Specialist Orthoptist

East of England Community Health and Care NHS Trust (Cambridgeshire); Caddington; On-site; GBP 40,000 - 48,000; Full time

Job summary

East of England Community Health and Care NHS Trust is seeking an experienced Specialist Orthoptist to join our team in Bedfordshire. This Band 6 role offers a varied caseload across community and hospital settings with flexible working and potential for reduced hours.

The post is based at Liverpool Road Health Centre, Luton, with travel to hospital and community clinics. HCPC registration, BIOS membership and a degree in Orthoptics are required.

Qualifications

• Degree in Orthoptics or equivalent.
• HCPC registration.
• Membership of BIOS.
• Experience of all aspects of orthoptics in both acute or community is desirable.
• Ability to resolve both clinical and non-clinical queries.
• Communication skills to pass on your knowledge to the team.
• A desire to go beyond expectations.

Responsibilities

• Deliver orthoptic services across Bedfordshire in community and hospital settings.
• Assess, diagnose and manage adult and paediatric orthoptic patients.
• Provide teaching and supervision to junior staff and students.
• Support the Orthoptist Team Leaders and participate in training and development.
• Promote flexible working and professional development.

Skills

Communication skills

Autonomous practice

Problem solving

Education

Degree/Diploma in Orthoptics

HCPC registration

BIOS membership

Job description

Main area Specialist Orthoptist Grade Band 6 Contract Permanent: 1.00 wte will consider reduced hours Hours

• Full time
• Part time
• Flexible working

37.5 hours per week (8.45-4.45 (9-5) EVERY DAY) Job ref 448-BCHS-8205032

Employer East of England Community Health and Care NHS Trust (Cambridgeshire) Employer type NHS Site Liverpool Road Health Centre Town Luton Salary £39,959 - £48,117 per annum, pro-rata Salary period Yearly Closing 06/09/2026 23:59 Interview date 22/09/2026

Specialist Orthoptist

Band 6

East of England Community Health and Care NHS Trust delivers expert healthcare in people’s homes, community hospitals and local settings across the East of England.

Our nurses, therapists, clinicians, support teams and partners work together to provide coordinated care that supports independence, recovery and wellbeing. We believe people are best cared for close to home, in the communities where they live and belong.

By combining professional expertise with strong local relationships, we help people stay well, feel supported and access the right care at the right time. Expert healthcare, close to home, trusted by our communities.

Different ideas, experiences and backgrounds make us stronger and more creative and applications from all walks of life are welcomed. Our processes ensure that all applicants are treated fairly at every stage of the recruitment process.

East of England Community Health and Care NHS Trust is committed to creating a modern and inclusive work environment. We actively promote flexible working opportunities where possible to meet the needs and wishes of our workforce and maintain and improve their wellbeing. We also offer flexible working patterns and we would encourage you to discuss this with the recruiting manager before or during the application process if this would interest you.

We welcome applications from people who share our values and can help us deliver outstanding care in our local community.

Before applying for this vacancy, please make sure you’re familiar with ongoing GOV.uk sponsorship eligibility criteria which will impact the organisations ability to provide sponsorship, whether this is currently or in the future.

Please note, our selection processes are in place to ensure we recruit candidates with the right values and skills. Please be advised that the use of AI in applications is monitored. We remain watchful of candidates who misuse these tools to generate an application that doesn’t accurately reflect their skills.

Please note all new starters will be subject to a 6 month probationary period.

Job overview

Are you a Specialist Orthoptist, or ready to make that move?

Want to be part of a service which provides treatment in both an acute and community setting?

Keen to work within a team where you can share your skills and experience?

Then please read on and then apply.

We are looking for an experienced orthoptist to join our team, we will consider applications from recently graduated Orthoptists . This is an opportunity to work alongside staff in our community-based team of 15 Orthoptists, Orthoptic Support Workers and an Orthoptic Apprentice working on a varied and challenging caseload across the Community and Hospital sites.

You will have:

A degree in Orthoptics or equivalent

HCPC registration

Membership of BIOS

Experience of all aspects of orthoptics in both acute or community is desirable

Ability to resolve both clinical and non-clinical queries

Communication skills to pass on your knowledge to the team

A desire to go beyond expectations

We offer:

Opportunities for flexible working.

