Ophthalmic Technician - Band 4

Epsom and St Helier University Hospitals NHS Trust

About

Epsom and St Helier University Hospitals NHS Trust provides a range of medical services to approximately 490,000 people living across southwest London and northeast Surrey. In addition, we provide more specialist services, in particular renal and neonatal intensive care, to a wider area, covering parts of Sussex and Hampshire.

We serve an area that is rich in diversity, with a mix of urban and rural areas, and differing levels of quality of life. We cover some of the most prosperous postcodes in the country, as well as some poorer areas. Together with our colleagues at NHS Surrey and NHS Sutton and Merton, we work to make sure that we deliver the best possible care to the communities we serve.

The Trust employs approximately 5,000 staff across its hospitals and is supported by over 500 volunteers.

Key details

Location

Site: Epsom and St Helier Hospital
Address: Wrythe Ln
Town: Carshalton
Postcode: SM5 1AA
Major / Minor Region: Surrey

Contract type & working pattern

Contract: Permanent
Hours: Full time - 37.5 hours per week

Salary

Salary: £31,081 - £33,665 Pro-rata pa inc HCAS (Outer)
Salary period: Yearly
Grade: (Band 4)

Specialty

Main area: Ophthalmic Technician *The pay scales advertised have been confirmed by NHS England, we are awaiting confirmation of when these will be reflected. The new scales can be found here: Pay scales for 2024/25 | NHS Employers

At Epsom and St Helier Hospitals, above all we value respect. We put respect at the heart of all we do, by living up to our shared behaviours of kindness, professionalism, positivity and teamwork. This enables us to provide great patient care and make ESTH a great place to work. When you sign up to work with us, you sign up to this and we welcome applicants who share our values.

Job overview

Ophthalmic Technician - Band 4

This is an exciting opportunity to join our highly-skilled, dedicated and supportive team as an Ophthalmic Technician within our nursing team. The Eye Department is based across two sites, St Helier and Epsom Hospital. We currently have a large nursing team working alongside 13 Consultant Ophthalmologists. Your role will involve working in a multi-disciplinary team where you will consolidate and improve your own current ophthalmic knowledge.

You will contribute to the assessment of patients attending the Ophthalmic department at Epsom and St Helier Hospitals across multiple sites. The post holder will work without direct supervision to provide a high-quality technical service under the direction of the Head of Orthoptics and Optometry.

You are also expected to participate in departmental teaching and clinical audit.

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

The post holder will contribute to the assessment of patients attending the Ophthalmic department at Epsom and St Helier Hospitals across multiple sites. The post holder will work without direct supervision to provide a high-quality technical service including diagnostic testing and imaging across a variety of sub-specialities under the direction of the Head Orthoptist and Clinical Leads for adult and paediatric patients.

• The post holder will provide a variety of diagnostic tests following training and achievement of competences. The tests required will include assessment of visual acuity, Ocular Coherence Tomography (OCT) both posterior and anterior, Digital Retinal Imaging, Corneal Topography, Biometry and Visual Field Assessment.
• The post holder should have the ability to work closely with members of the multi-disciplinary teams.
• The post holder is expected to participate in departmental teaching and clinical audit.
• The post holder will work within standard operating procedures, departmental guidelines and protocols, usually without direct supervision.
• The post holder will work within a variety of ophthalmology clinics to meet the needs of the service.
• The post holder will have the opportunity to carry out school vision screening in accordance with the BIOS training programme.

Working for our organisation

The Eye Unit is a friendly, dynamic and forward-thinking department. We promote a patient-centered approach to all we do and support each other at all levels.

Your application

References: You will be required to provide 3 years of employment/educational history. We do not accept references from personal email addresses such as Hotmail, Gmail etc. therefore please ensure you are providing professional working email addresses within your application form. If you are unable to provide professional email addresses and are invited to an interview, please ensure you advise the interviewers of this - otherwise, this may delay your pre-employment checks.

Closing date

Shortlisting: You will only be contacted via e-mail/SMS by the SWL Recruitment Hub if you are successfully shortlisted for this post. Please ensure that you check your Trac registered e-mail regularly.

DBS: We are committed to safeguarding children and adults who are at risk of abuse. As such, if this post will have access to children or vulnerable adults, you will be required to undertake an Enhanced Disclosure and Barring Service check. However, all employees have a responsibility for safeguarding children and vulnerable adults in the course of their duties and for ensuring that they are aware of the specific duties relating to their role.

Applicant requirements

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.

Person specification

Qualifications

Essential criteria

• Previous Ophthalmology Experience
• Minimum of 5 GCSE’s grades C or above, or equivalent, in English, Maths and Science

Desirable criteria

• Education to A level standard.
• Evidence of continuing professional development.

Planning & Organisation

Essential criteria

• Excellent organisational skills
• Ability to prioritise own workload

Desirable criteria

• Experience working with TOPCON, Zeiss and Heidelberg
• Previous experience of clinical teaching

Further details / informal visits contact

Name: Arinder Channa
Job title: Head of Orthoptics and Optometry
Email address: [email protected]
Telephone number: 07982812560