Clinical Scientist/Highly Specialised Sleep Physiologist

NHS; Birmingham; On-site; GBP 47,000 - 55,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading children's health service is seeking a Pediatric Clinical Specialist to provide advanced respiratory and sleep services to children. You will lead diagnostic investigations and supervise a skilled team. The ideal candidate will have relevant qualifications in respiratory physiology, experience with pediatric patients, and excellent communication skills. This role offers competitive compensation ranging from £47,810 to £54,710, with both full-time and part-time options available.

Qualifications

• Experience in performing advanced sleep physiological investigations in pediatric patients.
• Ability to work autonomously and undertake complex tasks.
• Capacity to communicate sensitive information effectively.

Responsibilities

• Plan, perform and interpret respiratory & sleep diagnostic investigations.
• Act as lead sleep specialist and supervise junior staff.
• Analyse and report urgent sleep studies in a timely manner.

Skills

Advanced sleep physiological investigations

Communication skills

IT skills

Education

STP Respiratory & Sleep Physiology qualification

BSc (Hons) Clinical Physiology

HCPC registration as Clinical Scientist

Job description

Job Summary

Provides advanced specialist pediatric clinical respiratory and sleep service to children attending the department at Birmingham Children’s Hospital. Patients may suffer from a wide variety of medical disorders, a significant proportion of which are respiratory or sleep in nature. Interaction occurs with scientific and medical staff within the respiratory & sleep physiology team and wider stakeholders including clinical referral teams, patients, families and the general public.

Responsibilities

• Plan, perform and interpret a range of advanced specialist respiratory & sleep diagnostic investigations to a high level of competence, independently and with appropriate actions taken to obtain maximum results.
• Act as lead sleep specialist, providing service delivery, teaching, audit and quality improvement in collaboration with the lung function department manager.
• Supervise and deploy junior staff, manage resources, and collaborate with other professionals and agencies to meet service standards.
• Perform regular machine checks on all lung function/sleep equipment, document faults and take appropriate corrective action.
• Undertake non‑invasive ventilation (NIV) titration to patients when required, complying with Trust policy and department protocol.
• Use highly developed judgement to determine when a patient requires emergency attention and discuss findings with appropriate medical staff.
• Analyse, score and report urgent sleep studies in a timely manner, upload reports to Hyperspace, and contribute to sleep MDT, service development meetings and ward rounds.
• Oversee reports formulated by junior staff, alert line manager or medical staff to unexpected abnormal test results, and provide factual reports to medical staff.
• Plan, prioritise workload, and ensure service needs are met in the absence of the Head of Department as required.

Qualifications & Experience

• STP Respiratory & Sleep Physiology qualification or equivalent Masters course; Certificate of equivalence at STP level.
• BSc (Hons) Clinical Physiology (respiratory) or equivalent.
• HCPC registration (or working towards) as Clinical Scientist.
• Experience performing advanced sleep physiological investigations in pediatric patients.
• Training in advanced skills and knowledge within the relevant field.
• Practical experience and familiarity with a range of specialist and advanced sleep physiological investigations.
• Experience in planning, performing and interpreting pediatric sleep physiological investigations.
• Certified ARTP/Sleep professional body exams or other sleep qualification.
• Chartered Scientist (desirable).
• Excellent IT skills.
• Ability to provide formal teaching and/or supervision to junior staff or visitors to the department.
• Ability to work autonomously and undertake complex hand‑eye coordination tasks for diagnostic equipment.
• Capacity to communicate complex and sensitive information to children, relatives and carers, including those with learning or physical disabilities.
• Resilience to frequent exposure to unpleasant working conditions and ability to cope with high‑stress situations.

Personal and Professional Attributes

• Can concentrate for prolonged periods when analysing, scoring and reporting complex sleep studies.
• Capable of coping with highly distressing circumstances, including severe challenging behaviour in children.
• Effective communication with staff at all levels including consultants, medical staff, nurses, admin and clerical staff.
• Ability to coordinate and cooperate with others to plan and prioritise workload.

Compensation and Work Details

Pay scheme: Agenda for change
Band: Band 7
Salary: £47,810 to £54,710 per year
Contract: Permanent
Working pattern: Full‑time, Part‑time, Compressed hours
Reference number: 284‑25‑7534857‑DMRG
Job location: Birmingham Children Hospital, Steelhouse Lane, Birmingham, B4 6NH

Employer Information

Birmingham Women’s and Children’s NHS Foundation Trust
Birmingham Children Hospital, Steelhouse Lane, Birmingham, B4 6NH
Website: https://bwc.nhs/