Bank Contact Lens Optician

North Cumbria Integrated Care NHS Foundation Trust; Whitehaven, Carlisle; On-site; GBP 36,000 - 45,000; Full time

Job summary

A regional healthcare provider seeks a Contact Lens Optician for its Ophthalmology department. This role involves providing patient assessments and treatment plans while working collaboratively with healthcare professionals. Ideal candidates should have GOC registration and be comfortable with complex lens fittings. Opportunities for training and development are available within this supportive environment.

Benefits

27-day holiday scheme rising to 33 after 10 years

Access to NHS discounts

Employee Assistance Programme

Qualifications

• Experience in complex lens fitting (e.g. RGP, keratoconus, paediatric).
• Knowledge of infection control and lens hygiene protocols.
• Ability to convey unwelcome / bad news in a sensitive manner.

Responsibilities

• Provide services as an autonomous practitioner.
• Determine clinical diagnoses and develop treatment plans.
• Liaise with other professionals and colleagues as appropriate.

Skills

Patient communication

IT literacy

Complex lens fitting

Education

GOC registration as a Contact Lens Optician

Diploma in Contact Lens Practice

Tools

Medisoft

OpenEyes

Job description

North Cumbria Integrated Care NHS Foundation Trust

Bank Contact Lens Optician

The closing date is 02 October 2025

The Ophthalmology department provides a range of services (and extended roles) for patients of North Cumbria.

We are looking for a Contact Lens Optician to join the team, working alongside fellow Orthoptists, Optometrists, Ophthalmic Consultants and Ophthalmology nursing teams.

The post is based at Cumberland Infirmary, Carlisle or West Cumberland Hospital, Whitehaven although travel to other Ophthalmology departments within the service is required.

Voted one of the best places to live in the UK, North Cumbria houses the Lake District, one of the country\'s most outstanding places of natural beauty and the region is an attractive, largely rural area with access to good road, rail and air communications. Housing is relatively inexpensive and there are excellent state and private education establishments.

All staff are expected to work to the Trust Values:

Kindness- Kindness and compassion cost nothing, yet accomplish a great deal.

Respect - We are respectful to everyone and are open, honest and fair - respect behaviours.

Ambition- We set goals to achieve the best for our patients, teams, organisations and our partners.

Collaboration- We are stronger and better working together with and for our patients.

Main duties of the job

• Provide services as an autonomous practitioner. To assess, diagnose and manage patients referred to the orthoptic department
• Determine the clinical diagnosis and develop treatment plans, discharge plans and make appropriate onward referrals to Ophthalmology or other health professionals
• This post will also involve Low Vision clinical work. Training will be provided
• The post covers Cumberland Infirmary in Carlisle, West Cumberland Hospital in Whitehaven, Workington Community Hospital and peripheral clinics.
• Liaise with other professionals and colleagues as appropriate.

About us

At NCIC, we have an ambition to deliver outstanding healthcare services to the population of North Cumbria. The Trust is committed to creating a centre of excellence in providing rural and remote healthcare and provides a wide range of community and acute services throughout our county.

Our 5 key principles demonstrate our belief in the delivery of \"safe, high quality care every time\":

• Being a clinically led organisation
• Quality and safety at the heart of our Trust
• A positive patient experience every time
• A great place to work
• Managing our money well

As an organisation we are serious about supporting a diverse workforce that reflects our local community and are very much focused on being an inclusive and compassionate place to work.

Across the North East and North Cumbria we are working together to deliver our ambition to be the greenest region in England by 2030. All staff are expected to support sustainability.

Job responsibilities

Please see attached job description and person specification for further information regarding the role and the essential and desirable criteria required to be met by applicants.

Please note, due to changes implemented by the Government to the UK immigration policy, individuals who require a Health and Care Visa or a Skilled Worker Visa may no longer be eligible for sponsorship where the UKVI salary threshold is not met or if the occupation is not included in the updated Immigration Salary List (ISL). Applicants must check their eligibility to be employed in any role they are interested in applying for, prior to completing an application for employment.Any applicants who do not meet the eligibility criteria will not be progressed.

If you are applying under the Disability Confident Scheme or Armed Forces Covenant and you meet all the essential criteria for a post, you will be guaranteed an interview.

Relocation assistance may be available for successful applicants moving to the region for certain posts. Please see our Policy for eligible vacancies.

Please ensure that you document evidence of meeting all the essential criteria in the supporting information.

If sufficient response is received this post could be closed earlier than the specified closing date, please apply as soon as possible to ensure that your application is considered.

Candidates who have been successfully shortlisted for interview will be asked via an email notification to log on to their Trac account to select an interview time. This will usually be within 2 weeks of the closing date.

For candidates applying using a Hotmail account or have strict firewall settings please ensure the following:

• Junk Mail is checked regularly

Disclosure and Barring Service:

On 28 November 2020, the new Disclosure and Barring Service filtering rules will come into effect.

The changes mean that:

• youth cautions, reprimands and final warnings will no longer be subject to automatic disclosure
• the multiple conviction rule has been removed, meaning that if an individual has more than one conviction, regardless of offence type or time passed, each conviction will be considered against the remaining rules individually, rather than being automatically disclosed.

If you are unsure about whether you need to disclose certain criminal record information, free confidential advice may be sought from one of the charity bodies listed below. These bodies can advise you on what you are legally required to declare and may also be able to advise you on how you can disclose criminal record information to a prospective employer and your legal rights when doing so.

Unlock Tel: [phone], email [e-mail] or complete the online form on the Unlock website

The Trust is committed to safeguarding adults and children therefore if the post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (ROA) 1974 (Exceptions) Order 1975 (as amended) the successful candidate(s) will be subject to a criminal records check with the Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS). The cost of the DBS must be met by the successful candidate(s) through salary deduction. DBS charges are as follows if applicable to the post:

Standard Check: £18 + Administration cost of £3.85 = £21.85. Deducted at £6.85 from 1st month salary and £5 deducted from salary over following 3 months.

Enhanced Check: £38 + administration cost of £3.90 = £41.90. Deducted at £11.90 from 1st month salary and £10 deducted from salary over following 3 months.

As part of one of the largest employers in the UK NCIC future employees will have also access to the following benefits.

A lease car may be available for this position; further details will be provided upon appointment if applicable.

27-day holiday scheme rising to 33 after 10 years

Access to NHS discounts with retailers and leisure companies

EAP (Employee Assistance Programme) a free, confidential counselling and information service to assist with personal or work-related problems

These schemes are subject to availability

Person Specification

Qualifications

• GOC registration as a Contact Lens Optician
• Diploma in Contact Lens Practice

Experience and Knowledge

• Experience in complex lens fitting (e.g. RGP, keratoconus, paediatric)
• Knowledge of infection control and lens hygiene protocols
• Participation in audit or quality improvement
• Experience in hospital or specialist clinical setting
• Experience in hospital or specialist clinical setting
• Ability to convey unwelcome / bad news in a sensitive manner.

Skills and Aptitudes

• Ability to work independently within protocols
• Excellent patient communication and education skills
• IT literacy and experience with patient records Medisoft/OpenEyes experience
• Willingness to train and support junior staff

Other Requirements

• The post-holder may be required to work across Trust sites.
• Flexibility in working hours may be necessary to support clinic needs (e.g. occasional evenings).
• All Trust staff are expected to adhere to the Trust\'s values and code of conduct.
• Mandatory training, safeguarding, and clinical competencies must be maintained.

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.

North Cumbria Integrated Care NHS Foundation Trust

Address

Cumberland Infirmary/West Cumberland Hospital

Cumberland Infirmary/West Cumberland Hospital