Company Description

Come join us and make a difference in the world!

Discover more at www.necsws.com

NEC Care, part of the NEC Health division, delivers the national diabetic eye screening programme. Our mission, vision and values are to provide people-centric services that aim to improve the health and wellbeing of those we serve by working to achieve excellence in service delivery.

We are commissioned by Public Health England to provide retinal screening on behalf of the NHS and our service is compliant with the National Service Framework (NSF) and National Screening Committee (NSC) guidance, standards, and objectives.

Job Description

• To be responsible for the provision of a Slit Lamp Biomicrosocopy Screening Service as an autonomous practitioner.
• To undertake Slit Lamp Biomicrosocopy clinics in community locations using advanced clinical techniques to look for and diagnose the signs of Diabetic Retinopathy along with any incidental findings of non-Diabetic related eye disease.
• To provide a comprehensive range of core Optometric services to support the Dorset DESP within a framework agreed by the Lead clinician, Lead Ophthalmologist, and the Programme Manager.
• To participate in departmental audit, MDT and research as required.
• To provide teaching and training opportunities at post graduate level for multiple disciplines within Diabetic Retinopathy.

KEY RELATIONSHIPS:

• Clinical Lead
• Programme Manager
• Lead Ophthalmologist
• Retinal Screener/Graders
• Grading Manager
• GP’s
• Administration staff

Principle Responsibilities:

•  To provide highly specialised advice contributing to the identification diagnosis and management of Diabetic Retinopathy within the cohort of patients and to provide education about the condition.
• To manage clinics in a variety of community-based settings, to include transport of equipment to and from clinic. Setting up and stripping down of equipment. Recording of findings and synchronising data from clinics with the main data base.
• To record the outcomes of the patient encounters using nationally approved RxMx grading criteria and where appropriate ensure correct referral pathway for each patient.
• To work within and take responsibly for failsafing all activities undertaken in line with the NEC Care duties, failsafe policies and standard operating procedures.
• Where applicable identify risks to patient wellbeing and ensure actions are taken to identify, report and rectify any issues. If required, the post holder may be asked to develop policies or operating procedures to govern the failsafe outcomes for specific actions or issues.
• To work alongside the Clinical Lead, Programme Manager, Grading Manager, Screener/Graders and Administration Staff in the delivery of community base diabetic eye screening services.
• As an autonomous practitioner to be legally and professionally responsible and accountable for the management of patients in your care and to keep accurate and contemporaneous records.
• To maintain a high standard of clinical record keeping, in keeping with departmental, legal, and national standards. To be fully conversant and compliant with Data Protection Act, Access to Health Records Act and NEC policies in relation to confidential data.
• To liaise with and give detailed medical information to Consultant Ophthalmologists, GP’s and patients as necessary in order to establish a high-quality co-ordinated service.
• To work as part of an NEC Care multi-disciplinary team consisting of Ophthalmologists, Clinical Lead, Screener/Graders, Grading Manager and Administration Staff. January 2023.
• To utilise the NEC Care diabetic eye screening software (OptoMize) safety to ensure patients are on the correct pathways, information is accurate and that all necessary failsafe procedures are adhere to.
• To complete a minimum of 500 SLB examinations per year (national guidance is at least 100).
• To comply with Re-accreditation process to be carried out as required by Clinical Lead (national guidance minimum every 3 years).

Key responsibilities

• Management of own case load, time management and maintaining flexibility
• Delegated responsibility by the line manager for the management, supervision, and administration of certain activities within the department.
• To participate in and maintain a high level of grading accuracy during live grading, this will include the achievement of high sensitivity and specificity scores. 
• Contribute to delivering income generation and cost improvement programs.
• To work closely with professional colleagues in developing professional clinical performance and audit these.
• To supply accurate information to the line manager when requested to deal with complaints at a departmental level.
• To liaise with the Line Manager regarding any problems with service delivery or patient care.
• To contribute to operational planning of the department.
• To maintain harmonious working relationships and efficient communication with all staff throughout NEC Care, centralised services, stake holders and outside agencies.
• To be aware of and comply with all Trust and Departmental policies and standards and work to agreed protocols.
• To ensure all statutory and mandatory requirements are up to date.
• To contribute to and where appropriate lead and develop teaching and training principles for the programme.
• To participate in annual Individual Development Review and to establish and maintain a Personal Development Plan to ensure there is ongoing enhancement and development of clinical knowledge and expertise to undertake specialist roles.

Training and quality assurance

• To undertake initial training as required ensuring compliance with “National Slit Lamp Biomicrosocopy (SLB) - Training and accreditation for SLB carried out in the NHS Diabetic Eye Screening Programme” guidance.
• Work with the Grading Manager, Senior Graders and Programme Manager to understand the process and techniques for photographic grading and outcome currently undertaken by the programme.
• To participate in the completion of national grading test sets. January 2023
• To participate in External Quality Assurance visits as appropriate.
• If appropriate complete the relevant modules for the level 3 Diploma for Health Screeners and should expect to undertake written work in their own time to meet the demands of the level 3 qualification.
• To participate in quality assurance sessions with the Clinical Lead in a clinic setting at least twice per year.
• To attend and actively take part in the programme MDT team meetings throughout the year.
• To provide feedback to inform the completion of national quality performance indicators.

Qualifications

• Must be proficient in the use of Slit Lamp
• To have completed the required Slit Lamp training and assessment and be signed off as competent by a clinical lead.
• To have completed Diploma of Health Screeners Qualification
• Full UK Driving License and Willingness to Travel

Additional Information

We are proud of the benefits we offer employees of NEC Software Solutions 

• Private Medical Cover funded by NEC for Employees (with the option to add family members at an additional cost)
• 25 days paid holiday with the option to buy/ sell 
• 4 x basic salary life assurance cover funded by NEC (with the option to increase cover at an additional cost)
• A Group Pension Plan with fantastic employer contributions up to a maximum of 8.5%
• A fantastic selection of flexible benefits to suit your individual needs
• We are an employer who cares, we have a invaluable employee assistance programme which can help in every area of your life
• All colleagues get free access to LinkedIn Learning. Over 15000 courses covering a huge breadth of subjects. Learn about what you like, when you like, how you like.

Candidates must be able to demonstrate a pre-existing right to work and travel within the UK. Documentary evidence will be required.

All offers are subject to satisfactory vetting and reference checks. 

NEC is an equal opportunities employer, welcoming applications from all communities.

Who we are?

We’re NEC Software Solutions (part of global tech giant NEC Corporation). While you read this ad, our software is helping to dispatch ambulances, support families, keep trains on the move, locate missing people and even test the hearing of newborn babies.

Working with us, you’ll be helping our 3,000+ employees push the boundaries of what’s possible and support amazing public services.

We work with governments, hospitals, police forces, housing providers, local authorities and more. We help them pay financial support faster, speed up treatments for patients and respond to emergencies in the right way. The more we do, the more our customers can do for others. And together, we make a world of difference.

We’d love your help. And we’ll support you all the way.