Band 6 Trainee Fetal Echocardiographer
Accepting applications until: 13-Aug-2026 23:59
Vacancy status: Open
Accepting applications until: 13-Aug-2026 23:59
Key details
Location
- Site
- Fetal Cardiology, Evelina London, St Thomas' Hospital
- Address
- Westminster Bridge Road
- Town
- London
- Postcode
- SE1 7EH
- Major / Minor Region
- London
Contract type & working pattern
- Contract
- Fixed term: 12 months (N/A)
- Hours
- Full time - 37.5 hours per week
Salary
- Salary
- £47,951 - £56,863 per annum inc. HCAS
- Salary period
- Yearly
- Grade
- (NHS AfC: Band 6)
Specialty
- Main area
- Fetal Echocardiography
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 post holder will receive the training required to independently perform comprehensive fetal echocardiograms following Fetal Anomaly Screening Program guidelines (FASP) and British Congenital Cardiac Association Fetal Cardiology Standards (BCCA Standards) as part of the fetal cardiology team constituting the fetal cardiology consultant, fetal cardiology fellow/registrar, clinical nurse specialist and fellow echocardiographers. They will also be required to work closely with colleagues in the Fetal Medicine department.
The post is predominantly patient facing and clinical, with admin and teaching/training time included commensurate to the role.
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The post holder will also be trained to provide highly complex and accurate analysis and interpretation of results to the team and, at times, patients/parents. Results will be immediately reported on the appropriate database. Paper notes are to be updated to the computer database as soon as possible for the post holders own patients and that of colleagues when required.
The post holder will be required to provide technical support regarding ultrasound machines and image review software to the wider team and report any issues to the Senior Chief Fetal Echocardiographer.
The post holder carries responsibility for the management of their training schedule and documentation of their fetal echocardiography caseload as evidence. The post holder is responsible for appropriate self-directed learning and attendance to courses and online resources. There is an expectation to attend departmental training and the paediatric cardiology multidisciplinary meeting.
Working for our organisation
Fetal cardiology at the Evelina is a tertiary and quaternary referral unit for diagnosis and antenatal management of congenital heart disease, driven by referrals from network hospitals. The sonographer team are the cornerstones of the busiest departments in the UK, with sonographer led screening clinics that allow a large through-put of screening patients, as well as providing the primary scanning, diagnosis and reporting within consultant-led clinics.
We pride ourselves in providing a supportive learning environment across specialities within the team and have an open office and image review room to facilitate this. We work closely with our Fetal Medicine and Paediatric Cardiology colleagues to provide continuity of care and shared expertise for complex congenital heart disease cases.
Detailed job description and main responsibilities
1. Key Relationships
The post holder will have regular contact with Consultants, junior medical staff, nursing Matron, clinical nurse specialists, nursing staff, pediatric cardiology physiologists, administrative and clerical Support Staff, technical staff and the service and general managers.
2. Duties and Responsibilities
Clinical and Professional
- Under the guidance of the Senior Chief Fetal Echocardiographer and supported by the senior sonographers in the Fetal Cardiology Team, follows the Fetal Cardiac Sonographer Training Guidelines and supports the development of the Fetal Cardiology service.
- To meet minimum standards and ensure that these are maintained and any issues identified are reported to the Senior Chief Fetal Echocardiographer.
- Commits to a structured personal and professional development plan, agreed with the Senior Chief Fetal Echocardiographer and the Head of Service for Paediatric and Fetal Cardiology.
- To interpret and report results under guidance of senior sonographers. Report abnormal results to senior colleagues and consultant in a timely fashion. Identify and advise when the study is insufficient to answer the clinical question and refer to senior colleagues and consultants.
- Maintain records and databases within Fetal Cardiology in accordance with confidentiality and information governance guidelines that can be used for audit and clinical governance purposes. To use discretion when sharing information.
- Ensures that all clinical duties are carried out in such a manner as to ensure safety and compliance with departmental minimum standards.
- Safe usage and maintenance of ultrasound equipment. Report to the Senior Chief Fetal Echocardiographer to ensure that adequate levels of stock are maintained.
- Demonstrate skills in dealing with inter-professional conflict. Identify adverse incidents/situations and discuss with the departmental managers and initiate action to resolve these problems.
Education and Development
- Follows the departmental training guideline as closely as possible to the outlined time-frame and commits to self-guided learning alongside provided material.
- Participates in national and international courses and meetings to maintain Continued Professional Development (CPD) and good clinical practice.
- Contributes and participates in teaching activities within the department.
Applicant requirements
Person specification
Qualifications
Essential criteria
- Relevant BSc degree
- Relevant accreditation in obstetric sonography or pediatric cardiac echocardiography
Desirable criteria
- Registration with relevant professional body.
Experience
Essential criteria
- At least two years continuous experience within speciality post accreditation.
- Evidence of sonographic/echocardiographic caseload over the last 12 months.
- Evidence of relevant CPD completed over the last 12 months.
Desirable criteria
- Evidence of observership in a fetal cardiology unit.
Special Interest
Essential criteria
- Short presentation about a recent paper of interest in Fetal Cardiology.
Desirable criteria
- Evidence of attendance to fetal cardiology courses, conferences or webinars.
Further details / informal visits contact
- Name
- Karolina Hall
- Job title
- Lead Fetal Echocardiographer
- Email address
- [email protected]
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