Clinical Fellow in Ophthalmology

East Lancashire Hospitals NHS Trust; Burnley, Blackburn; On-site; GBP 60,000 - 80,000; Full time

Job summary

East Lancashire Hospitals NHS Trust is seeking an ophthalmology specialist to join the Eye Unit. The post involves facilitating outpatient clinics, laser sessions, and surgical services, with collaboration across nursing, orthoptic and optometrist staff.

The role emphasizes developing clinical governance, service strategies and CPD in line with NHS and Royal College guidance. The post includes on-call duties (1 in 7), access to dedicated office space and mentoring, and opportunities to

Responsibilities

• Participate in medical and clinical audit arrangements.
• On-call rota 1 in 7.
• Contribute to outpatient and specialty clinics including laser sessions.

Skills

Ophthalmology

Audit participation

Clinical governance

CPD

Job description

The post holder will be expected to work closely with colleagues and management in developing the ability of the department to respond to operational pressures together with clinical governance and longer‑term service strategies. Proposed Outline Job Plan for the post holder will include as a minimum 1 theatre session, 1 admin, 1 audit/study plus specialty/general clinics and laser sessions dependent on your level of competence and the subspecialty. The successful applicant will be required to participate in medical and clinical audit arrangements in the Trust. On Call Arrangements The post holder will be required to participate in a 1 in 7 on call rota. Administrative Arrangements The successful applicant will have access to office accommodation and secretarial support. The post holder will have a named Mentor within the Directorate. Continuing Professional Development and Research The post holder would be expected to develop and maintain a programme of continuing professional development in accordance with the recommendations of the NHS and the Royal College of Ophthalmology. The post holder would also be expected to contribute to the research output in the department, and support current ongoing projects during his/her research sessions., The medical team work closely with the nursing team and also with a range of technical, orthoptic and optometrist staff who offer support with visual field tests, OCT, photography, Glaucoma screening, follow up and other extended clinical roles.

Outpatient Department (RBH)

The outpatient department is a purpose built unit consisting of clinic rooms with state of the art computer and digital dictation equipment. There are dedicated rooms for visual field assessment, orthoptic assessment, OCT, FFA, Pascal, SLT and YAG Laser, Intravitreal injections and Minor Operations. Clinics A variety of general and specialist clinics take place. These include Cataract, Medical Retina, Cornea, Diabetic Eye Disease, Macular, Glaucoma, Paediatric Ophthalmology, Oculoplastics and Intravitreal injections. In addition there are Nurse led A&E, Cataract, Glaucoma and Intravitreal injection clinics. The Unit also runs an emergency service based at Burnley General Teaching Hospital.

Surgery

The Unit performs around 4,686 operations a year of which a significant proportion are Phacoemulsification procedures, the vast majority of which are undertaken under topical anesthesia. In addition there is a well-established Vitreo‑Retinal, Oculoplastic, Paediatric and Corneal Transplantation, Glaucoma and medical retina service. There are two dedicated Ophthalmic theatres with modern microsurgical facilities, two Infinity Phacoemulsification machines and an constellation machine that was recently acquired for Vitreoretinal surgery.

The strategic aims of the Ophthalmology Department are:

• 1. To provide up-to-date, friendly and efficient care in areas of general ophthalmology and to facilitate referral to specialist care as appropriate.
• 2. To keep waiting times for outpatient and inpatient care within the Trust guidelines.
• 3. To work with NICE, CCG, or local guidelines for the best provision of care within established financial boundaries.
• 4. To meet standards set out in government directives e.g. "Action on Cataracts", and to formulate and follow pathways formulated for such purpose.

