Chief Sleep Physiologist/Physiotherapist/Nurse

The successful candidate will play an active role in this busy and prestigious department, working across our Medical and Surgical wards. You will have strong experience in Sleep and ideally in Ventilation also. You will be actively involved in the team roster and have experience in the setting up/analyzing of diagnostic sleep studies (e.g-Respiratory Polygraphy and Full Polysomnography) and in implementing treatment with CPAP therapy and Noninvasive ventilation in the inpatient and outpatient setting. You will be directly involved in the training and support of junior staff running teaching sessions and facilitating competency requirements. The role will require you to participate in consultant lead CPAP and NIV clinics both face to face and virtual. You will also be actively involved with line managing and the appraising of junior staff. You will also be involved in the development of the service e.g - assisting with business case and Capital bid proposals, and will attend face to face or virtual meetings with other service managers and Clinical Lead.

You will be expected to participate in our on-call rota (phone support only) if you are working a late shift.

The successful candidate will be required to work closely with all the consultants and other clinical physiologists in the department and other members of the MDT. It is essential that you are self-motivated and have good communication skills.

Main duties of the job

To be able to, without supervision, perform/ analyse all sleep diagnostic tests e.g-Full Polysomnography (PSG), MSLT and MWT tests. To lead in teaching/training junior staff in this and manage students undertaking the STP, PTP and other National School of Healthcare Science apprenticeships.

To be able to without supervision, set up and troubleshoot adult patients on CPAP, Noninvasive ventilation (NIV) and Tracheostomy invasive ventilation (TIV).

To be able to setup all diagnostic tests with patients for home based tests.

To be able to proficiently use telemonitoring platforms currently used amongst our CPAP/NIV patients.

To deliver teaching/training and general advice on all sleep studies, CPAP and NIV to junior staff, the wider MDT and externally where required.

To assist in the evaluation of new sleep study/NIV equipment and respiratory support techniques.

To actively partake in Sleep & ventilation led Outpatient clinics under supervision of the duty Sleep & Ventilation Consultant.

To assist in liaising with the incumbent service and maintenance contractors (currently Baywater) to resolve any day-to-day issues or problems related to Ventilator patients.

To actively assist in managing junior staff in development, training, performance appraisals and with the recruitment and selection of new staff to the Sleep & Ventilation department.

To deputise for the Band 8a Lead in their absence.

To demonstrate care and respect, for both patients and fellow staff members.

About us

Royal Brompton & Harefield NHS Hospital is the largest heart and lung centre in the UK and among the largest in Europe. In February 2021 Royal Brompton and Harefield NHS Foundation Trust joined Guy's and St Thomas' NHS Foundation Trust, bringing together world-leading expertise in the care and research of heart and lung disease. The merger sees the creation of a newly expanded Guy's and St Thomas' NHS Foundation Trust, with Royal Brompton and Harefield forming a new Clinical Group within the Trust.

This is an exciting opportunity for a highly motivated, enthusiastic and experienced clinician who is interested in developing their career in Sleep and Ventilation. This is an exciting role within our dynamic and well-respected Sleep and Ventilation service that will provide the successful candidate with a wonderful opportunity to practice and develop their skills and expertise in the management of patients with sleep related respiratory conditions and other complex conditions requiring ventilatory support. Based at the Royal Brompton Hospital in Chelsea, you will play an active role in this busy and prestigious department, working across our Medical and Surgical wards.

Job description
Job responsibilities

To be able, without supervision, perform and analyse all sleep diagnostic tests e.g -Full Polysomnography (PSG), MSLT and MWT tests. To lead in teaching/training of junior staff and manage students undertaking the STP, PTP and other National School of Healthcare Science apprenticeships.

To be able without supervision, set up and troubleshoot adult patients on CPAP, Noninvasive ventilation (NIV) and Tracheostomy invasive ventilation (TIV). To assist in the teaching/training of these skills to junior staff.

To be able to setup all home sleep diagnostic tests e.g - Respiratory polygraphy (+/- LMs), Home 02/C02, with a patient and follow up with a video call to facilitate the patient setting up the kit for an overnight test at home.

To be able to proficiently use and provide telemonitoring services currently in use amongst our CPAP/NIV patients.

To assist in liaising with the incumbent service and maintenance contractors (currently Baywater) to resolve any day-to-day issues or problems related to Ventilator patients.

To actively assist in the management of junior staff including developmental needs, training, performance appraisals, the recruitment and selection of new staff to the Sleep & Ventilation department.

To deputise for the Band 8a Lead in their absence.

To contribute to the continuous development of the Trust as a member of Respiratory Medicine and as a potential member of a range of Trust quality/process improvement project groups.

To demonstrate care and respect, for both patients and fellow staff members.

Main tasks and responsibilities

Patient/Customer care

Daily patient contact and responsibility for the immediate welfare of patients, relatives and visitors whilst present in the department.

Dealing/managing with patients who may be stressed, upset or acutely ill.

Using appropriate methods of encouragement and persuasion to ensure accurate results are obtained.

To respect patients, need for privacy, religious beliefs and confidentiality.

To take personal responsibility for compliance with all Trust and Departmental infection control policies and procedures. See Trust policies and Departmental local health and safety rules.

Policy & Service development

To agree and take a role in developing and implementing Trust policies.

To actively take a role in developing and implementing Trust policies.

