Specialist Orthoptist

East And North Hertfordshire Teaching Nhs Trust; Stevenage, Welwyn Garden City, Hertford, Northwood; On-site; GBP 28,000 - 36,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

High Cost Area Supplement

Job summary

East and North Hertfordshire Teaching NHS Trust is seeking a Specialist Orthoptist to provide autonomous orthoptic services, prioritise a clinical caseload and manage patients within the Orthoptic Department. Applicants including new graduates are welcome, with preceptorship and mentorship provided to support professional development.

The role supports a team of ophthalmology consultants across paediatric, medical retina, glaucoma, oculoplastic and vitreoretinal services, with opportunities to

Qualifications

• Orthoptic qualification recognised for State Registration (Diploma or Degree).
• State registration with the HCPC.
• Evidence of CPD

Responsibilities

• Provide comprehensive orthoptic services as an autonomous practitioner and prioritise own clinical caseload.
• Assess, diagnose and manage patients referred to the Orthoptic Department and liaise with appropriate professionals.
• Organise caseload efficiently regarding clinical priority and maintain clear and accurate patient records.
• Plan, implement and review treatments for a mixed caseload using evidence-based practice.

Skills

Orthoptic qualification

HCPC registration

CPD

Post-qualification experience

Working with children

Tools

IT skills

Job description

Job summary

We are recruiting for a Specialist Orthoptist who share our vision to be trusted to provide consistently outstanding care and exemplary service to our patients. We would encourage new graduates to apply for the post also. Should they be successful at interview the post would be offered as a Band 5 to Band 6 run through post. Preceptorship and mentorship would be provided to support this professional development. The Ophthalmology service is currently provided by 7 consultant ophthalmologists, specialising in the areas of Paediatric Ophthalmology, Medical retina, Glaucoma, Oculoplastic and Vitreoretinal surgery. The consultants are supported by a comprehensive team of associate specialists, including junior training posts which are part of the Cambridge deanery. The Trust is actively supporting the development of extended role working for Allied Health Professionals in line with the Royal College of Ophthalmology's Common Core Clinical Competencies Framework; the successful candidate would be instrumental in aiding the development of these roles within the orthoptic service. In addition, you will receive a High Cost Area Supplement of 5% of your basic salary, subject to a minimum payment of £1,258 and a maximum payment of £2,121 per annum pro rata. At the heart of everything we do are our core values: Include, Respect, and Improve. We encourage you to embrace these values throughout the recruitment process and in your role with us.

Main duties of the job

The successful candidate will provide comprehensive orthoptic services as an autonomous practitioner and to prioritise own clinical caseload. You will assess, diagnose and manage patients referred to the Orthoptic Department and to liaise with appropriate professionals. You will also organise your caseload efficiently and effectively regarding clinical priority and use of time, to maintain clear and accurate patient records. The post holder will also be responsible for the planning, implementing and reviewing of treatments for a mixed caseload, using advanced clinical knowledge and evidence-based practice.

About us

At East and North Hertfordshire Teaching NHS Trust, we are proud of the range of general and specialist services we provide and our 6,000 or so dedicated staff ensure our patients get the best care. Our ability to be flexible and innovative in the way in which we work and deliver our services to our catchment has never been more important than it is now.

We run the following hospitals:

• The Lister Hospital, Stevenage
• New Queen Elizabeth II (New QEII), Welwyn Garden City
• Hertford County, Hertford
• Mount Vernon Cancer Centre (MVCC), Northwood

We have ambitious plans to become an outstanding, patient-led Trust where dedicated staff provide high-quality, compassionate care to our patients. We continue to undergo significant transformation and our staff and patients are at the heart of delivering this ambitious agenda. We are committed to a positive work life balance for our employees. This means that any employee is entitled to seek to work flexible working patterns and we are committed to listen and consider all requests. Such requests, of course, have to be made and considered formally, and will need to be balanced against service needs, but our starting point will always be to find ways to support making them happen.

Job responsibilities

Please see the attached Job Description and Person Specification applicant pack for further detailed information regarding this role.

Qualifications / Training

Essential

• Orthoptic qualification recognised for State Registration (Diploma or Degree
• State registration with the HCPC
• Evidence of CPD

Desirable

• Recognised clinical teaching qualification

Previous Experience

Essential

• Able to demonstrate post qualification experience
• Experience of assessment of patients with special educational needs
• Clinical audit experience
• Post graduate experience at a Junior level (Band 5 Orthoptist)

Desirable

• Experience of clinical supervision of students
• Experience in working single-handed

Skills

Essential

• Ability to assess patients and develop a comprehensive care plan
• Well-developed interpersonal skills; ability to communicate with a wide range of staff, patients and the public
• Ability to maintain clear & accurate patient records
• Well developed skills in working with children
• Well-developed organisational and administrative skills
• Team working skills and being able to work independently

Desirable

• IT skills

Knowledge

Essential

• Evidence of extensive orthoptic knowledge
• Ability to work under pressure and self-motivated.
• Ability to assess, prioritise and manage time and resources

Desirable

• Awareness of own strengths and weaknesses

Other Requirements

Essential

• Experience and evidence of engagement around equality, diversity and inclusion issues in relation to policy, service development and service delivery in respect of both services to users and the management of staff
• Role model our Trust values every day

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.

UK Registration

Applicants must have current UK professional registration. For further information please see NHS Careers website (opens in a new window).