Specialist Orthoptist

An opportunity has arisen for an Orthoptist to join our friendly team on a fixed term contract, with a provisional start date of 24.07.23 for a 13 month period. Orthoptic services are provided at 3 sites within the Trust - Scunthorpe General Hospital, Diana, Princess of Wales Hospital, Grimsby and Goole & District Hospital. Cross-site working may be required and you will be part of a team of 8 Orthoptists and 8 Consultant Ophthalmologists.

Northern Lincolnshire is a diverse area, well served by road and rail links and within easy reach of international airports and a ferry port. Grimsby and Scunthorpe are thriving industrial towns with good shopping and leisure facilities. Picturesque countryside and villages surround the area and the beautiful East Yorkshire and Lincolnshire coastline are only a short drive away.

We are looking for an enthusiastic orthoptist with excellent communication skills, able to work well on their own initiative as well as part of a team. You will provide orthoptic care to a paediatric and adult caseload, liaising closely with ophthalmic, nursing and administrative colleagues. You will provide support to junior staff members as well as play an active role in the teaching and supervision of undergraduate orthoptic students.

We’re a large organisation with three hospitals located in Scunthorpe, Grimsby and Goole. We also provide community services in North Lincolnshire. Our 6,500 members of staff care for and support a population of more than 400,000 people.

We encourage all our staff to innovate and adopt ‘best practice’ so we can deliver excellent care to our patients. We ask staff to live our values; kindness, courage and respect.

We are committed to recruiting the best people to work with us. You could be one of them.

In line with the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), the Recruitment & Workforce team will use and hold your personal data for the intended purpose and in line with the Recruitment & Workforce Privacy Statement.

“We are committed to safeguarding the welfare of children/vulnerable adults and expect the same commitment from all staff and volunteers”.

Please be aware that all new employees starting work with us will be charged for the cost of their DBS check, if it is required for their role.
- To provide diagnosis, management and treatment of patients referred to the Orthoptic Department. To use specialist skills to diagnose and treat all conditions as necessary using advanced clinical reasoning and evidence based practice.
- To work as an autonomous practitioner being professionally and legally accountable and responsible for all aspects of own work.
- To carry out and prioritise own clinical workload, including patients with complex presentations.
- To effectively communicate complex clinical information and specialist advice in a clear manner to the patient/carer and other professionals to ensure an understanding of the condition and its treatment.
- To work as part of a multi-disciplinary team consisting of ophthalmologists, nurses, clinical nurse specialists, paediatricians, health care assistants and clerks.
- To undertake orthoptic-led clinics.
- To work at other sites with the trust as required.
- To undertake secondary vision screening of pre-school and school entry children in the hospital and community as required (referrals from primary care).
- To participate in the teaching and supervision of orthoptic undergraduate students and the teaching and demonstration of orthoptic tests to other healthcare professionals including medical students, junior doctors, optometrists, nurses, school nurses and health visitors as required.

We are committed to creating and maintaining a fair and supportive working environment and culture, where contributions are fully recognised and valued by all and staff feel empowered to carry out their duties to the best of their abilities. As employers we are committed to promoting and protecting the physical and mental health and well-being of all our staff. This underpins our values as set out in the NHS Constitution, supports us to be an Employer of Choice and ultimately enables our employees to support the effective care of our patients.