Senior Community Paediatric Audiologist - Luton and Bedfordshire

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Main Duties and Responsibilities

Work as an independent Practitioner without supervision, following departmental and national guidelines to provide direct care and information on routine and specialist clinical services to children and the carers. This includes ensuring all clinical records are maintained in line with Trust Records Management Policy.

Establishing a good rapport and work with patients of all ages and their parent/carers. All such care will be provided in an effective, caring and compassionate service to patients. 

Triage of referrals.

Prioritising referrals based on clinical need and in line with 6 week referral to treatment departmental standard.

Undertaking audiological assessments, interpreting results, collation all available sources of  information (e.g. duration and aetiology of deafness, functional ability, motivation, additional difficulties i.e. visual impairment, cerebral palsy etc. social circumstances, employment situation, educational placement and family support to inform clinical management plan e.g. further diagnostic testing/ investigations, referrals, input from other services).  

Creating patient specific care plans whilst maintain a flexible approach and responsive attitude to patient need and parent choice, to include complex cases in specialist areas.

Point of contact for clinical audiology staff  (e.g. Audiologists, Audiology Support Workers and School Screeners) to discuss cases to ensure all patients receive an equitable service and high quality care. 

Managing complex patients when they present in clinics.

Maintain a good level of expertise in routine and non-routine testing to include technical expertise in a range of techniques and procedures. The latter may involve new or emerging technologies and knowledge.

Willingness to work weekend clinics in order to meet service capacity needs when required. 

You must be a team player with the ability to prioritise your time and work schedule effectively.

We are looking for someone who can be flexible, have good written and oral communication with children and adults, line management skills, the ability to meet deadlines and knowledge and acceptance of diverse populations.

Communication

Advanced  interpersonal skills required to communicate effectively, using variety of methods with patient/ carers and professionals. 

Ability to communicate effectively sometimes in highly charged situations with patients/ carers and their families where patient may have varying degree of hearing loss and or complex needs.

Providing performance reports to line manager and presenting to team members. 

Budgetary Responsibility

Responsible for the safe use of expensive and highly complex equipment. 

Ordering of clinical equipment as identified by line manager. 

Human Resources

Line manager for identified staff within the service including undertaking 1 to 1’s and appraisal. 

Provides day to day supervision of less experienced staff. 

Act as mentor and/or supervisor for trainee staff as required.

Assist the Clinical Services Lead/Deputy Lead to develop and adapt the service according to changing criteria, demographics and service users.

Take the lead for an identified clinical area. 

Maintaining own professional development and requirement to take part in appraisal and KSF process. 

Research & Development Activity

Required to undertake R&D activity. 

Required to lead and participate in clinical audit to improve service delivery. 

Regularly participates in service improvement. 

Clinical and Practice Governance

Observe and maintain strict confidentiality with regards to any patient/family/staff/records and information in line with the requirements of the Data Protection Act and the Trust’s Records Management Policy.

Any data that is taken/shared as part of a phone call or transported, faxed or transferred electronically must be undertaken with regard to the Trust Information Governance and Information Security policies.

The post holder must adhere to the Trust risk assessment and risk management processes. 

The post holder must adhere to infection control policies and procedures. 

It is a condition of your employment that you are currently registered with the British Academy of Audiology (BAA) or British Society of Audiologist (BSA) and it is your responsibility to maintain your professional registration.

Undertake mandatory training and any other training relevant to the role as required by Cambridgeshire Community Services NHS Trust.

The post holder must participate in clinical and other audits as required. 

Provide patients and their families /carers with information on standards they should expect from the service. 

Occasional exposure to bodily fluids such as ear discharge and vomit.

Participate in clinical and safeguarding supervision on a regular basis .

The post holder is required to participate in relevant emergency preparedness process for their team.

General

The post holder must at all times carry out his/her duties with regard to Cambridgeshire Community Services NHS Trust Equal Opportunities Policy.

To be aware of the responsibilities of all employees to maintain a safe and healthy environment for patients, visitors and staff.

All post holders must adhere to the code of conduct on confidentiality and be aware of and adhere to all Trust policies and procedures.

This job description is intended only as a guide to the range of duties involved. The post holder will need to be flexible and adaptable in order to respond to other duties that may be required from time to time and the changes and developments within the Trust.