Lead Optometrist – Core Optometry

University Hospitals Bristol and Weston NHS Foundation Trust (UHBW)

A fantastic opportunity has arisen at Bristol Eye Hospital as we recruit to the role of Lead Optometrist - Core (including low vision, contact lenses and paediatric services).

This is a senior 8B post that is a crucial member of the Optometry and wider Bristol Eye Hospital leadership team. If successful, you will lead a group of Core Optometrists, working closely with multidisciplinary teams within Bristol Eye Hospital to ensure services are innovative, patient-focused, clinically and cost-effective. You will be an experienced optometrist who can evidence excellent clinical, management and leadership skills. You will have the skills and abilities to supervise both junior and more experienced members of staff. You will be a compassionate, skilled and experienced clinician who is able to work autonomously.

Main duties of the job

The Optometry Department at Bristol Eye Hospital is well established and integrated into the multidisciplinary environment of Bristol Eye Hospital, providing clinical management of eye health to people in Bristol, Weston and across the South West of England.

Optometrists in the department are a diverse team of highly capable clinicians who work across a broad range of multi-professional services from highly skilled core optometry to complex and specialised services, including cornea, medical retina, glaucoma, paediatrics and ED.

Frequently engaged with the broader aspects of optometry and eye health, including education, research and leadership, optometrists in the department are encouraged to develop professionally as well as personally.

Job responsibilities

Bristol Eye Hospital has a large Optometry department including over 40 individuals. The service is led by the Head of Optometry along with 5 Lead Optometrists across the different specialty areas, including this post which leads on Core Services. Bristol Eye Hospital is a vibrant, innovative and supportive place to work where all disciplines are highly valued. The hospital includes an Emergency Department, outpatient services seeing more than 120,000 patients a year, a ward, a Clinical Research Unit and 4 operating theatres. There are a number of exciting estate developments happening in the near future including the redesign of the ground floor of the Hospital which includes space for delivering Optometry services - this role will be crucial in helping to design layouts that are fit for coming generations.

Person Specification

Knowledge and Experience

• Highly developed and proven specialist knowledge, at Masters level or above, across multiple areas of specialist clinical practice beyond conventional hospital or community optometry.
• Significant specialist clinical experience in assessment & management of patients with active and sight-threatening disease across multiple areas of specialist clinical practice.
• Previous evidence of operational management.
• Significant experience in staff management.
• Significant specialist clinical experience in management of patients with ocular/visual manifestations of systemic disease that may threaten general health.
• Advanced understanding of all relevant national clinical guidance (e.g. NICE guidelines; College of Optometrists guidance; Royal College of Ophthalmologist's guidelines).

Skills and Abilities

• Ability to quickly interpret complex and potentially conflicting clinical information.
• Can autonomously provide and directly deliver patient-specific specialist clinical program of care ('clinical management plan').
• Specialist clinical assessment skills for patients with active and sight-threatening disease across multiple areas of sub-specialist clinical practice.
• Specialist ancillary test interpretation skills (e.g. visual function and ocular imaging tests) as used by specialist medical staff.
• Can teach or supervise trainees and address queries from support staff whilst performing clinical duties.
• Must be able to travel to and perform peripheral clinics as required (i.e. locations away from Bristol Eye Hospital).
• Flexibility to use IT systems for recording patient-related clinical measures and for audit.
• Possesses precise, fine-motor physical examination skills.
• Normal binocular vision.
• Multidisciplinary team working.
• Capable of performing sustained high intensity work in a pressurised clinical environment.
• Capable of quickly resolving operational issues whilst performing clinical duties.
• Ability to empathise regarding loss of sight and prognoses including blindness and threats to general health from systemic disease with ocular/visual manifestations.
• Able to organise and motivate a multidisciplinary team and retain credibility with all staff.
• Highly developed interpersonal and communication skills; ability to communicate complex, sensitive and potentially conflicting information to patients and other stakeholders in an appropriate manner independent of their level of understanding.

Qualifications and Training

• Registration with the General Optical Council.
• BSc Hons Optometry or equivalent.
• Professional post-graduate specialist qualification(s), at masters level or higher, relevant to job plan.
• GOC Specialty Registration in Independent Prescribing.
• Postgraduate masters (or higher) level clinical audit or research experience relevant to sub-specialist practice.

Disclosure and Barring Service Check

This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (Exceptions Order) 1975 and as such it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service (formerly known as CRB) to check for any previous criminal convictions.