Lead Sonographer

Alder Hey Children's NHS Foundation Trust; Liverpool; On-site; GBP 53,000 - 61,000; Full time

Job summary

Alder Hey Children's NHS Foundation Trust is seeking a Lead Sonographer to manage the Ultrasound service, ensuring high-quality care for paediatric patients. The role involves overseeing a team, developing protocols, and providing clinical expertise in a dynamic healthcare environment.

Benefits

Flexible working opportunities

Lease car scheme

Generous annual leave

Pension scheme

Extensive staff health and well-being programmes

Qualifications

• Significant post graduate experience as a sonographer.
• First Line management/supervisory experience.
• Evidence of research/audit.

Responsibilities

• Manage and deliver a comprehensive Ultrasound imaging service.
• Facilitate training and development of sonographers.
• Provide clinical and technical advice to staff.

Skills

Knowledge of Paediatric Pathologies

Ultrasound examination techniques

Education

DMU/PgDip in Medical Ultrasound

Management Qualification

HCPC Registration

Job description

Main area Ultrasound - Radiology Grade NHS AfC: Band 8a Contract Permanent Hours

• Full time
• Flexible working

37.5 hours per week (1 evening clinic per week until 8pm) Job ref 411-MED-25-7209554

Employer Alder Hey Children's NHS Foundation Trust Employer type NHS Site Alder Hey Children's NHS Foundation Trust Town LIVERPOOL Salary £53,755 - £60,504 per annum Salary period Yearly Closing 23/05/2025 23:59

Lead Sonographer

NHS AfC: Band 8a

Alder Hey Children’s NHS Foundation Trust is a provider of specialist health care and has a presence in community outreach sites and, in collaboration with other providers, our clinicians help deliver care closer to patients’ homes by holding local clinics at locations from Cumbria to Shropshire, in Wales and the Isle of Man. The Trust also provides inpatient care for children with complex mental health needs at our Sunflower House building newly relocated, and opened on the hospital site.

We currently have more than 4,000 staff working across our community and hospital sites. We’re also a teaching and training hospital providing education and training to around 540 medical and over 500 nursing and allied health professional students each year.

As black and minority ethnic (BME) employees are currently under-represented in this area, we particularly welcome applications from members of our BME communities. All appointments will be made on merit.

You can expect a warm welcome at Alder Hey Children's NHS Foundation Trust, our staff are friendly and welcoming. We listen to each other and work together to embed our Trusts values and behaviours. At Alder Hey we appreciate our staff and reward them with an outstanding benefits package including:

• Great flexible working opportunities
• Lease car scheme and Home Electronics Scheme
• Generous annual leave and pension scheme
• Extensive staff health and well-being programmes

Job overview

An exciting opportunity exists for you to be a senior figure who will work in a clinical environment to deliver high quality care, whilst developing
staff and working alongside managers. You will help to shape the future of the Ultrasound service as the Lead Sonographer of our team of
dedicated and friendly Paediatric Sonographers.
We are looking for a knowledgeable, and experienced Sonographer with a passion for paediatrics, who will embrace the opportunity to manage
their own team and to lead and develop the Ultrasound service at Alder Hey Children’s NHS Foundation Trust.
Our Ultrasound department currently has 4 rooms all with Philips Epiq 5 ultrasound machines and 2 Philips Affinity Portable ultrasound machines,
for use on the wards and in the interventional suite.
We perform a wide range of paediatric examinations including Abdominal, Female Pelvis, Renal, Testes, Cranial, Spine, Neck, Hip, Soft tissue
ultrasound and more specialist techniques including Musculoskeletal, Transcranial doppler and Orbit ultrasound. The service is currently provided
over 5 days per week 8.30 - 5pm apart from Tuesdays when we also provide a late clinic until 8pm

Main duties of the job

Responsible for the management and delivery of a comprehensive and effective Ultrasound imaging service.
To manage within the Ultrasound service, the staff, personal development, PDR’s, and act as first line manager for sickness/absence,capability, disciplinary and professional issues.
To provide professional support for staff and to develop plans to improve patient care within current professional and legal standards,
local and national policies.
To monitor the effectiveness of departmental protocols and procedures utilising audit/research/best practice to initiate and implement new protocolsand procedures.

To work with the QSI lead radiographer and Radiology Management to ensure Key Performance Indictors and Governance Standards are met.

Facilitate the training and development of sonographers, student sonographers, and imaging department assistants.
To act an as expert resource to provide clinical and technical advice to sonographers and other clinical staff.
To participate in research and audit within the speciality and the wider MDT.
To uphold the Trust values and NHS values at all times, behaving in a professional, empathetic, inclusive, safe, confidential and
compassionate manner towards all staff, patients, visitors and carers.

