Highly Specialist Healthcare Science Practitioner/ Clinical Scientist

County Durham & Darlington NHS Foundation Trust; Darlington; On-site; GBP 47,000 - 55,000; Full time

Job summary

A regional healthcare provider in Darlington is seeking a Highly Specialist Healthcare Science Practitioner / Clinical Scientist. The role involves performing Cardiac investigations, specializing in echocardiography, and providing training to other healthcare professionals. Candidates should have significant experience and hold relevant qualifications. This position offers a salary of £47,810 to £54,710, with options for full-time or part-time work.

Qualifications

• Significant experience in echocardiography.
• Experience at Band 6 level or equivalent.
• Registered with AHCS or HCPC.

Responsibilities

• Perform a range of Cardiac and physiological investigations.
• Supervise junior staff and provide training.
• Produce clinical reports from diagnostic procedures.

Skills

Echocardiography

Leadership

Communication skills

Organizational skills

Education

BSc (Hons) Healthcare Science: Cardiac Physiology or MSc Clinical Science (Cardiac Science)

Job description

Go back County Durham & Darlington NHS Foundation Trust

Highly Specialist Healthcare Science Practitioner/ Clinical Scientist

The closing date is 20 September 2025

We are seeking an enthusiastic and highly motivated Highly Specialist Healthcare Science Practitioner / Clinical Scientist / Echocardiographer to work as part of our friendly team providing a diagnostic Cardiology and Respiratory service to both in-patients and out-patients. We welcome suitable applicants looking for either full-time or part-time work. The principal hospitals within County Durham and Darlington NHS Foundation Trust are Darlington Memorial Hospital, The University Hospital of North Durham, Bishop Auckland Hospital and Shotley Bridge Hospital. The Cardiology & Respiratory Investigations Units comprise a team of approximately 40 staff who provide a broad range of invasive and non-invasive procedures including echocardiography, stress echocardiography, trans-oesophageal echocardiography, diagnostic angiography, pacing implant / follow-up, complex device follow up, tilt testing and nerve conduction studies. We are committed to providing learning and development opportunities; we actively encourage and support all appropriate professional development. The hospital base for this post is Darlington Memorial Hospital.

Main duties of the job

The successful candidate will work as part of a team in the busy Cardio-Respiratory departments. They will be Highly specialist in echocardiography and will have a responsibility for the delivery of the highest quality echocardiography services within their designated team. They will work closely with colleagues to ensure that protocols and procedures meet local and national requirements for good practice and service delivery. They will perform a range of cardiac and other physiological investigations, and produce evidence-based clinical reports. They will provide training to other healthcare professionals and students and will supervise junior staff, as well as deputise for more senior staff on occasions.

About us

If you are being interviewed you must accept an interview slot in the system to continue, even if you have arranged with the manager.

You must be able to produce ALL certificates stated essential in the person specification or you will not be able to complete pre-employment checks.

We provide hospital services from two acute sites - Darlington Memorial Hospital and University Hospital of North Durham. We have a centre for planned care in Bishop Auckland and provide care from community hospitals in Chester-le-Street, Shotley Bridge, Barnard Castle, Sedgefield and Weardale as well as over 80 other community based settings and providing care in patients' homes.

We particularly welcome applications from disabled and Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic (BAME) candidates as BAME and disabled people are currently under-represented.

Full Job Descriptions can be found in the adverts supporting documents.

For the most up-to-date information on visa requirements and eligibility, please check online to determine whether you can apply.

Job responsibilities

The candidate will independently perform a range of Cardiac and physiological investigations, specialising in echocardiography, and will derive clinical reports from highly specialist diagnostic procedures. They must have experience of working in a Cardiac Investigations department at Band 6 level and have achieved the minimum academic qualifications in the Person Specification. They must be registered on the AHCS or HCPC register or be on the AHCS Specialist Echocardiography Register.

They must also hold a current certificate in Immediate Life Support or be willing to undertake this within the first 6 months.

Person Specification

Special Requirements

• Able to travel across Trust sites to meet the requirements of the post

Experience

• Significant experience in the field of echocardiography, with highly specialist knowledge.
• Experience at specialist level (Band 6 level) or equivalent.
• Experience of working within a Cardiac investigations Unit.
• Experience of a broad range of diagnostic procedures within Cardiology.
• Experience of audit and quality assurance programmes.
• Experience of training staff from a range of disciplines.
• Experience of Stress echocardiography / trans-oesophageal echocardiography.
• Experience of supervising staff teams.
• Experience of service development and change management.
• Experience of participating in local, regional and national professional meetings and conferences.
• Able to work in a range of clinical environments.
• Experience of implementation and reviewing new services.
• Experience of budget management.

Qualifications

• BSc (Hons) Healthcare Science: Cardiac Physiology or MSc Clinical Science (Cardiac Science) or equivalent, with acceptance onto AHCS / HCPC professional register.
• Or BSC in a relevant Scientific subject and on AHCS Specialist Echocardiography Register.
• British Society of Echocardiography Adult Accreditation or equivalent.
• Immediate Life Support (or willing to undertake this within the first 6 months of employment).

Statutory Registration

• Registered with AHCS or HCPC, or on AHCS Specialist Echocardiography register.

Special Skills & Knowledge

• Specialist in the field of echocardiography, able to provide clinical advice to a range of healthcare professionals, as well as patients and carers.
• Ability to provide operational leadership for echocardiography.
• Organizational skills.
• Experience of involvement in programmes of research/audit.
• Ability to audit and supervise the work of others.
• Ability to prioritise workload.
• Good communication skills written and verbal.
• In-depth knowledge of pathologies relevant to Cardiology.
• Ability to analyse complex information, interpret results and provide accurate reports to Medical staff and other Healthcare professionals within primary and secondary care.
• Able to provide advice to clinicians.
• Ability to assess patient condition and seek expert assistance when required.
• Ability to train other staff of all levels and act as mentor.
• Able to liaise with other staff both in Primary and Secondary care.
• Able to manage resources within budgetary limits and service requirements.
• Presentation Skills.
• Able to use evidence based practice to ensure quality standards.

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.

County Durham & Darlington NHS Foundation Trust

£47,810 to £54,710 a year, per annum, pro rata