Critical Care Technologist

Job description

Job responsibilities

The successful applicant will be involved in a broad range of Technical / Clinical activities including:

Clinical Practice:

Support the technical environment for critically ill patients.

Provide clinical/technical support to nursing staff and doctors.

Prioritise own workload depending on the urgency of the situation.

Support emergency procedures Resuscitation, chest opening, difficult airway management and vascular access.

To take and process cerebral spinal fluid from external ventricular drainage systems.

Provide advanced airway support as a member of the Trauma team.

Assist medical staff in the following procedures:

Intracranial pressure monitoring/external ventricular drainage systems

Pulmonary artery catheterisation

Lumbar puncture

Chest drain insertion

Ultrasound (NICE Guidelines)

Set up, connect to patient and monitor renal replacement therapy, for adults and children within the critical care environment.

Provide plasmapheresis therapy.

Insertion of arterial/venous cannula in adult patients as directed by duty consultant and as per policy.

Performs bronchoscopy procedures on Adult ICU to support anaesthetists with percutaneous tracheostomy procedures as per policy.

Equipment:

Ensure all technical equipment is used for its intended purpose. Set up and monitored in line with manufacturers instructions.

Provide advice and support to the clinical staff in the use and troubleshooting of such equipment. Repair, recalibrate or replace as necessary.Advise on the suitability of equipment for specific uses.

Participate in the selection process and implementation of new equipment/technology into clinical use, liaising with the multidisciplinary team.

Responsible for the set-up and monitoring of specialist items of equipment. i.e. Cerebral function & cardiac output monitors, bronchoscopy equipment, nitric oxide and anaesthetic delivery systems. Responsible for the stock levels and availability of specialist gases.

Responsible for setting up and calibration of oscillator ventilation.

Set up intracranial pressure monitoring and 24hr trace recording systems.Assist in application of halo/jacket appliances.To be competent in the use of the pathology computer system, to obtain daily results as required.

Troubleshooting complex life support equipment, analysing electronic records produced by such equipment and recommending a course of action to resolve problem.

Liaise with service engineers when equipment is due for servicing/faulty. Providing specific detailed information if a fault has occurred.

Analyse post fault reports and interpret results with a view to amend specific education plan for that piece of equipment.

The team are an integral part of the Paediatric, General, Neuro and Cardiac intensive care units and are specialist in transferring critically ill patients who require inter / intra hospital transport.

The Technologists are part of the multidisciplinary Trauma team who are ready to deliver lifesaving care to any patient requiring the services of the regions major trauma unit. We are also a member of the hospitals Paediatric cardiac arrest team.

Southamptons PICU is linked to the Southampton Oxford Retrieval Service (SORT) who retrieves critically ill children from 27 District General Hospitals in the South of England. The Technologist team are an integral part of SORT and our duties include: blue light ambulance driving and helicopter or fixed wing flight retrievals to Jersey, Guernsey and the Isle of Wight.Southampton Oxford Retrieval Team (SORT)

What were looking for:

An enthusiastic and forward thinking individual eager to develop their skill set.

The service we provide is 24 hours a day 7 days a week and the applicant must be prepared to work 12.5 hour shifts.

The successful applicant must have a full (manual) UK driving licence with a maximum of 3 penalty points.

An informal visit is recommended.

Person Specification

Qualifications

Essential

• Must have one of the following: MSc Critical Care Science. CGLI 752 or NVQ level 3 DipHe Operating Department Practice. BSc Clinical Physiology (speciality Critical Care). NMC Qualification. Other relevant Healthcare Science/Physiological Measurement at BSc level or equivalent
• Applicants must hold a full UK driving licence with no more than 3 penalty points
• Professional or voluntary registration with HCPC, SCCT or NMC.

Desirable

• Diploma or higher level in related critical care/operating department practice appropriate scientific field of study related to professional background.
• Critical Care Course if applying from a Nursing background.
• ALS / APLS / EPLS or ILS certificate

Experience

Essential

• Experience in Critical Care environment
• Continuous professional development
• Experience of teaching and developing staff
• Understanding of responsibility for professional accountability

Desirable

• Broad range of post qualification experience
• Expanded role skills to include cannulation and venesection

Skills

Essential

• Able to work independently using own initiative
• Computer literate with a working knowledge of word, excel and access
• Communicates effectively in both spoken and written English
• Ability to work within a multidisciplinary team
• Able to use initiative, solve problems and prioritise
• Able to work in a changing environment actively and promote planned change

Desirable

• Advanced IT skills
• Proven ability to undertake and follow through with special projects

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.

Certificate of Sponsorship

Applications from job seekers who require current Skilled worker sponsorship to work in the UK are welcome and will be considered alongside all other applications. For further information visit the UK Visas and Immigration website (Opens in a new tab).

From 6 April 2017, skilled worker applicants, applying for entry clearance into the UK, have had to present a criminal record certificate from each country they have resided continuously or cumulatively for 12 months or more in the past 10 years. Adult dependants (over 18 years old) are also subject to this requirement. Guidance can be found here Criminal records checks for overseas applicants (Opens in a new tab).

UK Registration

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

Employer details

Employer name

University Hospital Southampton NHS Trust

Address

Southampton General Hospital

Tremona Road

Southampton

SO14 2AA

Employer's website

https://www.uhs.nhs.uk/home.aspx (Opens in a new tab)