Working for our organisation

As one of Europe’s biggest and busiest children’s hospitals, at Alder Hey Children's NHS Foundation Trust, we treat everything from common illnesses to highly complex and specialist conditions.In addition to our main hospital site, we offer paediatric services at a number of community sites and hold local clinics across Merseyside, Cumbria, Shropshire, Wales and the Isle of Man. We also provide specialist inpatient care for children with complex mental health needs in our recently relocated and newly opened state of the art facility.

Alder Hey has a thriving research portfolio and leads research into children’s medicines, infection, inflammation and oncology. We are becoming recognised as one of the world’s leaders in children’s healthcare and research. We contribute to public health, lead cutting-edge research and teach the next generation of children’s specialists. Alongside this is ourInnovation Hub, a dedicated space where clinicians and industries can come together to create new products and technologies.

We know that a children’s hospital is different and that our job is more than just treating an illness. To us, every child is an individual. As well as giving them the very best care, we set out to make them feel happy, safe and confident as they play, learn and grow. At Alder Hey we are here to look after a child and their family and that includes mums, dads, brothers and sisters.

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

• Be responsible for effective communication within the Ultrasound team, MDT and department with regards to clinical protocols, safety
issues, governance, and KPI’s.
• Communicate with referrers, radiologists, imaging service managers and the wider MDT to ensure appropriate referrals, and to ensure
the patient pathway is seamless and that care is optimised.
• Communicate multifaceted and difficult information to patients/carers to gain their cooperation and understanding especially in stressful
situations or more complex procedures, or where there are barriers to understanding. Give specialist advice to patients with regards to
services available to them and contact numbers they may require.
• Communicate specialist information regarding Ultrasound Imaging to users of the service, patients, relatives and other health
professionals.
• To act as an expert practitioner leading, demonstrating and disseminating advance practice and knowledge within the Ultrasound
service in conjunction with the North-West Imaging Academy.
• Discuss issues of image interpretation with clinicians to ensure optimum outcome for the patient at the time of attendance to include
recognition of acute pathology which may be also discussed with a radiologist.
• Interpret clinicians’ requirements to determine the appropriate scanning technique and ensure it is performed and reported on, in
accordance with best practice. Use discretion to work outside of departmental standards when clinical circumstances necessitate.
• To carry out all aspects of Ultrasound examinations both as autonomous advanced practitioner and as part of the MDT. Develop and
maintain skills to the highest level.
• Responsible for all staff within the Ultrasound department on a daily basis.
• To facilitate, organise and manage the sonographers working pattern, ensuring staff and patient safety at all times.
• To perform and offer reports for high quality ultrasound imaging to assist in diagnosis and treatment

Person specification

Qualifications & Training

• DMU/PgDip in Medical Ultrasound (CASE accredited)
• Evidence of further commitment to study/CPD
• Management Qualification
• HCPC Registration
• Completion of GRAF Hip Scanning Course

Knowledge

• Knowledge of different ultrasound examination techniques
• Knowledge of Paediatric Pathologies

Experience

• Significant post graduate experience as a sonographer
• First Line management/supervisory experience
• Evidence of research/audit

We reserve the right to close vacancies without notice when we have received a sufficient number of applications from which to make a shortlist. Please ensure you apply without delay if you wish to be considered for this role.

Please ensure you check the email account from which you apply regularly as we will contact you using this regarding your application. All candidates will be notified via email whether or not they have been shortlisted.

Alder Hey Children’s NHS Foundation Trust is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people and expects all staff and volunteers to share this commitment. We are committed to creating a well-managed, flexible working environment that supports staff and promotes their welfare and development. We actively promote equality and diversity and operate a Zero Tolerance policy to aggression, violence, bullying and harassment.

Should you require any assistance during the application stages please contact recruiting manager of vacancy or the recruitment team at [e-mail] or call 0151 282 4599

Please declare within the supporting information if artificial intelligence (AI) has been used in your application.

Please note, the selection processes at Alder Hey Children's Hospital NHS Foundation Trust are in place to ensure we recruit candidates with the right skills and values, please be advised that the use of AI in applications are monitored. We remain vigilant against candidates who misuse these tools to generate an application that doesn’t accurately reflect their skills.

Employer certification / accreditation badges

You must have appropriate UK professional registration.

This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (Exceptions) Order 1975 (Amendment) (England and Wales) Order 2020 and it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service.