Job overview

This post will be for a full time permanent Band 5 Orthoptist post, based at the Birmingham and Midland Eye Centre. 

The post holder will provide autonomous clinical diagnostic and therapeutic services across a wide range of clinical conditions including, Paediatrics, Neuro-ophthalmology and Trauma, in two acute units. Following a period of clinical experience, they will also be involved in Primary Vision Screening and Community Out-reach clinics.

The team of 12 Orthoptists and 10 Ophthalmic Technicians are a supportive team, providing supervision and mentorship in line with the British and Irish Orthoptic Society Pre-ceptorship programme.

This post is suitable for a graduate that wants to gain a diverse range of experience working within a highly motivated team.

If you would like to find out more about the post before applying, please contact Thuy Pham, Head Orthoptist at [email protected]

Main duties of the job

To carry out visual and ocular assessment on patients referred to the Orthoptic department from various other hospital departments, including paediatrics, accident and emergency, maxillo-facial, neurology, endocrinology and the child development centre.

To take sole responsibility to formulate relevant discharge plans and onward referral. This patient group includes patients suffering from strabismus, amblyopia (reduced vision with no apparent pathological cause), complex congenital and acquired conditions including cranial nerve palsy (neurological and systemic in origin), ocular trauma and genetic ocular disorders and associated ocular abnormalities.

To assist in the diagnosis and monitoring of patients with Glaucoma by performing, recording and interpreting the appropriate manual and automated visual field test.

The post holder will work within a large team of Orthoptists. New Graduates will been supported by a mentor who will follow the British and Irish Orthoptic Society Pre-ceptorship programme.

The clinical role will encompass a wide range of paediatric and adult patients. Supervision will be provided to allow the post holder to develop their skills and knowledge in the acute and community setting

Working for our organisation

Sandwell and West Birmingham NHS Trust (SWB) serves Birmingham and the Black Country – one of the country’s most culturally diverse areas. It’s a friendly and welcoming place – a place where you can belong, and a place where you can grow.

We care for our patients, we care about our population, and we care about our people.

Our values – Ambition, Respect and Compassion – are at the heart of who we are. They guide us every step of the way; how we work with each other, and how we look after our patients and their families; how we respect and value the rich diversity of our team and our community.

Our Trust has always aspired to be more than a hospital, more than a healthcare provider. Our purpose is to “Improve the Life Chances and Health Outcomes of our Population.” It is what inspires, drives, and unites us every day. It’s what makes us unique.

We want working at SWB to feel like more than just a job. We want our Trust to be a place where you can feel you belong. A place where you feel happy, safe, and rewarded. A place where you can develop your career in whatever way you choose. When we say we’re ‘with you all the way’ we want you to know that we mean it. Visit the SWB website to find out more about our ambitions and people plans.

Multi-site working 

The four partner Trusts of the Black Country Provider Collaborative (Dudley Group NHS FT, Royal Wolverhampton NHS Trust, Sandwell & West Birmingham NHS Trust, and Walsall Healthcare NHS Trust) are actively working in partnership to deliver a collective vision focused on providing "better, faster and safer care to the population of the Black Country and beyond". 

To support this vision, we are (where appropriate and safe to do so) actively looking at new models of care which:

Against this context, although this post is hosted by Sandwell & West Birmingham NHS Trust, there may be an expectation to work flexibly across the four partner Trusts to better meet patient and service needs.