Radiotherapy Physicist

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The Radiotherapy Physics section has around 30 staff providing scientific, technical and engineering support to the Sussex Cancer Centre at the Royal Sussex County Hospital and its satellite units in Preston Park (Brighton) and at Eastbourne District General Hospital. Plans for a new integrated Cancer Centre building at the RSCH site are at an advanced stage of development towards a projected completion date in 2028.  

Treatment delivery equipment currently comprises four Elekta VersaHD linacs (one of which is enhanced with the ExacTrac and Hexapod patient positioning systems), two Accuray Tomotherapy HD machines (at Preston Park), and an Elekta Flexitron HDR afterloader, There are two dedicated Philips Brilliance Wide Bore CT scanners (at RSCH and EDGH) with 4D capability. Clinical processes are managed within a predominantly paper-free environment using the Elekta Mosaiq Oncology Information Management System. Treatment planning is conducted on RayStation, Accuray Precision, Oncentra Brachy and Medcom Prosoma

Communication

• Create and maintain effective communication systems and working relationships with the scientific, technical and administrative staff in the Radiotherapy Physics department, and with medical, radiographic, nursing and administrative staff in the Sussex Cancer Centre.
• Keep careful records of all work performed and complete other appropriate records. Produce reports on work as required and participate in relevant multidisciplinary meetings.
• Communicate clearly, effectively and in a professional manner with patients, clinical and non-clinical Trust staff, staff from other Trusts and commercial organisations. Interact on complex scientific matters with both specialists and non-specialists.
• Behave courteously and professionally at all times, and seek to ensure that the highest level of service is provided. End users should receive a high quality, prompt and efficient service, and be kept up to date as to the progress of their requirements.

Service Delivery and Improvement

• Work to extremely high standards of safety and accountability, prioritising tasks appropriately to meet agreed outcomes.
• Act independently and in accordance with entitlements and professional guidelines in providing highly specialist, complex scientific and technical advice in support of a broad range of routine and non-routine clinical treatments.
• Participate in the Radiotherapy Physics rota for all aspects of the routine work of the department, including ‘early’ and ‘late’ shift sessions covering the typical clinical hours of 0700 to 2000 hrs.
• Perform certain duties outside the normal working hours of the department, and participate in some weekend and bank holiday work as necessary. Provide off-site rotational cover for linked radiotherapy units.
• Use specialist computer software to produce routine and complex treatment plans, requiring prolonged concentration, and working to strict deadlines in order to avoid breeches of national patient waiting times. Analyse requirements and make highly complex judgements regarding treatment parameters and patient dose effects to produce the required dose distribution over the treatment volume.
• Advise clinical staff (including Consultant Clinical Oncologists) on the effects of various complex treatment plan options on patient dose distributions. Discuss and agree approaches to create optimal treatment plans and advise on the technical aspects of the treatment and patient set-up as required.
• Provide advice to treatment staff and clinicians on managing patient treatments when changes to (or errors in) treatment delivery have occurred. Re-plan patient treatments if required, using judgement to analyse what may be highly complex facts, and devise the most appropriate compensation method.
• Perform standard and non-standard physics calculations as required, including assessments of radiobiological equivalence, dose delivery uncertainties and treatment errors.
• Check routine and complex external beam treatment plans, dose calculations and planning templates produced by other members of staff, working to strict deadlines and taking responsibility for the technical exactitude and clinical appropriateness of the prepared treatment plans.
• Provide complex advice and direction for electron treatments. Obtain the clinical requirements from medical staff, assess patient specifics and use experience and judgement to decide on most appropriate treatment technique. Liaise with clinical staff and provide advice on set up.
• Provide complex physics advice in relation to brachytherapy treatments, liaising with other clinical staff as necessary. Carry out and/or check implant reconstructions, dose calculations and distributions.
• Perform high precision routine calibrations and quality assurance on radiotherapy treatment equipment following written procedures and/or guidelines as appropriate. Use judgement as to any additional measurements or checks that may be needed, and perform or oversee subsequent adjustments. Take responsibility for handing back machines into clinical use if test results are satisfactory, or withdrawing functionality if found to be unsatisfactory. This work is frequently required to be done within tight timescales to minimise patient waiting times for treatment.
• For breakdowns and other machine problems, investigate and resolve complex problems, giving advice and direction to physics, engineering and clinical staff as required. Advise on the withdrawal of machines from clinical use, and be responsible for returning the equipment to clinical use after major repair. Liaise with senior physicists, equipment engineers and radiographer staff to ensure safe operation and to provide guidance on the appropriate rescheduling of patient appointments.
• Perform checks on dosimetry and QA equipment to ensure the accuracy of their use.
• Perform clinical, IR(ME)R and other internal audits as requested by the Physics Lead for Quality and Training. Actively identify ways in which improvements can be made to the service.
• Implement new patient safety critical procedures. Review and update existing procedures to provide improvements in the accuracy and effectiveness of patient treatments.
• Regularly participate in development projects and provide scientific input in support of patient clinical trials.
• Write, implement, and update technical work instructions for the Radiotherapy Physics group based on one’s own interpretation of professional guidelines, some of which will impact on other service areas.
• Develop and maintain these systems in line with the department’s accreditation to the ISO 9001:2015 quality system.
• Assess errors and non-conformities, making decisions on corrective actions.
• Raise and manage concessions, non-conformance and incident reports as required. Participate in After Action Reviews and follow-up investigations.
• When working with potentially dangerous or safety critical installations, ensure that all necessary safety precautions have been taken and that work is carried out in accordance with manufacturers’ recommendations and standards.
• Follow correct procedures for ensuring the radiation protection of patients, staff, external contractors and members of the public.
• Perform other appropriate duties as may be required to support the work of the Radiotherapy Physics section.

People Management and Development

• Participate in the formal and informal specialist teaching and training of scientific, technical, radiographic and clinical staff.
• Supervise trainee clinical scientists and postgraduate students on placements within Radiotherapy Physics.
• Take responsibility for initiating and/or managing procedural and policy changes within the Radiotherapy Physics and Radiotherapy departments as required and agreed.
• Manage and lead projects across multi-disciplinary teams as required.

Learning and Development

• Achieve and demonstrate agreed standards of personal and professional development within agreed timescales.
• Maintain a thorough knowledge of relevant current legislation and ensure all activities are carried out within the quality framework and conform to Statutory Regulations, approved Codes of Practice and Local Safety Rules
• Participate in appropriate Continuing Professional Development programmes, maintain training records, and take positive steps to advance personal competence in Radiotherapy Physics.
• Undertake training as necessary in line with the development of the post. Identify own learning needs and jointly plan training requirements with your line manager.
• Maintain up to date knowledge of the latest scientific and technical developments through a variety of channels including scientific papers, forums, meetings, conferences and training courses. Share this learning by appropriate means.
• Actively seek opportunities to present suitable original work at appropriate regional, national and international meetings and conferences, and submit scientific papers for publication.
• Participate in the development of training courses within the department.
• Attend mandatory training updates as required.
• Participate in the Trust’s appraisal process to discuss how your role will help deliver the best possible care to our patients and help to deliver any changes in service.
• Maintain State Registration with the HCPC.