Specialist Orthoptist

Job summary

Are you a Specialist Orthoptist, or ready to make that move?

Want to be part of a service which provided treatment in both an acute and community setting?

Keen to work within a team where you can share your skills and experience?

Then please read on and then apply.

We are looking for an experienced orthoptist to join our team. This is an opportunity to work alongside staff in our community-based team of 13 Orthoptists and six Orthoptic Support Workers working on a varied and challenging caseload across the Community and Hospital sites.

You will have:

A degree in Orthoptics or equivalent

HCPC registration

Membership of BIOS

Experience of all aspects of orthoptics in both acute or community is desirable

Ability to resolve both clinical and non-clinical queries

Communication skills to pass on your knowledge to the team

A desire to go beyond expectations

We offer:

Opportunities for flexible working

We offer extended clinical roles such as special needs assessment in special schools and clinics; stroke ward assessment, stroke outpatient clinics

Acute clinic with Ophthalmologist (adults and paediatrics patients)

Great benefits and inhouse staff services

Working with a Trust rated outstanding by the CQC

Being part of an innovative service looking to enhance the patient experience

Sound interesting? Then please read the full job description, apply, and we look forward to you joining us

Main duties of the job

Our team covers community clinics across the county, including paediatric orthoptic, special school, child development.

We also provide orthoptic clinics at both Hospitals, the Luton and Dunstable Hospital and Moorfields at Bedford Hospital and Goldmann perimetry clinics. At the Luton and Dunstable and Moorfields eye clinics our team provides orthoptic support for hospital paediatric and adult motility clinics with consultants in paediatric ophthalmology and strabismus.

The department participates in NIHR registered Moorfields research studies. We also provide specialist in and out-patient Stroke services at the Luton and Dunstable hospital as part of the multidisciplinary stroke team.

Orthoptists wishing to become a clinical tutor or to study postgraduate orthoptic modules at Sheffield and Liverpool University including the medicine exemptions course will be supported. The orthoptic department is also committed to teaching undergraduate orthoptic students.

You will need to work in some of our clinics single-handed so the role is most suited to an experienced orthoptist. You must have a degree or diploma in orthoptics, be registered with the HCPC and be a member of the British and Irish Orthoptic Society.

About us

Rated 'Outstanding' by the Care Quality Commission, we are proud to provide high quality innovative services across most of the east of England that enable people to receive care closer to home and live healthier lives.

There's one reason why our services are outstanding - and that's our amazing staff who, for the seventh year running, rated us incredibly highly in the national staff survey.

If you share our passion for innovative and high-quality care delivery, then please submit your application and join us on our exciting journey as a leading-edge specialist community provider. All are welcome to apply and our promise to you is a culture which prioritises staff engagement and development.

Job description

Job responsibilities

You will be based in the community at Liverpool Road Health Centre in Luton, or Kempston Health Centre, Bedford with a requirement to travel frequently to hospital and community clinics throughout Bedfordshire.

