear Wax Removal) https://www.thebsa.org.uk/resources/aural-care-ear-wax-removal).

About us

We are dedicated to improving the emotional wellbeing, communication, and the overall quality of life of people with hearing loss and related conditions.

Our multi‑disciplinary team of qualified, professional and experienced staff and dedicated volunteers are committed to our values:

Inclusivity – we believe in making our services available and accessible to anyone who needs them. We believe in staff having the ownership of the services we provide and be empowered to proactively make improvements in their areas of work.

Integrity – we believe in treating people with respect, being open, honest and trustworthy. We believe in transparency, accountability, recognising our limitations and in strict adherence to confidentiality.

Responsiveness – we believe in a safe, timely, effective, efficient and flexible modus operandi. We believe in responding promptly to the changes in need of our service users, as well as the changes required within the organisation to ensure we maintain a high‑quality provision.

Resourcefulness – we believe in finding effective solutions to solve problems, in assessing the need to enable us find a way to help. We believe in planning in accordance with resources available, working as a team and in a collaborative way with other organisations.

Free car parking on site.

Job responsibilities

1. To prepare the clinic room in readiness for the procedure (on premises and on mobile unit).
2. To undertake domiciliary visits with assistance from the mobile clinic assistant/driver.
3. To take a relevant medical history from patients and perform a thorough examination of their ears to determine the need for ear wax removal.
4. To ensure that the service is accessible to patients with additional needs (e.g. LD, Autism, Dementia, physical disabilities and language barriers) and that patient specific needs are taken into account during the procedure.
5. To competently undertake the ear wax removal procedure using microsuction or using manual tools, if required, in line with the service Standard Operating Procedures.
6. To accurately document the treatment undertaken in the patient’s records management system and generate the post‑procedure letter to referring clinicians within the commissioning body set timescales.
7. To educate patients on good aural hygiene, wax management and the need for regular aural care.
8. To address the any additional needs identified by patients by providing information or signposting to relevant internal or external services.
9. To liaise with ENT, Audiology colleagues and Medical Practices as and when required.
10. To ensure adherence to service standards and infection prevention and control protocols.
11. In conjunction with other aural care practitioners, to carry out clinical risk assessments.
12. To report incidents in an timely manner.
13. In conjunction with other team members to keep control of consumables and purchase of required consumables as and when necessary.
14. In conjunction with colleagues undertake marketing and development activities for the service.
15. To provide timely reports and information to the Head of Clinical Services and the Chief Executive in readiness for inclusion into management reports for the Board, commissioners and stakeholders, as required.
16. To support the team with the production of publications and marketing materials for all services.
17. To assist the Charity in its income generation programme, e.g. income from procedure fees, individual donations.
18. To be available to assist in other areas of the Charity’s work as needs arise.

Person Specification

Experience

• Experience of working with vulnerable people
• Experience of working in NHS or other healthcare setting
• Experience of liaising with other NHS services
• Experience of dealing with people at various level
• Ideally 2 years experience within the clinical area relevant to the service
• Experience of working with people with all degrees of hearing loss
• Understanding of the anatomy and physiology of the ear and common ear conditions

Qualifications

• Registered Nurse/Qualified Registered Audiologist
• 4 GCSE or A Level equivalent grade C or above
• Educated to degree level

Disclosure and Barring Service Check

This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (Exceptions Order) 1975 and as such it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service (formerly known as CRB) to check for any previous criminal convictions.