Paediatric Audiologist

Job description

Job responsibilities

Duties and Responsibilities

• To work closely with doctors and senior audiologists in clinics, performing a range of clinical tests and procedures for patients aged 0 to 18 years of age as appropriate.
• To prepare clinic rooms ready for testing including the necessary calibration checks of equipment.
• To maintain accurate and confidential patient records in line with department and Trust policies, this may involve inputting data from clinical test results.
• Responsible for keeping a check on stock levels in order to maintain sufficient supplies of Audiology materials.

Assist more senior Audiologists in the operational management and administration of the department.

• Be able to carry out routine audiometric assessment for children above the age of four years with no other medical problems.
• Assist with the more specialised tests, and with younger and more difficult to test children in clinics and in special schools.
• Assist in hearing aid clinics.
• Carry out urgent hearing aid repairs.

Main clinical responsibilities:

• Comprehensive pre-session preparation of the clinic.
• Equipment calibration and safety checks.

Maintain a high level of order and tidiness in the clinical area.

Otoscopy examination of ears and the ability to recognise and identify simple and common pathologies of the ear canal, ear drum and middle ear which may have contraindications to a course of action, test or treatment.

• General Audiometric tests, e.g. Pure Tone Audiometry and Impedance test.
• Specialised Audiometric tests e.g. Otoacoustic emissions.
• Behavioural audiometric tests of hearing for children e.g. Distraction testing, Performance testing, Visual Reinforcement Audiometry (VRA) and Speech Discrimination Tests.
• Hearing aid assessment, evaluation, verification and repair including, Impression taking, Hearing aid test box measurement, Ear mould modification, REM and RECD measurements, Hearing aid questionnaires.

Identify the need for and make further appointments for patients as required.

All procedures carried out should be in accordance to agreed policies and procedures written by BSA, MCHAS, NHSP, the trust and the department.

At all times strict hygiene procedures should be maintained when dealing with test equipment, hearing aid appliance, aural impression, or toys that have been in contact with patients.

Assist senior Audiologists in the operational management and administration of the department as appropriate.

Hearing aid postal repair duties to include checking, testing, fault finding and guarantee checking of faulty hearing aids and processing of ear moulds.

Carrying out regular stock takes.

• Receiving and registering new hearing aids for stock entry.
• Take telephone enquiries from patients, parents/carers, health and education professionals and give advice as appropriate.

Information and Data Responsibilities

• To maintain thorough data and record-keeping of patient sessions. Ensure appropriate archiving of data onto computer record systems.

• Maintain systems to monitor documentation including recording and storing all relevant information ensuring it is securely held and can be accessed easily.

Information Governance

Employees of the Trust must comply with the provisions of the Data Protection Act 1998. The postholder must not; either during the course of their employment, or following termination of their employment, disclose any information relating to service users or employees, or of the lawful business practices, of the organisation.

The postholder will be required, when and where appropriate to the role, to comply with the processing of requests under the Freedom of Information Act 2000

The postholder must comply with Trust policies that protect the information assets of the organisation from unauthorised disclosure, modification, destruction, inappropriate access or use and must pay due regard to the requirements of the NHS Confidentiality Code of Practice.

The postholder will be responsible for maintaining the clinical and or corporate records that fall within the remit of this role to the standards in Trust records management polices, and data quality processes and standards.

Health & Safety

Compliance with the Health & Safety at Work Act 1974 the postholder is required to fulfil a proactive role towards the management of risk in all of their actions. This entails the risk assessment of all situations, the taking of appropriate actions and reporting of all incidents, near misses and hazards, and a statutory duty of care for their own personal safety and that of others who may be affected by their acts or omissions.

Mental Capacity Act 2005

The Mental Capacity Act 2005 applies to all Trust staff. It is the responsibility of every person to ensure that they keep up to date with the Act and that the delivery of patient care/services are conducted in line with local and national policy and the MCA Code of Practice.

Safeguarding is Everyones Business

The Trust has a responsibility to ensure that all children / young people and adults are adequately safeguarded and protected. As a consequence, all Trust employees are required to adhere to national and local safeguarding policies / procedures and to act upon any concerns in accordance with them.

Infection Control

It is Trust policy to reduce the risk of Healthcare Associated Infection by having in place Infection Prevention and Control Policies. These policies must be adhered to by all staff to ensure patients are cared for in a clean environment and receive the highest standards of clinical care.

Smoke Free NHS

The NHS is Smoke - Free. Smoking is not permitted on any of our premises or the surrounding land including car parking facilities.

Training

The postholder must attend any training that is identified as mandatory to their role.

The range of duties and responsibilities outlined above are indicative only and are intended to give an overview of the range and type of duties that will be allocated. They are subject to modification in the light of changing service demands and the development requirements of the postholder.

Equality, Diversity & Human Rights

It is the responsibility of every person to act in ways to support equality and diversity and to respect human rights, working within the spirit and detail of legislation including the Equality Act 2010 and the Human Rights Act 1998. The Trust is an equal opportunities employer and aims to challenge discrimination, promote equality and respect human rights.

Person Specification

Qualifications

Essential

• BSc/MSc Audiology or equivalent e.g., BTEC in MPPM, BAAT Parts 1 and 2 and HNC MPPM
• Registered with ACHS or working towards

Skills & Attributes

Essential

• Basic computing skills including use of Patient Management Systems e.g. Auditbase
• Flexible approach to work with a positive attitude
• Good time management
• Good team player
• Good communication skills
• Reliable and punctual

Desirable

• British Sign language level one (BSL)

Job Specific Requirements

Essential

• Flexibility over location/ pattern of work
• Able to travel to peripheral clinics throughout Halton, St Helens & Knowsley and to travel across the wider Trust footprint to meet the needs of the service.

Experience

Essential

• Basic knowledge of audiological testing and assessments including hearing aid fitting and patient management

Desirable

• Basic knowledge of paediatric audiology tests
• Experience in NHSP

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

Bridgewater Community Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust

Address

The Bridges Learning Centre

Crow Wood Lane

Widnes

WA8 3LZ

Employer's website

http://bridgewater.nhs.uk/ (Opens in a new tab)