Ophthalmic Assistant - Band 3

Applications are invited for a full time enthusiastic and self-motivated Ophthalmic Assistant to join our small, friendly team.

The Ophthalmology Department at Salisbury NHS Foundation Trust has approximately 29,000 attendances per year. The client base covers the full life range of ages from neonates to patients in excess of 100 years.

The post holder will take part in the day-to-day service delivery within the department and have experience of working with people who have a visual impairment. The job is extremely varied with numerous opportunities to be involved in a variety of different clinical areas e.g. cataract clinics, glaucoma clinics, medical retina clinics and virtual monitoring clinics. The post holder will learn a variety of new skills and on the job training will be given as staff are encouraged to expand their knowledge and expected to learn new skills like Biometry, Topography, Spectralis and Retinal Photography. You will also assist with ophthalmic treatments and procedures once training as been given and competencies achieved.

The post holder will have a high level of accuracy and excellent hand-eye coordination, be technically minded and have excellent communication skills.

• Main duties of the job
• Prepare clinical areas adequately to receive patients and ensuring all equipment for clinical procedures is available, when required.
• Discuss clinical imaging procedures with patients and ensure that consent has been gained.
• Perform necessary investigational and diagnostic procedures for which training has been given and competence achieved.
• Help to keep department clean and tidy, participating in regular cleaning of equipment and clinical areas.
• Perform other duties as delegated by trained nursing staff within the range of appropriate procedures for which training has been given and competence achieved, assisting in the efficient running of the department.
• Assist with ophthalmic treatments/procedures once training given and competency achieved.
• Contribute to the effective day-to-day running of the department and assist in the development of good working practices e.g. help to support other members of the team.
• The post holder must be able to assist patients who use wheelchairs to manoeuvre into clinical rooms and position at machines.
• Maintain accurate medical records, including manual and electronic data entry during the patients journey through the department.

Salisbury NHS Foundation Trust (SFT) is an innovative hospital with a proud heritage and over 250 years of experience behind us. Here we’re driven to deliver an outstanding experience for everyone and have been well regarded for the quality of care and treatment we continue to provide for our patients and also our staff.

We are an acute Trust, rated “Good” by the CQC, with a track record of high performance providing regional and super regional specialist services such as: Burns, Plastics & Reconstructive Surgery, Wessex Regional Genetics Laboratory, Wessex Rehabilitation, Spires Cleft Centre and the Duke of Cornwall Spinal Treatment Centre. We have about 470 beds and employ over 4000 staff.

We support flexible working and will consider requests taking into account the needs of the service. We think working here is pretty rewarding. You can access a range of NHS discounts, receive a minimum of 35 days paid holiday (pro rata), and we offer a generous pension scheme. On-site benefits include car parking (fee applies), leisure centre, day nursery and holiday play scheme.

Salisbury is an attractive place to live and work and really gives you the best of everything. With easy access to London and local airports, the city of Southampton is only a short train or car journey away or if you prefer the sea, Bournemouth is also accessible. Don’t just take our word for it, why not explore what Salisbury has to offer by visitingwww.experiencesalisbury.co.uk

For applicants that have experience of working in an acute hospital setting and/or community knowledge of speciality/have a dispensing related qualification (if already working in primary care). For further information please contact Sophie Lamb, Senior Ophthalmic Technician via email at paige.jackson@nhs.net

The successful candidate would be expected to have a working knowledge of Ophthalmic equipment used for investigations like Humphrey Field analysers, OCT machines and to be computer literate with basic ECDL skills. Applicants who have a dispensing related qualification from primary care are encouraged to apply for this role alongside experienced individuals with health care experience.

Once the post holders have gained professional competencies in the performance of a range ophthalmic diagnostic procedures, further developmental pathways to support ongoing professional development to a Band 4 may be considered.

The ability to drive is advantageous as the successful candidate maybe involved in peripheral clinics in the future.

Please see attached Job description and person specification for full details of roles and responsibilities.