We offer specialist clinical roles such as special needs assessment, stroke ward assessment, stroke outpatient clinics, Goldmann assessment, Vision Therapy and clinical teaching.

Acute clinic with Ophthalmologist (adults and paediatrics patients)

Great benefits and inhouse staff services

Working with a Trust rated outstanding by the CQC

Main duties of the job

You will be based in the community at Liverpool Road Health Centre in Luton, or Kempston Health Centre, Bedford with a requirement to travel frequently to hospital and community clinics throughout Bedfordshire.

Our team covers community clinics across the county, including paediatric orthoptic and child development centre clinics.

We also provide orthoptic clinics at both Hospitals, the Luton and Dunstable Hospital and Moorfields at Bedford Hospital . At the Luton and Dunstable and Moorfields eye clinics our team provides orthoptic support for hospital paediatric and adult motility clinics with consultants in paediatric ophthalmology and strabismus.

The department participates in NIHR registered Moorfields research studies.

We also provide specialist in and out-patient Stroke services at the Luton and Dunstable hospital as part of the multidisciplinary stroke team.

Orthoptists wishing to become a clinical tutor or to study postgraduate orthoptic modules at Sheffield and Liverpool University including the medicine exemptions course will be supported. The orthoptic department is also committed to teaching undergraduate orthoptic students.

You will need to work in some of our clinics single-handed so the role is most suited to an experienced orthoptist. You must have a degree or diploma in orthoptics, be registered with the HCPC and be a member of the British and Irish Orthoptic Society.

Working for our organisation

Rated ‘Outstanding’ by the Care Quality Commission, we are proud to provide high quality innovative services across most of the east of England that enable people to receive care closer to home and live healthier lives.

There’s one reason why our services are outstanding – and that’s our amazing staff who, for the seventh year running, rated us incredibly highly in the national staff survey.

If you share our passion for innovative and high-quality care delivery, then please submit your application and join us on our exciting journey as a leading-edge specialist community provider. All are welcome to apply and our promise to you is a culture which prioritises staff engagement and development.

Please be aware that East of England Community Health and Care NHS Trust will never ask applicants to pay fees at any stage of the recruitment process, including job applications, sponsorship arrangements, or employment offers. All recruitment communications and job applications should only be made through our official careers website and published contact details.

We encourage you to report the matter to our Local Counter Fraud Specialist (LCFS) as soon as possible.

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

Job Purpose:

To assist in the delivery of the Orthoptic Service, providing a high standard of care, undertaking a range of professional duties and working in a variety of areas in both acute and community settings across Bedfordshire, maintaining clinical and professional quality standards at all times.

To assess, diagnose, treat and manage adult and children patients referred to the Orthoptic service.

To take sole responsibility to determine the clinical diagnosis and formulate relevant treatment plans in conjunction with ophthalmologists and other health care professionals.

To take responsibility for one or more clinical bases, liaising with administrative and optometric staff as required.

Main Duties and Responsibilities

To be professionally responsible and accountable for the management of Orthoptic patients in Bedfordshire as an autonomous practitioner.

To assess, diagnose, treat and manage (including discharge when clinically appropriate) the patients referred to the Community Eye Service. These include Paediatric visual disorders (squint, amblyopia, and reduced visual responses), ocular motility disorders, other ophthalmic conditions and congenital developmental abnormalities.

To formulate specialist individualised management and treatment plans using advanced clinical reasoning and a wide range of treatment skills.

To assess patients pre- and post-operatively and discuss surgery options with the Consultant Ophthalmologist. To identify the opportune timing of surgery and discuss post-operative risks with the patients, carers, and surgeon. The degree of surgery will be based on the Orthoptic measurements. To assist the surgeon in postoperative adjustable suture techniques. This requires accurate measurement to assist the surgeon with ocular alignment while the patient is under local anesthetic.

To diagnose and treat children with special needs in community and multidisciplinary clinics. The caseload will include children with complex neurological disorders, high level medical needs, autistic spectrum disorders and sensory impairment. Close liaison with other members of multidisciplinary team/early years contributes to the management of the ‘whole’ child. When patients are wheelchair-bound and with young children it is necessary to adapt tests, be mobile and work at awkward angles at times.

