IR(ME)R Inspector, Nuclear Medicine Specialist - Operational Hub, National Specialist Team IR(ME)R

IR(ME)R Inspector, Nuclear Medicine Specialist - Operational Hub, National Specialist Team IR(ME)R

Grade: £39,390 (National Framework) or £44,792 (London Framework – if you are London office based or homebased and live within the boundary of the M25) – There is also an additional homeworking allowance of £529 per annum for those working from home and an Operational Car Working Allowance of £461 per annum.

Contracted Hours: Full Time

Contract Type: Permanent

Location – Homebased - Flexible

Closing Date: Sunday 4th August 2024 at 11.59pm

For an informal discussion or further information on the role, please contact Tracy Bradshaw, IR(ME)R Manager or Lucy Matthews Nuclear Medicine Modality Lead.

Are you committed to helping us regulate health and social care within England?

When thinking about what drives you every day in your job, what keeps you motivated and passionate about your work, what comes to mind? For 3,000+ people at the CQC, we end each day knowing that we have made a difference to the lives of those most in need in our communities. We make sure health and social care services provide people with safe, effective, compassionate, high-quality care and encourage care services to improve. We are looking for people who are caring, demonstrate integrity and work well as part of a team to join with us and share in this sense of achievement. If you would like to help us make a positive impact to health and social care within England, then read on.

Why this could be a great role for you…

IR(ME)R stands for the Ionising Radiation (Medical Exposure) Regulations. An exciting opportunity for an IR(ME)R Inspector, Nuclear Medicine Specialist has arisen within our National Operations Directorate.

The role is responsible for carrying out inspections under IR(ME)R 2017, investigating notifications of significant accidental and unintended exposures and taking any necessary enforcement actions. You will be required to work flexibly as part of a team and undertake other tasks as required.

This is a national role and will require travel throughout England.

What you will bring…

IR(ME)R Nuclear Medicine Specialist:

You need to be a radiographer, technologist or clinical scientist specialising in nuclear medicine. You must have an appropriate degree (e.g. diagnostic radiography, clinical technology, medical physics) and specialist nuclear medicine training. You should have a current registration with either the HCPC or RCT.

You will need experience working in nuclear medicine, with solid knowledge of radiation protection matters in the field. You will have a sound understanding of the IR(ME)R regulations and their application to clinical nuclear medicine. Experience meeting regulatory requirements related to radiation protection in a clinical department is advantageous.

Specific IR(ME)R Accountabilities:

- Triage, investigate and escalate where necessary significant accidental or unintended exposures (SAUE) reported to CQC under regulation 8(4) of IR(ME)R2017.
- Investigate SAUE by liaising with key IR(ME)R duty holders and management staff from the provider including clinical departmental managers, governance and safety staff, and the executive team.
- Support colleagues in identifying topical issues for inclusion within internal and external IR(ME)R publications.
- Carry a warrant under the Health and Safety At Work (etc) Act 1974 and Health and Social Care Act 2012.
- Build and maintain strong working relationships with stakeholders both internally and externally.
- Contribute where appropriate to the development of policy and intelligence regarding IR(ME)R2017, and relevant services.
- Manage information with sensitivity, upholding the values and ethos of the Commission particularly in relation to confidential personal information, the rights of whistle blowers who bring concerns to us and in relation to the data protection act and the freedom of information act.
- To represent the CQC IR(ME)R team with internal and external stakeholders including providers, professional bodies, advisory bodies, other regulatory bodies, government departments and representatives from other nations.

Inspector Accountabilities:

- Deliver inspection activity as part of a schedule of responsive and planned inspections.
- Manage a portfolio to deliver an individual workload whilst working flexibly as part of a team, ensuring issues and risks are escalated to the IR(ME)R Management team as appropriate.
- Update relevant systems to ensure records are maintained and an audit trail is recorded.
- Liaise and engage with providers, organisations and individuals as appropriate to discharge responsibilities of the role and IR(ME)R2017.
- Ensures judgements, actions and ratings are supported by corroborated evidence and analysis utilising information received from a variety of channels e.g. people who use services, providers, whistle blowing, safeguarding etc.
- Take enforcement action as appropriate or escalate complex cases through a management review process.
- Produce standard, plain English, high quality reports. 
- Ensure the individual Personal Development Plan is maintained and updated from discussion in regular line management meetings. 
- Actively contribute to Performance Development Reviews and complete the required documentation.
- Maintain an understanding and awareness of CQC policies and procedures and ensure these are reflected in everyday practice. 
- Attend and contribute to relevant meetings as appropriate to the role.
- Attend mandatory and other training as required to support individual development.
- Encourage a culture that values openness, honesty, rigour and challenge to embed the CQC values and behaviours.
- Raise awareness and improve practice in respect of Equality and Diversity; challenge discrimination and promote human rights in the workplace; internally for CQC and externally for people who use services.

Essential Skills and Experience:

- A degree in Diagnostic or Therapeutic Radiography or equivalent; or a clinical scientist with medical physics training, or clinical technologist working in nuclear medicine belonging to the register of clinical technologists 
- A current HCPC registration or equivalent
- Detailed knowledge of IR(ME)R2017
- A minimum of 5 years’ experience in an appropriate clinical setting, for example diagnostic radiography, radiotherapy or nuclear medicine
- Experience of using analytical information and robust evidence to inform decisions against a risk-based methodology and evidence gathering and synthesis
- IT literate with a good understanding of Microsoft Office packages
- Experience of operating in a professional autonomous and risk based decision-making environment
- Experience of articulating coherent rationales for action, based upon robust, corroborated evidence
- Excellent communication skills, both written and oral and the ability to tailor information depending upon audience’s needs
- Stakeholder engagement skills and ability to build relationships with people at all levels of seniority

Please note this role is subject to a satisfactory DBS check.