Job overview
We have an exciting opportunity for a highly autonomous and experienced Sonographer, who is practicing at the top of their licence and can evidence of the four pillars of Advanced Clinical Practice, to join our diverse team as General Specialist Practitioner Sonographer.
The successful candidate will be based at the Royal London Hospital with Cross site rotation to St Bartholomew’s, Mile End hospital Community Diagnostic centre and Early Diagnostic centre and will be expected to participate in the 7-day service with working compressed hours and weekend working.
The role is 80% Direct Clinical Contact (DCC) 20% Supporting Professional Activities (SPA). This role is intended to support the upskilling and training of sonographers to improve the skill mix in General ultrasound. Experience in scanning more complex referrals from a range of referral sources across elective, urgent and emergency care pathways (e.g. Fast response, SDEC and AAU) is essential. The post holder will be responsible for improving patient outcomes by reducing waiting times to comply with National targets, DM01 and Faster Diagnostic service (FDS), leading quality improvement and audit/research projects.
£5K RRP per year subject to approval.
The Royal London Hospital with cross site rotation to St Bartholomew’s Hospital and the Mile End Hospital’s Community Diagnostic Centre and Early Diagnosis Centre
150 hours per month – compressed hours over 4 weekdays and some weekend working.
Main duties of the job
Specialist Practitioner Sonographers will work as part of multidisciplinary team to manage the pathway for patients referred for more complex ultrasound scans as part of the following specialties:
• Paediatrics
• Gynaecology
• Head and Neck
• MSK
• General
Due to the scope of practice required for these roles the post holder must demonstrate a high degree of autonomy and clinical experience, be statutory registered with a regulatory body in the UK and hold a Consortium for the Accreditation of Sonographic Education (CASE) accredited post-graduate (level 7) award in ultrasound. The post holder must also be able to evidence the four pillars of advanced practice and demonstrate core capabilities and specialty specific clinical competencies.
The post-holder’s contract will be for 7-day working pattern with compressed hours over 4 weekdays and some weekend working. The roles will be job planned to support clinical effectiveness with 80% Direct Clinical Contact time (to include supervision and training responsibilities and attendance at MDT meetings) and 20%
Supporting Professional Activities time (to include quality improvement, audit, research, clinical leadership and other teaching/educational activities).
Working for our organisation
Barts Health is one of the largest NHS trusts in the country, and one of Britain’s leading healthcare providers.
The Barts Health group of NHS hospitals is entering an exciting new era on our improvement journey to becoming an outstanding organisation with a world-class clinical reputation. Having lifted ourselves out of special measures, we now have the impetus and breathing space to chart a fresh course in which we are continually striving to improve all our services for patients.
Our vision is to be a high-performing group of NHS hospitals, renowned for excellence and innovation, and providing safe and compassionate care to our patients in east London and beyond. That means being a provider of excellent patient safety, known for delivering consistently high standards of harm-free care and always caring for patients in the right place at the right time. It also means being an outstanding place to work, in which our WeCare values and behaviours are visible to all and guide us in how we work together.
We strive to live by our WeCare values and are committed to promoting inclusion, where every staff member has a sense of belonging. We value our differences and fully advocate, cultivate and support an inclusive working environment.
We particularly welcome applications from Black, Asian and minority ethnic candidates as they are underrepresented within Barts Health at this band.
Detailed job description and main responsibilities
The full job description provides an overview of the key tasks and responsibilities of the role, and the person specification outlines the qualifications, skills, experience, and knowledge required. For both documents, please view the attachment/s below.
Person specification
Experience
Essential criteria
1. •Extensive experience in ultrasound imaging post qualification.
2. •Experience in scanning more complex referrals from a range of referral sources across elective and urgent and emergency care pathways (e.g. Fast response, SDEC and AAU).
3. •Evidence of continuing professional development
4. •Experience of post graduate teaching.
5. •Reviewing and updating clinical protocols and procedures in line with national standards.
6. •Ability to lead audit and research.
7. •Ability to perform quality improvement projects.
Desirable criteria
8. •Undertaking appraisal practices.
9. •Attendance of a clinical supervisor course.
10. •Demonstrable operational management experience in the health service
11. •Experience in undertaking recruitment drives.
Skills
Essential criteria
12. •Specialty expert and extended scope of practice in relevant subspecialty e.g. paediatrics hips, transplant kidneys, elastography and ultrasound guided procedures such as CEUS, Head and Neck FNAs Hy Cosy’s.
13. •High level inter-personal and communications skills.
14. •To be working towards or having already gained and maintained the 4 pillars of advanced practice.
15. •Able to work. collaboratively with other disciplines.
16. •High level of work organisation, self motivation, drive for performance and improvement plus flexibility in approach and attitude.
17. •Ability to deal with conflict and stressful situations.
18. •Ability to work under pressure.
19. •Effective leadership and team working.
20. •Computer literate.
21. •Ability to analyse. complex problems and develop practical and workable solutions to address them.
22. •Ability to manage and deliver deadlines.
Desirable criteria
23. •Presentation skills.
24. •Achievements in managing change.
25. •Ability to collaborate. constructively with internal and external partners/key stakeholders.
26. •Demonstrates evidence of being able to adapt to change and respond to major incidents (e.g. ICT/PACS downtime and pandemics).
Knowledge
Essential criteria
27. •Up to date knowledge of current and emerging ultrasound techniques and relevant professional issues.
28. •Knowledge of current policies and legislation affecting service delivery.
29. •A good understanding of clinical governance and risk management.
Desirable criteria
30. •Participation experience of NHS leadership programs.
Qualifications
Essential criteria
31. •BSc (Hons) or DCR in Diagnostic Radiography or other healthcare qualification.
32. •CASE accredited post-graduate qualification in Medical Ultrasound.
33. •Current and up to date statutory registration with the HCPC or other regulatory body in the UK (e.g. NMC or GMC)
34. •Managerial /Leadership qualification or equivalent knowledge and experience.
Desirable criteria
35. •MSc in Medical Ultrasound or equivalent knowledge and experience.
36. •Project Management Qualification
37. •PG Cert in Education/Academic Practice.
38. •MSc in Advanced Practice or achievement of e-portfolio (supported) route for accreditation.
Other
Essential criteria
39. •Sufficient ability to perform the duties of the post with any aids and adaptations.
40. •A commitment to improving patient services through an ability to sustain a clear performance focus on achieving demanding goals.
**Visa Sponsorship Information**
Recent changes to UK immigration policy on the Health and Care Visa and Skilled Worker Visa could mean that this role is not eligible for sponsorship or that you may not meet the eligibility criteria.
Sponsorship can only be offered if this post and any individual offered employment meet all the Home Office’s requirements under the UK Skilled Worker visa scheme.
If you are applying from outside the UK or will require sponsorship, please mention this clearly in your application.
To be eligible for sponsorship, the following conditions must be met:
41. Eligible role: The position must be on the UK Skilled Worker visa list. You can check your eligibility here: -.
42. Salary threshold: The role must meet the minimum salary set by the Home Office. Please note that for roles employed under Agenda for Change Terms and Conditions, the High-Cost Area Supplement (HCAS) is not included when calculating the basic salary for the purposes of sponsorship.
43. Skill level: The role must meet the minimum skill requirement of RQF Level 6 or above (graduate level).
44. English language: Applicants must demonstrate English proficiency at CEFR level B1 or higher.
45. Other criteria: Applicants must meet all other criteria as set out by the UK Visas and Immigration (UKVI)