To take responsibility for advising patients, relatives, and carers of the prognosis regarding their eye condition, including visual outcomes, squint surgery and any possible complications. Informing relevant clinicians and members of the multidisciplinary team where needed. Patients may have very complex medical problems requiring a high level of neurological and medical understanding to manage the case effectively prioritising ophthalmic care as required.

To support, advise and train the School Screening Team providing the 4-5 year school vision screening service.

To promote the need for early intervention and treatment of childhood eye problems.

To offer advice and support in the clinic and over the telephone, and deal with queries from patients, carers and other health professionals.

Assess, diagnose and manage children presenting with visually related reading difficulties seeking advice from the Orthoptic Team Leader where necessary.

Undertake specialised assessment of patients admitted to the Stroke ward. Determine the presence of any ophthalmological conditions and manage as required, liaising ...

… (continued unchanged text as in original)

To provide support for the Orthoptist Team Leaders and:
a. Act as a deputy in her absence
b. Assist in the monitoring and maintenance, development and implementation of professional and organisational quality standards

Planning

To prioritise and organise own clinical caseload.

… (remaining text continues unchanged)Key Relationships:

Orthoptists and Ophthalmologists across Bedfordshire in all clinical settings

… (remaining list paragraphs)

Budgetary Responsibilities

To be responsible for the care of clinical equipment, to report any faults and ensure adequate stock levels are maintained.

… (remaining paragraphs)

Please check the attached JD & PS for more details.

Person specification

Qualifications & Training

• Degree/Diploma in Orthoptics
• HCPC registration

Experience

• Working Single handed in clinic dealing with complex situations of a clinical and non-clinical nature
• Ability to teach and demostrate clinical orthoptics
• Previous experience in all aspects of orthoptics (adults/paeds/Ad Mot/acute and comm)
• Knowledge of Visual Fields assessment and interpretation

Skills & Knowledge

• S1/other electronic patient records
• Good oral communication skills based on fluency in the English language
• Evidence of a good standard of continued professional development.

Safeguarding

• Demonstrates understanding of safeguarding issues

Equal Opportunities - We are an equal opportunities employer and welcome all applications irrespective of age, disability, gender, sexual orientation, race or religion. Additionally, people with disabilities that fall under the Disability Confident Scheme will be offered an interview providing they meet the minimum criteria for the post (outlined in the Person Specification). All sites are Smoke Free.

Immigration Status – East of England Community Health and Care NHS Trust is a diverse employer and welcomes all job applications. However, potential applicants should note that although the Trust is registered with the Home Office as a sponsor organisation for migrant workers, sponsorship can only be offered against eligible roles. If you are an applicant from outside the UK and do not already hold a self-gained right to work, we recommend you check the Home Office eligibility requirements before making an application. Please note: Although we are a registered sponsor organisation, we are unable to offer sponsorship for some job roles, and this will be identified through filtering questions at the start of any job application on the Trac recruitment system.

Our safe recruitment pre-employment checks are undertaken before an appointment is confirmed and may include a DBS check. Where the role requires you to drive, we’ll ask you to validate your driving licence online via the DVLA.

Redeployment - Please note that in the first instance priority for this vacancy will be given to staff who are on the Trusts Redeployment Register.

Closing and Interview Dates - This vacancy may close early if sufficient applicants are received.

Data Protection - A privacy notice detailing how we will handle your data is attached to this advert as a document. Your application will be transferred to our recruitment management system (Trac) once the advert has closed and you will receive notification then detailing how Trac will handle your data.

ALL CORRESPONDENCE will be via the e‑mail address on your application form. If you have not been invited to interview within 2 weeks of the closing date, you unfortunately haven’t been successful on this occasion, but keep an eye on our vacancies as a job that’s just right for you may appear!

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.

Name Angela Coleman, Aisha Raja and Selina Glaze Job title Orthoptic Team Leader Email address [emailprotected] Telephone number 0300 555 0606 Additional information If this sounds like the role for you and you would like to arrange an informal visit or find out more information please contact Aisha Raja, Selina Glaze or Angela Coleman on 0300 555 0606 or email [emailprotected]