Ophthalmic Technician

St. Paul's Eye Unit is the largest eyecare provider in Cheshire and Merseyside delivering the full range of specialist ophthalmology services including: accident & emergency, corneal cataract and refractive surgery, diabetic eye care, glaucoma, ocular oncology, medical retinal and vitreo-retinal. The unit is also actively involved in NHS, academic and commercial research. The post involves high volume, face to face contact with patients, including those in clinical trials/ academic research studies, to acquire clinical data through a wide range of ocular imaging procedures and other ophthalmic assessments, determined either through standard operating procedures / research protocols or ordered specifically for individual patients by clinical staff. Results are interpreted by clinical staff and inform patient management decisions. The post holder interacts routinely with: patients, administrative, clerical, technical and clinical staff within the Trust and other external stakeholders when necessary., The post holder will be member of a team of 17 ophthalmic technicians based at the new Royal Liverpool University Hospital and will regularly work directly with eye patients in our busy outpatient clinics. They will operate advanced ophthalmic equipment to collect information which assists in the diagnosis and management of sight threatening eye conditions. Equipment used includes Heidelberg Spectralis OCT, Optos California, Pentacam Wave, Zeiss HFA and others. This role provides valuable technician support to our consultant ophthalmologist led clinical staff by obtaining data from a range of scans, imaging techniques and clinical assessments as appropriate to the extensive range of subspecialties which our eye unit covers., A range of ophthalmic imaging procedures as required including but not limited to: OCT, Anterior OCT, HRT, optic disc, Colour fundus - high magnification and stereos, Fluorescein Angiography Ophthalmic procedures / assessments including: Perform visual acuity tests using various types of acuity charts as appropriate, Instil eye drops in accordance with approved protocols for patient safety. Perform corneal topography / tomography assessments. Ophthalmic clinical measurements including: Corneal thickness, Intra ocular pressures, Anterior chamber depth, Visual field testing, ensuring data & results generated are securely uploaded to as appropriate to Trust systems, EPR / CRF. The post holder shall as necessary provide cover for and undertake duties of absent colleagues. Any other duties reasonably delegated by the line manager.

• Current GCP Certification/NVQ 3 equivalent
• Up to date professional development plan
Desirable criteria
• Basic level media qualification
• AOSP Registration
• Previous technician certification for multicentre / international clinical trials
• Member Ophthalmic Imaging Association, Demonstrable experience in ophthalmic imaging and retinal screening
• Evidence of recent professional development
Desirable criteria
• Experience in a commercial photographic environment., Manage own work with minimal supervision
• IT skills
• Ability to work within a team
• Personal planning and organisation skills
• Highly advanced communication skills for dealing with emotional and sensitive situations
• Excellent communication skills with the ability to offer effective communication to a broad range of patients and carers including those with communication difficulties as well as medical staff
• Ability to effectively provide complex information and offer effective persuasion to broad range of patients in terms of age, ability and understanding, Commitment to continued delivery of a high quality specialist service
• Continued development of clinical practice
• Flexible to meet service needs
• Ability to respond to continually changing circumstances
• Continued professional development
• Post requires ability to travel between all service sites
  
  Liverpool University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust was created on 1 October 2019 following the merger of two adult acute Trusts, Aintree University Hospital NHS Foundation Trust and the Royal Liverpool and Broadgreen University Hospitals NHS Trust.
The merger provides an opportunity to reconfigure services in a way that provides the best healthcare services to the city and improves the quality of care and health outcomes that patients experience. The Trust runs Aintree University Hospital, Broadgreen Hospital, Liverpool University Dental Hospital and the Royal Liverpool University Hospital. It serves a core population of around 630,000 people across Merseyside as well as providing a range of highly specialist services to a catchment area of more than two million people in the North West region and beyond.

The Trust is committed to promoting a healthy work-life balance and achieve fair, equitable and consistent practice. We welcome flexible working requests and will consider a variety of flexible working arrangements from day one of your employment. Not all roles are suitable for every flexible working opportunity all of the time. Flexible working options may include reduced hours, compressed hours, fixed shifts, time back in lieu and home working. The Trust is committed to promoting equality and diversity; we value the contribution of individual talent, skills, knowledge and experience and aim for a workforce demography representative of the local community. We encourage applicants from the following groups that are currently under-represented in our workforce black, Asian and minority ethnic, lesbian, gay, bisexual and Transgender (LGBTQ+), disabled, male and age 16-24. Trust policy requires that the cost of submitting & processing the successful applicant/s DBS application be recovered via salary deduction following start in post. The amount of £18+£5 (standard disclosure) or £38+£5 (enhanced disclosure) will be deducted from salary, in manageable monthly instalments for up to 3 months following commencement of employment. Bank posts require upfront payment. From April 2017, Skilled visa applicants and their adult dependant(s) will be required to provide a criminal record certificate from each country they have lived in consecutively for 12 months or more in the past ten years. Applicants requiring sponsorship may wish to determine the likelihood of obtaining sponsorship for this position by assessing themselves against the criteria on the gov.uk website - https://www.gov.uk/check-uk-visa. This organisation has a zero-tolerance approach to the abuse of children, young people and vulnerable adults. All staff must ensure they adhere to the organisations safeguarding children and adults' policy and comply with the Local Safeguarding Children and Adult Board procedures. Staff should be mindful of their responsibility to safeguard children and adults in any activity performed on behalf of the organisation in line with the requirements of statutory guidance and legislation. All employees (and volunteers)are expected maintain their safeguarding knowledge and skills by completing mandatory safeguarding training which includes understanding and recognising the signs of abuse and neglect and taking appropriate action. As an organisation, we have adopted the Merseyside Domestic abuse workplace scheme which supports our staff who are experiencing Domestic Abuse /any forms of sexual violence. If you have any personal requirements that will enable you to participate in our recruitment process please contact a member of the Recruitment Services by phone on at the earliest opportunity to ensure that measures can be put in place to enable your application for this post. Please note: new entrants to the NHS will commence on the first pay point of the relevant band. For agenda for change banded roles; salary payments will reflect the 2023/24 pay scales. The 2024/25 pay scales will be paid in October 2024 including any backpay due. Therefore should the successful applicant start in post prior to October, the salary will initially reflect the 2023/24 pay scales.