Job summary
- Main area
- Orthoptic
- Grade
- NHS AfC: Band 5
- Contract
- Permanent
- Hours
- Full time - 37.5 hours per week
- Job ref
- 234-24-S0128
- Employer
- Norfolk and Norwich University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
- Employer type
- NHS
- Site
- Norfolk & Norwich University Hospital
- Town
- Norwich
- Salary
- £28,407 - £34,581 per annum
- Salary period
- Yearly
- Closing
- 06/05/2024 23:59
- Interview date
- 14/05/2024
Employer heading
Orthoptist
NHS AfC: Band 5
At NNUH it is our privilege to provide healthcare to over one million people across Norfolk and surrounding areas. Our vision is to ‘provide the best care for every patient’, and if this inspires you and you share our values, we really want you to join our team.
NNUH is currently the busiest Trauma Unit in the East of England caring for almost 850 trauma patients annually many with complex care needs. We are enhancing our urgent and emergency care specialist services for patients with significant injuries as a result of trauma and have an ambition to become a Major Trauma Centre.
Our values support our vision and guide the behaviour of everything we do, these are:
People-focused
We look after the needs of our patients, carers and colleagues, to provide a safe and caring experience for all.
Respect
We act with care, compassion and kindness and value others’ diverse needs.
Integrity
We take an honest, open and ethical approach to everything we do.
Dedication
We work as one team and support each other to maintain the highest professional standards.
Excellence
We continuously learn and improve to achieve the best outcomes for our patients and our hospital.
Wish you were here? So do we.
We want all our staff to achieve a balance between work and personal life and understand how important flexible working can be. We welcome applications on a full or part time basis, various shift patterns and hybrid working, where roles allow.
At the Norfolk and Norwich University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust (NNUH), we know the benefits diversity can bring to our organisation such as creativity, innovation and compassion. All of which have a direct impact towards our staff and patient experience. We are committed to being a Hospital for All – being equitable and inclusive, and a place where all feel a sense of belonging. We therefore particularly encourage and welcome applications from candidates who are underrepresented in NNUH’s workforce. These include people from Black, Asian, and Minority Ethnic backgrounds, people with diverse abilities and people within the LGBT+ community.
Job overview
We are looking for a full time Band 5 Orthoptist to work as part of our dynamic team of 5 orthoptists, thirteen consultant ophthalmologists and three optometrists. You will be involved in all aspects of the Orthoptic Service, which includes both Paediatric and Adult strabismus services, with opportunities to develop skills in extended roles within such areas as SEN, JIA and Stroke.
The department would be happy to support and mentor new graduates through the BIOS preceptorship programme, to enable progression to a band 6. The hospital is a busy district teaching hospital, with links to the Medical School and the University of East Anglia. Our department is also committed to the teaching and supervision of undergraduate orthoptic students. The department fully supports continued professional development and is active in audit and research.
Main duties of the job
You will be involved in all aspects of the Orthoptic Service, which includes Paediatric, Ocular Motility, Neurological, TED and Ocular Plastic clinics, and Goldmann visual field assessments.
To support the delivery of a high quality, safe and compassionate healthcare service, all staff are expected to act as a role model to others in all aspects of their work and consistently demonstrate NNUH’s ‘PRIDE’ values of People focused, Respect, Integrity, Dedication and Excellence and demonstrate behaviours that support and encourage an inclusive culture.
Some evenings and weekends may be required on an ad-hoc basis as and when required.
A degree or diploma in orthoptics and State registration with the HCPC is essential.
Working for our organisation
Join us at the Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital and be part of a workforce of over 10,000 staff!
The NNUH is one of the largest NHS trusts in the UK, providing first-class acute care for around one million people, living in Norfolk and surrounding areas. We are a teaching and research hospital, at the forefront of innovation, home to state-of-the-art facilities, such as the Quadram Institute. We are pleased to work closely with the University of East Anglia, providing teaching opportunities for our staff and placement opportunities for their students. We attract some of the best and leading professionals from across the country and are proud that our workforce represents 94 countries from across the world.
