Specialist Orthoptist Colchester

Job summary

East Suffolk and North Essex Foundation Trust are recruiting an Orthoptist to join our friendly and dynamic team who deliver orthoptic services in and around Colchester and Ipswich on a fixed term basis. This role is predominantly based at Colchester hospital and outreach clinics within north Essex, though with cross site working in Ipswich as required. You will be supported by the team to deliver high quality orthoptic services and will include a varied orthoptic caseload.

The department delivers adult and paediatric services, in-patient and out-patient stroke services, specialist SEN clinics in special schools and is an accredited department for student placements.

As an AHP at ESNEFT you will join a network of supportive and forward thinking AHPs across the trust who will support you in your role and who champion the work and development of the AHP community.

The department is committed to providing opportunities for continuous professional development and is active in audit and research.

This role is Band 6 and so is most suited to an orthoptist with post qualification experience. However, we also welcome applications from newly qualified staff who would commence in post at Band 5 with the potential to progress to Band 6 following successful completion of preceptorship.

Fixed term role for 1 year

Internal applicants currently employed by ESNEFT will be offered on a secondment basis only

Main duties of the job

To conduct single-handed Orthoptic and work as part of a team in specialist multi-disciplinary paediatric clinics as required at the main base and in community settings.

To provide appropriate Orthoptic assessment and diagnosis for all patients referred to the department from other specialist clinics, as in-patients or out-patients

To formulate and implement an individualised treatment plan for paediatric and adult cases balancing medical evidence and patient circumstances, including amblyopia therapy, refractive treatments, orthoptic exercises, prismatic therapy and planning strabismus surgery.

About us

We are ESNEFT and we provide hospital and community health services to almost one million people across east Suffolk and north Essex. Our dedicated staff deliver care from acute hospitals in Colchester and Ipswich, community hospitals, surgeries, community clinics and in patients' own homes.

We are one of the largest NHS organisations in England, employing more than 12,000 staff.

We pride ourselves on supporting our staff. We offer a wide range of training and development opportunities, as well as flexible working options.

Along with supporting you to achieve your career goals we offer a generous pension scheme, unsocial hours payments (where applicable), 27 days annual leave on commencement (pro rata) and access to a range of NHS discounts. Our Staff Health and Wellbeing programme offer a variety of services.

Our philosophy is that Time Matters to everyone. Across the Trust, we concentrate on improving the things we do and removing those which cause time delays for our staff and patients.

We are investing in our commitment to Time Matters with a partnership with leading electronic patient record (EPR) supplier Epic. This digital transformation will bring what's widely regarded as the world's best EPR system to ESNEFT, transforming life in hospital for staff and patients.

If you are passionate about patient care and want to develop your skills and knowledge, then we want to hear from you.

Find out about living and working here - www.youtube.com/watch?v=GkPu7HphU8A

Job responsibilities

For full details of the responsibilities and duties of this role please see the attached job description.

Person Specification

Experience

Essential

• Post qualification experience of working single-handed and as part of the multi-disciplinary team.
• Successful completion of post graduate preceptorship
• Experience of managing a complex and varied caseload including patients of all ages and abilities
• Visual field experience
• Experience of participation in audit and research

Desirable

• Experience of clinical teaching to a range of professionals
• Ability to carry out complex visual field testing including Goldmans
• Experience of assessing in-patient stroke patients
• Vision screening experience
• Experience of assessing patients who have had surgery using adjustable sutures
• Experience of assisting in theatre

Qualifications

Essential

• Degree / Diploma in Orthoptics
• Registration with HCPC
• Further accredited qualifications and courses related to orthoptic and/or ophthalmic practice or working towards
• Evidence of ongoing CPD

Desirable

• BIOS membership
• BIOS Clinical Tutors course

Knowledge

Essential

• Maintain up to date knowledge of developments in orthoptics and deliver evidence based care
• Basic understanding of hospital electronic patient record system Epic with willingness to learn
• Competent IT skills including Microsoft applications

Desirable

• Experience of using Epic or a similar system
• Experience of using the departmental imaging and visual fields software

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.

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