Job summary
Come and join our friendly team of 10 Ophthalmologists, 2 Orthoptists and an Optometrist providing fully comprehensive ophthalmic services to the residents of the Isle of Wight.
The Isle of Wight may seem a distant island but lying only four miles from the southern coast of England and with excellent transport links to the mainland it is merely a hop away with the shortest crossing taking only 10 minutes.
The island, as it is known by its residents, was designated as an area of outstanding natural beauty in 1963 and more recently as a UNESCO Biosphere in 2019. With more sunshine hours than anywhere in the UK and bordered with 57 miles of stunning coastline including over 25 beaches the island is a playground for water sports enthusiasts, sailors and beach lovers. Aside from the coast there are over 500 miles of footpaths taking you through stunning countryside. There are also over 50 attractions all within easy reach along with many festivals and carnivals throughout the year and a plethora of restaurants and eateries.
Although small, our orthoptic department is busy covering paediatric and adult strabismus cases. There is a wide diversity of squints and many interesting and complex cases. We fully support individual development plans and provide the protected time and finance to grow and advance. We will also provide a generous relocation allowance to help finance your move.
Main duties of the job
As an autonomous practitioner you will plan, implement and monitor individual orthoptic treatment plans/care pathways for patients of all ages using advanced clinical reasoning and evidence-based practice.
You will have an extended role which can be chosen and tailored to the your areas of special interest.
You will also provide specialist training and education to pre-reg optometrists, junior doctors, health care assistants, health visitors and school nurses.
We are passionate about providing excellent CARE, which is why our values are Compassion, Accountable, Respect and Everyone counts. Our mission is to make sure that our community is at the heart of everything we do and that we hold our values across all our services.
We are committed to endorsing inclusion, diversity and multiculturalism throughout out services and as such, our procedures and policies ensure that applicants are always treated fairly throughout the recruitment process.
About us
The Isle of Wight NHS Trust is an integrated acute and ambulance health care provider. We serve a population of approximately 150,000 residents, making the services we offer variable and personalised with a flexible approach to our service users.
Working for our Trust brings a variety of benefits, including an onsite day nursery, cycle-to-work scheme and discounts at local businesses and gyms. We offer many flexible working opportunities, speak to us about how we might be able to accommodate a flexible working arrangement for you and if it works for the service, we will do our best to make it work for you.
As a part of #TeamIOWNHS you should share our passion and drive to ensure that our patients receive quality and compassionate care. Our 2025 strategy sets out to ensure that we continue to be a provider of excellent and compassionate care. As part of this strategy, we are proactively taking steps to ensure that we recruit and retain the highest quality of talent.
Job description
Job responsibilities
Attached you will find the job description and person specification document which provides more detail about the essential and desirable skills and experience needed for this role. We highly recommend you review this document and use it when completing your application as these criteria are used by hiring managers as guidance during shortlisting.
For an overview of the main duties of the role please see the 'Job Description and Main Responsibilities' section below. To understand the day-to-day responsibilities in more detail please read the full job description document attached.
Job description
Job responsibilities
Attached you will find the job description and person specification document which provides more detail about the essential and desirable skills and experience needed for this role. We highly recommend you review this document and use it when completing your application as these criteria are used by hiring managers as guidance during shortlisting.
For an overview of the main duties of the role please see the 'Job Description and Main Responsibilities' section below. To understand the day-to-day responsibilities in more detail please read the full job description document attached.
Person Specification
Qualifications
Essential
- Diploma or undergraduate degree in orthoptics. Evidence of continuing professional development.
- Extensive clinical experience. Experience testing and analysing visual fields.
- HCPC registration.
Desirable
- Masters qualification or specialist postgraduate training.
- Leadership qualification.
- Publications/presentations experience.
Skills and Aptitudes
Essential
- Dexterity and accuracy to perform slit-lamp skills examination, fundoscopy and gonioscopy. Move freely to allow constant bending, kneeling, and lifting. Ability to instil eye drops.
- Ability to operate the full range of orthoptic equipment within the service. Ability to train others on the above orthoptic equipment.
- Good therapeutic skills including empathy, active listening and understanding of therapeutic boundaries.
- Ability to prioritise clinical workload and respond calmly and logically to unpredictable clinical events.
- Problem solving and leadership skills and computer literate.
Desirable
- Ability to gain the confidence of children, families, and adults.
- Ability to adapt to changing needs of service.
- Supportive of the development of other members of staff.
- Excellent time management. Enthusiastic and hard working.
Experience
Essential
- Extensive clinical experience.
- Evidence of continuing professional development.
- Experience testing and analysing visual fields.
Desirable
- Experience in service improvement.
- Research experience. Publications/presentations experience.
- Experience working single-handed.
- Teaching qualification or experience
Person Specification
Qualifications
Essential
- Diploma or undergraduate degree in orthoptics. Evidence of continuing professional development.
- Extensive clinical experience. Experience testing and analysing visual fields.
- HCPC registration.
Desirable
- Masters qualification or specialist postgraduate training.
- Leadership qualification.
- Publications/presentations experience.
Skills and Aptitudes
Essential
- Dexterity and accuracy to perform slit-lamp skills examination, fundoscopy and gonioscopy. Move freely to allow constant bending, kneeling, and lifting. Ability to instil eye drops.
- Ability to operate the full range of orthoptic equipment within the service. Ability to train others on the above orthoptic equipment.
- Good therapeutic skills including empathy, active listening and understanding of therapeutic boundaries.
- Ability to prioritise clinical workload and respond calmly and logically to unpredictable clinical events.
- Problem solving and leadership skills and computer literate.
Desirable
- Ability to gain the confidence of children, families, and adults.
- Ability to adapt to changing needs of service.
- Supportive of the development of other members of staff.
- Excellent time management. Enthusiastic and hard working.
Experience
Essential
- Extensive clinical experience.
- Evidence of continuing professional development.
- Experience testing and analysing visual fields.
Desirable
- Experience in service improvement.
- Research experience. Publications/presentations experience.
- Experience working single-handed.
- Teaching qualification or experience
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.
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).
Additional information
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.
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).
