Job overview
Department: Ophthalmology
An exciting opportunity has arisen for a confident, enthusiastic, individual to work within the Medical Retina Team. as a Medical Retina Pathway Navigator to join the Ophthalmology Department within CSU 3 (Trauma & Orthopaedics, Reconstructive & Plastics, ENT, OMFS, Dermatology and Ophthalmology).
The post will be offered full / part time (minimum 30 hours).
Main duties of the job
As the Medical Retina Pathway Navigator, you will act as a liaison between the patient and the clinical team, managing appointments, inquiries, and patient records with high precision.
Your primary responsibilities will be to manage the administration processes act as patient advocate to overcome barriers to timely access to any part of the patients injection pathway, minimising any delays to diagnostics and treatment.
You will directly communicate with consultants, nurse injectors and administration staff to advise on any concerns/ queries or delays to clinical plans.
The role plays a vital part in streamlining the patient journey and contributes to the improvement of both quality and experience.
The post holder will have day to day responsibility for the processes and systems to effectively maintain the medical retina service including clinic availability and injection waiting lists, ensuring access to services is equitable for all patients and within national and local policies and guidance.
Working for our organisation
We support the Making Every Contact Count approach to behaviour change in the promotion of health and wellbeing of individuals and communities.
South Tees Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust offers leadership and improvement training to all new staff. This training programme has been designed to support our staff in developing their understanding of leadership and management skills. You will be expected to attend the following training sessions:
Your Leadership Impact
Leading Your Team to Success
Service Improvement for Beginners
Developing your Service Improvement Skills
The leadership and improvement programme aims to:
Explore leadership within the NHS
Promote Trust values and behaviours
Develop your leadership effectiveness and skills
Equip you with the necessary knowledge and skills to lead and complete service improvements within the scope of your role.
After you complete these three and a half days of training you will be able to explore further leadership and improvement training opportunities. We also offer further in-house courses and bitesize programmes through our Leadership and Improvement Team.
Detailed job description and main responsibilities
Please see the full job description and person specification document(s) for main responsibilities of the role.
Person specification
Knowledge & Skills
Essential criteria
1. Excellent interpersonal skills and communication skills to liaise with stakeholders internal and external to the organisation
2. Excellent planning, prioritisation and organisational skills
3. Negotiating / persuasive and motivational skills
4. Familiarity with data collection processes and national waiting time targets
5. Ability to use Microsoft Outlook and Office packages for Word, Excel, Powerpoint presentations, to develop and manipulate spreadsheets and databases equivalent to ECDL.
6. Complex data analysis and manipulation from a wide range of sources and present in succinct format
7. Typing and keyboard skills
8. Experience of Ophthalmology Services administration processes
9. Experience of direct liaison with patients
10. Ability to prepare data reports as required by clinical teams or General Manager
Desirable criteria
11. Ability to deliver presentations/prepare reports on complex data to a wide audience.
Qualifications & Training
Essential criteria
12. Educated to degree level, working towards a degree or equivalent experience
Experience
Essential criteria
13. Demonstrable experience of working to tight deadlines to deliver results.
14. Work to a high standard of data quality.
15. Experience of working with low levels of supervision and high levels of initiative. Possess strong numerical and statistical skills.
16. Be able to articulate waiting times data requirements and have an ability to translate guidance into practice.
17. Possess strong numerical and statistical skills.
18. Possess the ability to work autonomously, taking responsibility for own area of work and planning working day.
Desirable criteria
19. Experience of delivering training
20. Demonstratable experience of successfully completing projects / service improvement initiatives
Disclosure and Barring Checks (DBS)
It is the policy of South Tees Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust that all successful candidates who are new to the Trust who require DBS clearance for the post they have been offered, are required to pay the cost of their DBS. The method of payment for this is via salary deduction from your first month's pay.
Equality, Diversity and Inclusion
Everything we do is shaped by our values: Respect, Support, and Collaborate.
At University Hospitals Tees we want our workspaces to be places where everyone feels welcome, valued and safe. We treat people with respect, and we celebrate the differences that make each of us unique.
We welcome applications from everyone, no matter your age, background, race, religion, disability, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, family circumstances or beliefs.
We are here to support you throughout your application and at every stage of your career with us. We believe we work best when we collaborate, learn from each other and build teams that reflect the communities we serve.
Supporting disabled people and people with longterm conditions
We are a Disability Confident committed employer aspiring to become a lead employer in 2026.
This means we give fair and full consideration to applicants and will offer reasonable adjustments during the recruitment process. If you need help with your application, or need the information in a different format, please contact our recruitment team and we will support you.
If you have any special requirements to help you with your application, email our team at or call us on 01642 854610
Right to Work in the UK
The Trust welcomes applications from all candidates who meet the criteria for the role. Please note that from January 2021, to work in the UK all candidates who are not UK or Republic of Ireland (RoI) nationals require sponsorship unless you have permission to work via another route. Non UK / RoI candidates wishing to apply can self-assess the likelihood of obtaining a Certificate of Sponsorship here Work in the UK - (.
Please provide full and accurate details of your current immigration status on the application form. Your current immigration status will not be considered as part of the shortlisting or interview process.
Please note that not everyone needs a Skilled Worker visa. If you are applying for a vacancy in health or adult social care, you may be eligible to apply for the Health and Care Worker visa instead.
We are able to offer sponsorship for a Health and Care Worker or Skilled Worker visa, subject to candidate and position eligibility. Please review the job eligibility guidance for skilled workers here: Skilled Worker visa: Your job - ( and for the Health and Care Worker visa here: Skilled Worker visa: eligible healthcare and education jobs - (
Please note: if the job you are applying for does not meet the eligibility criteria above, we will be unable to offer you sponsorship and you will need to explore whether you may be eligible to apply for an alternative immigration route which will secure your right to work in the UK before you apply. If you are in the UK already on a visa, please ensure you have no restrictions that would prevent you from taking this post.
The Trust encourages and supports all applicants to be fully vaccinated against both COVID19 and influenza.
Please be aware, there are occasions where some vacancies may close prior to the closing date advertised. This will only happen where sufficient applications are received AND will be made evident on the job advert.
Please note if you are successfully shortlisted, we will contact you via the email address that you have applied from so please ensure you check your emails regularly.
Existing employees of South Tees NHS Foundation Trust currently on the Redeployment Register, who meet the essential criteria for this post, will be shortlisted and interviewed prior to all other applicants.