Services are provided from two main sites, the Royal Blackburn Teaching Hospital and Burnley General Teaching Hospital. The Royal Blackburn Teaching Hospital and Phase V at Burnley General Teaching Hospital are significant PFI developments. In 2006 a service reconfiguration, 'meeting patients needs' was implemented which resulted in the Blackburn site becoming the centre for all acute services in East Lancashire. The ED at Blackburn is the only ED for East Lancashire and since 2012 has become a Trauma Unit in the Lancashire Trauma network with the trauma centre at the Royal Preston Hospital. The ED is supported by Urgent Care Centres at Blackburn and Burnley and a Minor Injuries Unit at Accrington. Burnley is the site for the East Lancashire Women and Newborn Centre with an in‑patient obstetric unit. There is a midwife led birthing unit off the Hospital site in Blackburn In 2012 the Royal Blackburn Teaching Hospital was designated as one of the Lancashire Vascular Centres. The Trust has close links with a number of Tertiary Centres in Lancashire, Manchester and Liverpool.

About the Trust

At East Lancashire Hospitals NHS Trust our vision is to be widely recognised for providing safe, personal and effective care. We currently provide high quality services and treat over 600,000 people across East Lancashire and the surrounding area. We employ over 9,500 staff, many of whom are internationally renowned and have won awards for their work. East Lancashire Hospitals NHS Trust was formed in 2003 from the merger of Blackburn, Hyndburn and Ribble Valley NHS Trust and the Burnley Hospitals NHS Trust. East Lancashire Hospitals NHS Trust provides a caring service to a population of approximately 520,000.

The Trust is an equal opportunities employer, committed to improving the working lives of our staff and operates a 'Zero Tolerance' policy to aggression, violence, bullying and harassment. In addition, our aim is to help protect children and vulnerable adults by providing a first‑class service to the recruitment of people into positions of trust. We aim to employ a workforce that reflects the diverse communities we serve. We welcome applications from everyone irrespective of ethnic origin, gender, age, gender identity, sexual orientation, religion, marital status, disability or social background. We especially welcome applications from members of our black, Asian and minority ethnic (BAME) communities, as we have identified that ELHT has an under‑representation of BAME employees. Appointments will be made on merit.

Recruitment Details

This is a fixed term post for 12 months. The Eye Unit provides a comprehensive Ophthalmology service with a catchment area of approximately 521,000 people. The service encompasses of outpatient clinics (conducted at the Royal Blackburn and Burnley General Teaching Hospitals), an emergency eye service at Burnley General Teaching Hospital and a dedicated twin theatre suite based on the Burnley site. In addition, we have outreach clinics at Accrington, Rossendale and Clitheroe. The medical team includes Consultants, Associate Specialists, Specialty Doctors, Staff Grades and also trainees at ST 1 - 6 level. There is a subspecialty lead structure in place. The current medical staff is as follows: Mr Bertie Fernando Clinical Director (Eyelid, Lacrimal and Oculoplastics) Mrs Rajitha Ajit Consultant (Eyelid, Lacrimal and Oculoplastics) Mr Hasan Usmani Consultant (Glaucoma and cornea) Ms Salwa Abugreen Consultant (Medical Retina) Mrs Mey Mohan Consultant (Paediatrics) Mr Chintan Sanghvi Consultant (Diabetes and Medical Retina) Mr Philip David Consultant (Surgical Retina) Mr Vikas Shankar Consultant (Glaucoma) Mr Rohan Sawant

• Please note that the salary advertised is for full time hours. If this post is less than 37.5 hours per week, the salary will be pro‑rata. For posts on Agenda for Change pay‑scales, new entrants to the NHS will normally commence on the first pay point of the relevant band.

Disclosure and Barring Scheme (DBS) If the role you are applying for is identified as either controlled or regulated activity as defined in in the Safeguarding vulnerable Groups Act (2006) any offer of employment is provisional upon a satisfactory DBS check being obtained. The healthcare sector is exempted from the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974. In line with other NHS organisations in the North West Region, the Trust is now passing the charge for undertaking a DBS check on to candidates in the event they are successfully appointed into the post for which they have applied. Candidates can choose whether to pay this over 1-3 months as a deduction from the monthly salary. However, if you are applying for a post as a BANK worker, the payment must be made in full at the time of employment checks. By applying for this vacancy you are agreeing to this undertaking in the event you are successfully appointed. The cost for an Enhanced DBS, is £45.90 and for a Basic & Standard, this is £24.90 this cost includes a £4.90 admin fee.