Senior Respiratory Physiologist
Closed for applications on: 25-Feb-2025 00:02
Vacancy status: Closed
Closed for applications on: 25-Feb-2025 00:02
Key details
Location
- Site
- Wimpole Street
- Address
- 77 Wimpole Street
- Town
- London
- Postcode
- W1G 9RU
- Major / Minor Region
- London
Contract type & working pattern
- Contract
- Permanent: Will involve some Saturday working
- Hours
- Full time - 37.5 hours per week (Some Saturdays)
Salary
- Salary
- £44,806 - £53,134 p.a. inc HCA
- Salary period
- Yearly
- Grade
- (NHS AfC: Band 6)
Specialty
- Main area
- Senior Respiratory Physiologist
Guy’s and St Thomas’ is among the UK’s busiest and most successful NHS foundation trusts. We provide a full range of hospital and community services for people in south London and as well as specialist care for patients from further afield including cancer, renal, orthopaedic, respiratory and cardiovascular services.
Guy’s is home to the largest dental school in Europe and a £160 million Cancer Centre opened in 2016. As part of our commitment to provide care closer to home, in 2017 we also opened a cancer centre and a kidney treatment centre at Queen Mary’s Hospital in Sidcup. St Thomas’ has one of the largest critical care units in the UK and one of the busiest emergency departments in London. It is also home to Evelina London Children’s Hospital.
Evelina London cares for local children in Lambeth and Southwark and provides specialist services across south east England including cardiac, renal and critical care services. We lead a number of specialist service networks aiming to ensure children are treated locally where possible, but have access to specialist expertise when they need it. Our community services include health visiting, school nursing and support for families of children with long-term conditions.
Our adult community services teams deliver care at the heart of the local communities we serve, working in partnership with GPs, local authorities and other healthcare and voluntary sector organisations. Working with our partners in Lambeth and Southwark, we are focusing on new ways of working to improve care for local patients.
In February 2021 the Royal Brompton and Harefield joined Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust, bringing together world-leading expertise in the care and research of heart and lung disease. Our merger provides a once in a generation opportunity to build a lasting, world-renowned heart and lung centre, providing the highest quality care for patients and conducting world-leading research.
We have a reputation for clinical excellence and high quality teaching and research. We are part of King’s Health Partners, one of eight accredited UK academic health sciences centres. In partnership with King’s College London we have dedicated clinical research facilities including an MHRA accredited Phase I clinical trials unit.
Patients are at the heart of everything we do and we pride ourselves on ensuring the best possible patient experience as well as safe, high quality care. We are proud to have one of the lowest mortality rates in the NHS. Following a comprehensive Care Quality Commission (CQC) inspection in 2019 we maintained our overall rating of ‘good’. Our adult community services achieved a rating of ‘outstanding’.
The commitment of our 23,500 staff is key to our success. We are one of the largest local employers and we aim to develop and support all our staff so they are able to deliver high quality, safe and efficient care. The 2019 NHS staff survey results show that we have one of the most engaged and motivated workforces in the NHS. We know this has a positive impact on the care provided to our patients.
We have one of the most ambitious capital investment programmes anywhere in the NHS.
Job overview
- The successful candidate will require a BSc in physiology or equivalent (MSc and familiarity with statistical analysis). To be able to perform with minimal supervision the physiological tests listed under main responsibilities.
- Good understanding and experience of respiratory physiology and an Experience as a Physiologist in a respiratory physiology department. Knowledge and practical experience of respiratory and physiological test procedures and techniques is desirable.
- To obtain accurate and informative results from patients and any other subjects performing the tests ensuring specifics of individual trial protocols are met.
- To be involved in work requiring a considerable degree of responsibility and autonomy and include activities that are complex and / or non-routine.
- To be able to supervise and help train more junior members of staff in the clinical department.
- To help with lectures and training and give general advice to staff.
To demonstrate care and respect, for both patients and fellow staff members.
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Patient Care (both direct and indirect)
- To be able to perform the procedures listed under physiological tests, with minimal supervision and to relate to patients, relatives, staff, technical and medical personnel.
- To perform all relevant quality control procedures within the department including the performance of personal biological control procedures.
- To help maintain and repair departmental equipment in conjunction with more senior staff and the Clinical Engineering Department.
- To clean and disinfect all departmental equipment when necessary.
- To perform general administrative duties including when necessary.
- To take personal responsibility for compliance with all Trust and Departmental infection control policies and procedures. See Trust policies and Departmental local health and safety rules.
Physiological Tests
- Routine Tests
- Lung volume measurements using body plethysmography
- Airways resistance measurements using the body plethysmograph
- Spirometry/Flow volume loops
- Gas transfer measurements
- Bronchodilation assessments
Specialised tests
- Exercise studies of ventilation and gas exchange
- Cardio-Pulmonary Exercise Tests
- Blood gas analysis
- Methacholine challenge / PD20 studies
- Maximal voluntary ventilation tests
- Hypoxic Inhalation Challenge
- FeNO tests
- Home Sleep Studies
- Basic respiratory muscle tests (MIP, MEP, SNIP).