We are a friendly, collaborative hospital, working with local services and home to N&N Hospitals Charity
We can offer you the full range of NHS benefits/discounts and in addition:
- Flexible working hours
- Fast Track Staff Physiotherapy Service
- Multi Faith prayer room
- Discounted gym memberships
- Excellent pension scheme and annual leave entitlement
- Wagestream - access up to 40% of your pay as you earn it
- Free Park & Ride service direct to NNUH site
- Free 24-hours confidential counselling support
- On-site Nursery
- On-site cafes offering staff discounts
- Support in career development
- Flexible staff bank
- Salary Sacrifice schemes including lease cars, Cycle to Work scheme and home electronics
Detailed job description and main responsibilities
- To take sole responsibility for the Orthoptic assessment, diagnosis and treatment of patients referred from outside agencies and to manage, using individual treatment plans, visual loss and visual symptoms. This group of patients includes children with significant sight defects and requires a considerable degree of empathy and family support. In adults the diagnosis of acute onset ocular motility defects require a significantly high level of anatomical and neurological knowledge when there may be the need to make a differential diagnosis between clinical conditions.
- To formulate individualised management and treatment programmes using clinical reasoning, evidence based practice, and a wide range of treatment skills. Communicating effectively with patients, parents and carers those plans and to assess capacity and gain informed consent to those treatment plans.
- To take sole responsibility to formulate relevant discharge plans and onward referral. This patient group includes patients suffering from strabismus, amblyopia (reduced vision with no apparent pathological cause), complex congenital and acquired conditions including cranial nerve palsy (neurological and systemic in origin), ocular trauma and genetic ocular disorders and associated ocular abnormalities.
- To assess, diagnose and treat patients with special needs. This group of patients can often include assessment of non-seeing babies and specialist communication skills are needed in conveying this information to parents and guardians.
- To be responsible as an autonomous practitioner for the evaluation of visual acuity and visual behaviour in referrals from specialist services. This includes infants with strabismus (squint) and amblyopia, congenital or developmental abnormalities, genetic referral, adult illiterates, children and adults with significant learning difficulties as well as acute ocular motility defects in both children and adults.
- To assess eye movement disorders in patients from specialist clinics including Neurology, Maxillo-facial, Endocrinology and Accident and Emergency.
- Where clinical signs and symptoms do not always fall into particular categories or where information is limited or unavailable the Orthoptist will be expected to determine the diagnosis, prognosis and management.
- To be competent in the analysis of complex facts in order to reach an accurate diagnosis and to determine the most appropriate treatment modality from a range of treatment options, including patients requiring orthoptic, optical, pharmacological and surgical management and to have the ability to discuss the pros and cons of procedures and their potential outcomes and to develop specialised programmes of care.
- Perform Goldmann and Bjerrum visual fields and Driving fields and interpret results for medical personnel where appropriate. To act as an autonomous practitioner with the sole responsibility to assess visual fields requested out with the Ophthalmology department i.e. Neurology and Endocrinology.
- To provide highly developed hand eye co-ordination to facilitate a high level of accuracy with all Orthoptic and Orthoptically related Ophthalmic equipment.
Please see the attached job description for full details.
Person specification
Qualifications
Essential criteria
- Diploma of the British Orthoptic Council (DBO) or Health Sciences Degree (Orthoptics)
- State Registration with the Council for the Health Professions Council (HPC)
Experience
Essential criteria
- Experience of Orthoptics in an acute hospital environment.
Desirable criteria
- Previous experience of Goldmann Fields, and Visual Screening
Skills
Essential criteria
- Ability to maintain standards of patient care in a busy environment.
Attitude, aptitude
Essential criteria
- Effective role model, demonstrating NNUH’s PRIDE values of People focussed, Respect, Integrity, Dedication and Excellence
Employer certification / accreditation badges
Applicant requirements
You must have appropriate UK professional registration.
This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (Exceptions) Order 1975 (Amendment) (England and Wales) Order 2020 and it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service.
Documents to download
Further details / informal visits contact
- Name
- Fiona Grady
- Job title
- Head Orthoptist
- Email address
- [email protected]
- Telephone number
- 01603 288048
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