To actively participate in the development, regular update and promotion of departmental policies and protocols.

To actively participate in Seminars, Conferences, Educational programs at the Trust, at Local & National level.

Support and actively participate in data collection and patient centred research.

To assist in the development of new tests/services provided by the department.

People management

To take an active role in selecting, interviewing and retaining all staff.

To be involved in the induction, and to review training and professional development of new staff within the department.

To perform annual appraisals for band 6 and below staff.

To contribute to the training of other health professionals both within the Trust and from outside if required.

Communication

To relay patient information to staff members within the department, when relevant, and to the medical teams responsible for that patient.

To liaise with support and service staff both internal and external to the trust.

To communicate with suppliers regarding supplies, standing orders and equipment orders. To discuss equipment problems with engineers from manufacturing/supply companies.

To communicate any changes to practice or protocols to departmental staff during departmental meetings.

To work effectively as a team member and as line manager to junior staff.

To be encouraging, flexible and enthusiastic towards other staff.

Resource Management

To order using the Trust procurement system (Oracle) non-stock items of supplies/small pieces of equipment up to value of £1,000. To also be able to use Eleanor to order stock items as required.

To assist the Lead by monitoring and reviewing stock levels of all equipment required by the Service and the wider department and ordering as required on Oracle (Eleanor).

To deputise for the Lead in their absence at meetings or committees as a representative of the department.

To maintain and develop further SOPS in line with departmental activities.

Information Management

To have basic computing skills and be able to use commonly used software packages and systems, e.g Microsoft Word, Excel, Teams. You will be required to learn how to use various software packages and applications relevant to the service and the wider Trust such as PATS, EPIC, ICCA, NOX, Vizi-download, Somnomed, Rescan, Airview etc.

To be able to input/download data from diagnostic and therapeutic devices for review and analysis.

To be able to produce accurate diagnostic and therapeutic reports and upload these to relevant patient databases.

To perform specific backup processes of tests/reports so these are stored and backed up properly.

To follow all departmental protocols and guidelines and contribute to their update.

Further sections

To ensure all team members have a real voice in the development of the Respiratory Support Service to patients/customers.

To maximise the potential of all team members and to ensure that all team members have a meaningful appraisal/personal development plan that includes feedback to the individual from a selection of internal customers and team members.

To provide a safe and attractive working environment for team members within available resources.

To attend and play a part in corporate groups as a representative of the directorate and team to represent the Trust at regional and national conferences and on working groups as appropriate.

To abide by the NHS Code of conduct for managers, the Trusts Core behaviours for staff and managers and all other Trust policies, codes and practices, including standing financial instructions, research governance, clinical governance, patient and public involvement and health and safety.

Additional Duties

To actively participate in the training/development of new staff to the department and the continuous development of existing staff with particular emphasis on: achieving/maintaining competencies in Sleep (and NIV) & the setting up/analysing of all sleep studies with particular emphasis on the scoring/staging of PSG studies.

To provide teaching/training and general advice on CPAP (and NIV) to junior staff and the wider MDT and externally where required.

To lead in the sleep service deputising for the lead in sleep and ventilation.

To maintain and troubleshoot all sleep diagnostic services and devices and, when required, introduce new models of working and diagnostic services when available.

To assist in departmental business cases, capital bids and demand and capacity assessments.

• To be physically capable of manoeuvring patients and equipment to be able to perform tests effectively.

• To assist the Lead in coordinating and managing the team roster.

• To assist in providing cover of sleep studies over a late shift (currently 1:30pm - 9:30pm) where there are unforeseen circumstances (e.g-sickness and difficulty in Junior staff covering this).

• To perform all the relevant quality control procedures within the Unit and be able to act on the results accordingly.

• To maintain and repair departmental equipment in conjunction with the onsite Clinical Engineering department when necessary.

• To maintain and report to Estates any repairs needed Fulham Wing Sleep labs/offices.

• To assist in keeping a regular review of stock levels of equipment in the department and to place required orders through the Oracle system.

• To assist in maintaining good organisation and order of the equipment cupboards in the Sleep & Ventilation department.

• To actively provide support and supervision to junior staff members on the Wards and in clinics (virtual and face to face).

• To provide support and supervision to the RSS Admin Service manager and the administration team when working during work shifts.

• To be able to review and troubleshoot any problems or concerns from patients on the phone or video calls.

• To liaise with the service and maintenance contractor (currently Baywater) to register new patients via VIFs or to place Callouts for Ventilators issues or for any other related issues.

• To manage your own daily workload of patients from your rostered tasks and any other allocated tasks from the Lead due to unforeseen absence or activity in the department.

• To partake in Sleep & ventilation Outpatient clinics onsite or virtual.

• Involvement in evaluating and bench testing sleep study equipment.

• Involvement in departmental research projects, including publications where necessary.

• To perform general administrative duties.

• To perform sleep studies when required in the intensive care unit and wards.

• Being able to perform and being familiar with procedures for testing patients, who pose a risk of infection, disinfecting contaminated equipment and disposal of hazardous materials.

• To check, interpret and when necessary report on, all physiological results.

• Involvement in Continuous Professional Development (CPD) and attendance at relevant internal/external courses, seminars, lectures etc deemed appropriate to your role by management.

Any other duty as deemed necessary by the Sleep & NIV Lead.

To attend mandatory training courses including: Manual Handling, Fire Safety, etc.