Ophthalmic Healthcare Science Advanced Practitioner, Band 7

Job description

Job responsibilities

1. Clinical Responsibilities/Key Responsibilities

The post holder needs to have a high-level understanding of ophthalmic imaging healthcare science activities by having worked as an NHS Ophthalmic Imager for an extensive period of time. They also require management knowledge acquired through training to masters degree or equivalent level of knowledge.

They need to undertake, screen and interpret highly specialist diagnostic tests, including specialist equipment testing, with interpretation of results, providing advice to patients, and clinical and scientific advice to ophthalmologists and other allied health practitioners.

They need to be able to analyse & interpret the results of imaging; making judgements on a range of complex clinical, non-clinical issues relating to the patients; investigating and resolving complex quality issues.

2. Professional Development, Education and Training

- To manage the specialist aspects of the academic content and teaching of the Test and Training Set for Quality Assurance of Graders in the English Screening Programme

- To contribute to the skills assessment process for participants on the Test and Training Quality Assurance Tool and provide feedback to participants relating to any queries that they might have.

- To ensure that there is a high-quality grader experience and that a culture of continuous improvement is embedded, including management of a small team of staff to support this role.

- To prepare Test sets for the Test and Training Quality Assurance Tool in liaison with the Grading College and responsibility for oversight of the database aspects of the tool in liaison with the software supplier.

- To be responsive to participant feedback, and ensure that feedback to students on changes and improvements to the Test and Training and programmes is timely and effective.

- To provide specialist support for any new courses being developed by the Gloucestershire Retinal Education Group

- To provide specialist support for the Health Screeners Diploma if required

3. Management and Leadership

There will be a need to work autonomously, managing a small team and the specialist aspects of the Test and Training set with specific responsibility for participants on the Test and Training Quality Assurance tool.The post holder will need to be a good team player but able to take initiative. Able to develop intelligent and innovative initiatives to support the progression of the Test and Training system and its participants. The postholder may hold a delegated budget for this area of work, including authorising invoices for supplies & equipment.

The role also involvesproviding specialist support for the redevelopment and the retendering for the contract for the monthly Test and Training set used by the English NHS Diabetic Eye Screening Programme as a quality assurance tool for their graders.

This will also involve clinical/professional supervision of junior staff, training less experienced staff and providing specialist training to other experienced members of the diabetic eye screening, ophthalmic imaging, and research teams.

4. Research and Development

They will be involved in undertaking grading R&D activities for clinical trials.

5. Communications and Working Relationships

The post holder needs to have the abilities to teach the subject of retinal image grading to a highly specialised level provide feedback and support to participants on the Test and Training system.

In any clinical work they need to communicate about the various tests and other technical information to patients who may have sensory, physical or learning disabilities, relatives & carers; They also need to exchange specialist often complex information with colleagues from own and other disciplines.

In their managerial role they will need to communicate with senior members in NHS England, programme managers and graders with respect to the re-procurement of the Test and Training set and the on-going quality assurance of graders in the English NHS Diabetic Eye Screening Programme.

Contact Details

Prof Peter Scanlon (Professor of Ophthalmology)

p.scanlon@nhs.net

0300 422 2851

My PA Liyan on 0300 422 2851 can arrange contact with Prof Scanlon

Person Specification

Qualifications, Knowledge and Experience

Essential

• Trained to Masters level or equivalent level of experience
• The post holder needs to have a high-level understanding of ophthalmic imaging healthcare science activities by having worked in the NHS for an extensive period of time with extensive experience as an NHS Ophthalmic Imager.
• The post holder needs to have previous experience of teaching and developing learning material
• They need to be able to undertake highly specialist diagnostic tests in imaging
• They need to be able to analyse & interpret the results of the imaging

Desirable

• Postgraduate qualification in teaching leading to Membership of the Higher Education Academy

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.

Employer details

Employer name

Gloucestershire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust

Address

Gloucestershire Royal Hospital (The Orchard Centre)

Great Western Road

Gloucester

GL1 3NN

Employer's website

https://www.gloshospitals.nhs.uk/ (Opens in a new tab)