Working for our organisation
During your employment, you may have access to, see or hear information of a confidential nature and you are required not to disclose such information, particularly that relating to patients and staff.
In order to comply with the Data Protection Act 1998 you must not at any time use personal data held by the Trust for any unauthorised purpose or disclose such as data to a third party.
You must not make any disclosure to any unauthorised person or use any confidential information relating to the business affairs of the Trust, unless expressly authorised to do so by the Trust.
Risk management
All staff have a responsibility to report all clinical and non-clinical accidents or incidents promptly and, when requested, to co-operate with any investigation undertaken.
Conflict of interests
You may not without the consent of the Trust engage in any outside employment. In accordance with the Trust’s Conflict of Interest policy, you must declare to your manager all private interests which could potentially result in personal gain because of your employment in the Trust. Interests that might appear to be in conflict should also be declared to your manager.
Detailed job description and main responsibilities
Policy Development
- To implement the trust policies and protocols within the department.
Service Development
- To implement existing departmental procedures ensuring accurate data is obtained in an environment with the best possible patient care.
- To assist in development of departmental procedures.
People Management
- To aim to complete objectives set during Individual Performance Reviews.
- Involvement in Continuous Professional Development (CPD) and attendance at relevant internal/external courses, seminars, lectures etc in which appropriate information can be gained relating to physiological, scientific, and medical matters.
To help with lectures and training and give general advice to staff and demonstrate good practice in research and development.
Communication
- Good communication skills / assertiveness are essential as well as good time management skills.
- To supervise and encourage patients during their time in the department and deal with any queries or problems in a suitable manner, this requires Good technical and laboratory skills. When appropriate, discuss results with patients using discretion, awareness of patient confidentiality and cross any boundaries of understanding.
- To communicate effectively with department colleagues and other members of the trust in all aspects of patient care and respiratory physiology.
- To check test results and report on the routine lung function tests if required, using interpretation of guidelines and relevant scientific and medical knowledge. Ability to maintain prolonged periods of concentration and mental effort.
- Good innovative skills are essential.
Resource Management
- Safe use of complex equipment involving reporting of faults, routine maintenance, and monitoring of stock levels.
- Good practical equipment maintenance skills are required to perform the maintenance and cleaning of departmental respiratory measurement equipment. Including quality control, calibration, problem solving and liaison with other departments and manufacturers.
Information Management
- To ensure all patient data is stored in a suitable manner.
- To assist with storage of conventional and electronic patient data utilising available information technology to manage the department database.
- To ensure all data is as accurate and valid as possible and identify possible sources of erroneous test results.
- Supervision of the special tests database, allowing accurate data on all non-routine procedures performed within the department to be recalled at any time
General
- To ensure all mandatory training courses such as Manual handling, Fire, Adult and Paediatric Resuscitation, Infection Control, Blood Handling, Health and Safety and GCP training are attended on an annual basis or at the interval deemed necessary and the knowledge gained adhered to.
- To abide by the Trust’s core behaviours for staff and all other Trust policies including standing financial instructions, research governance, codes and practices and health and safety policies
- To perform any other duty as deemed necessary by the Lead Physiologist.
Further sections
- To abide by the Trust’s Core behaviors for staff and all other Trust policies, codes and practices including standing financial instructions, research governance, clinical governance, patient and public involvement, codes and practices, and health and safety.
Other duties
- To undertake any other duties commensurate with the grade as requested.
Applicant requirements
Person specification
Qualifications
Essential criteria
- Training in Clinical Science/Physiology to BSc level or equivalent.
Desirable criteria
- GCP training or research experience.
- Completed ARTP practitioners exams.
Knowledge
Essential criteria
- Knowledge of common respiratory disease processes.
- Familiar with using computer software packages to analysis complex data.
- Able to report on physiological data using interpretation of guidelines with relevant scientific knowledge.
Desirable criteria
- Able to identify and understand the relevance of various routine diagnostics tests.
- Knowledge and experience of specialised physiological testing eg Methacholine.
Experience
Essential criteria
- Evidence demonstrated of a good scientific background.
- Practical experience with Cardio-Pulmonary Exercise Testing.
- Familiarity with using routine lung function equipment in a laboratory setting.
Desirable criteria
- Previous patient facing role.
- Experience in setting up and scoring home sleep studies.
- Experience of managing research protocols.
Skills
Essential criteria
- Able to work under pressure with patients with distressing conditions.
- Able to communicate well.
- Ability to work independently and as part of a team.
Desirable criteria
- Trouble shooting and problem solving.
Further details / informal visits contact
- Name
- Christopher Warren
- Job title
- Lead Respiratory Physiologist
- Email address
- [email protected]
- Telephone number
- 02073518101
No longer accepting applications
Sorry, this vacancy is no longer accepting applications.
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