Main Duties and Responsibilities

1. To be professionally responsible and accountable for the management of Orthoptic patients inBedfordshire as an autonomous To assess, diagnose, treat and manage (including discharge when clinically appropriate) thepatients referred to the Community Eye Service. These include Paediatric visual disorders(squint, amblyopia, and reduced visual responses), ocular motility disorders, other ophthalmicconditions and congenital developmental To formulate specialist individualised management and treatment plans using advanced clinicalreasoning and a wide range of treatment To assess patients pre- and post-operatively and discuss surgery options with the ConsultantOphthalmologist. To identify the opportune timing of surgery and discuss post-operative riskswith the patients, carers, and surgeon. The degree of surgery will be based on the Orthopticmeasurements. To assist the surgeon in postoperative adjustable suture techniques. Thisrequires accurate measurement to assist the surgeon with ocular alignment while the patient isunder local To diagnose and treat children with special needs in community and multidisciplinary clinicsand special schools. The caseload will include children with complex neurological disorders,high level medical needs, autistic spectrum disorders and sensory impairment. Close liaisonwith other members of multidisciplinary team/early years contributes to the management of thewhole child. When patients are wheelchair-bound and with young children it is necessary toadapt tests, be mobile and work at awkward angles at To take responsibility for advising patients, relatives, and carers of the prognosis regardingtheir eye condition, including visual outcomes, squint surgery and any possible complications.Informing relevant clinicians and members of the multidisciplinary team where needed.Patients may have very complex medical problems requiring a high level of neurological andmedical understanding to manage the case effectively prioritising ophthalmic care as To support/advise the Orthoptic Support Workers (OSW) providing the 4-5 year school visionscreening To promote the need for early intervention and treatment of childhood eye To offer advice and support in the clinic and over the telephone, and deal with queries frompatients, carers and other health Assess, diagnose and manage children presenting with visually related reading difficultiesseeking advice from the Orthoptic Team Leader where Undertake specialised assessment of patients admitted to the Stroke ward. Determine thepresence of any ophthalmological conditions and manage as required, liaising with ward staffand Ophthalmologists as appropriate. Organise patient referral and follow up as needed.Provide the patient and other health professionals with information to maximise rehabilitationpotential and adapt to visual To contribute to Education Health and Care Plan (EHCP) for patients with Special Educationalneeds when To triage new referrals prioritising their To direct referrals appropriately to the Consultant Ophthalmologist, Specialist Optometrist orthe Orthoptist Team To analyse, diagnose, and formulate treatment plans for patients with complex ocularmovement disorders referred by Consultant Ophthalmologists and Acute referrals at Moorfieldsat Bedford and Luton and Dunstable Hospital To analyse patients referred from other medical specialists, to make an Orthoptic diagnosisand contribute to the multidisciplinary care To assess and interpret visual fields using Goldmann Field Perimeter using knowledge of thevisual pathway and to forward the results to the appropriate medical and surgical teams ,Neurology teams at local acute trusts, tertiary centres and To maintain and check current and discharged clinical records on To work independently in busy community children's clinics within professional guidelines andOrthoptic competencies, referring selected patients for ophthalmic/optometric To provide support for the Orthoptist Team Leaders and:21. Act as a deputy in her absence22 Assist in the monitoring and maintenance, development and implementation of professionaland organisational quality standards

Planning1. To prioritise and organise own clinical To be responsible for booking patient appointments and related administration at singlehanded peripheral community paediatric Orthoptic clinics on SystmOne, (S1) and ensuringcompliance with 18 week criteria for initial To organise additional sessions as required and take responsibility for the quality of the servicein peripheral clinics in To plan and organise joint Ophthalmic and Orthoptic community clinics across To formulate joint ophthalmic/orthoptic treatment plans for complex cases with the SpecialistOptometrist /Consultant Ophthalmic Surgeon giving an informed professional opinion.

Policy development:1. To contribute to the improvement of the service and development of agreed policies andguidelines.

Information Resources:1. To collate statistics and submit in a timely To have a good standard of computer skills and adhere to the Trust IT To maintain accurate contemporaneous patient records in line with the Records Keeping Policy4. To respond to requests for data and information following Trust procedures.

Communication1. To communicate condition-related information, including the diagnosis and its implications topatients, relatives and carers, especially where this may have a major impact a child ispartially sighted or blind. This may require explanation of clinical information to those whohave difficulty understanding learning difficulties, hearing problems, stroke, emotionalproblems, people with a high level of anxiety with sudden onset double vision and thosewho use English as a second To liaise with and provide detailed medical information to all members of the Community EyeService and other professions as necessary in order to establish a high quality co-ordinatedService, Education, other health care professionals, GPs and Eye Clinic Liaison Officer(ECLO).3. To gain informed consent and compliance for assessment and treatment by negotiation andencouragement for children and adults of all ages and To communicate effectively by transferring patient information and records (in accordance withlocal Information Governance processes) in a timely and organised manner when patientstransfer between North, South and Mid Bedfordshire clinics, into acute ophthalmic services atMoorfields at Bedford Hospital or Luton and Dunstable Hospital or child developmentmultidisciplinary centres.

Person Specification

Qualifications

Essential

Degree/Diploma in Orthoptics HCPC registration BIOS registration

Desirable

Clinical tutors course

Experience

Essential

Single handed clinics Ability to teach/demostrate clinical orthoptics Previous experience in all aspects of orthoptics (adults/paeds/Ad Mot/acute and comm)

Desirable

Knowledge of Visual fields

Skills

Essential

S1/other electronic pt records

Desirable

EHCP writing

Safeguarding

Essential

Demonstrates understanding of safeguarding issues

self awareness

Essential

oIn highly stressful situations keeps own feelings in check, takes constructive action and calms others down.

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