Specialist Optometrist

Job summary

Working Part Time : hours per week

Who Our Opportunity is for:

A Specialist Optometrist to work in the Optometry Department at the Countess of Chester Hospital. Optometrists with a special interest in Glaucoma

What this Opportunity means:

We are a small, friendly and supportive team working closely with the ophthalmologists and orthoptic department. The successful applicant will have the opportunity to use their knowledge and skills in face-to-face and virtual glaucoma clinics

Your Application:

You must have a UK professional registration with the General Optical Council as an Optometrist. You should have a higher qualification in Glaucoma, or be willing to work towards this. The successful applicant will require clearance from the Criminal Records Bureau. You offer of employment is subject to 2 satisfactory references, one must be your most recent employer and cover the last 3 years employment, with full contact details including a work email (personal emails are not accepted). You must disclose any previous convictions, cautions, reprimands or warnings on the application, unless these are protected under the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974

Main duties of the job

The job will involve supporting the Glaucoma Specialist Ophthalmologists in providing a glaucoma service to the patients of the Countess of Chester NHS Foundation Trust. The post has been created by the expansion of the Virtual Glaucoma Clinic and will involve a mixture of face-to-face and virtual clinic reviews. The successful applicant will also act as a lead for the optometrist-led glaucoma service. There will be a small clinical involvement in the core optometry service.

About us

The Countess of Chester Hospital NHS Foundation Trust provides services to West Cheshire and to Welsh patients covered by Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board. The Trust works collaboratively within the wider Cheshire and Merseyside Health and Care Partnership. Its services are provided from three locations:

The Countess of Chester Hospital: providing 438 general and acute beds Ellesmere Port Hospital: providing 56 beds as a rehabilitation, intermediate and outpatient facility Tarporley War Memorial Hospital: a base for community services which serve the local rural population.

The Trust employs over 6258 staff (headcount) which includes temporary bank staff and provides acute emergency and elective services, primary care direct access services and obstetric services to a population of approximately 407,000. This includes 357,000 residents in Chester and West Cheshire which includes Ellesmere Port and Neston as well as the Deeside area of Flintshire which has a population of approximately 50,000.

The Trust is a busy district general hospital and in 2022/2023, there were more than 503,342 patient attendances (inpatient, outpatient and diagnostic) ranging from a simple outpatient appointment to major cancer surgery. This is an increase of nearly 10,000 compared to the previous year when there were 494,387 patient attendances.

Job description

Job responsibilities

See Job Description for further details, but note that the only extended role on offer with this post is glaucoma.

Recruitment selection processes are based on competence (see Person specification) and values.

Please note applicants will be required to pay for their DBS check. Costs are deducted from salary following appointment. The cost of the DBS application is £23 (standard) or £43 (enhanced), this cost will be deducted from your salary over the first three months of employment.

You are encouraged to enrol for the DBS Update Service. A small annual fee of £13 per year applies.

New entrants to the NHS will commence on the minimum of the scale stated above.

Applicants are advised to apply early as if a large number of applications are received for this post, we reserve the right to close the vacancy prior to the advertised date.

Good luck with your application.

Person Specification

Qualifications

Essential

Registration with General Optical Council as an optometrist Further post-graduate optometry qualifications relating to highly specialist aspects of clinical optometry or a willingness to work towards these.

Desirable

Member of Association of Optometrists

Knowledge and Experience

Essential

Ability to competently undertake highly specialist advanced clinical extended roles with previous experience of training and working in extended optometry roles and shared-care clinic

Desirable

Experience in auditing procedures.

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