Job overview

Mid and South Essex foundation Trust are seeking a CST/IQA Lead. This position will be employed 1 day per week (7.5 hours).

The CST/IQA Lead has special responsibility for quality assurance (QA) of screening technicians and the screening process with responsibility for the screening equipment, screening technicians’ accreditation and monitoring of clinical performance, including review of scans (Image quality Assurance - IQA) identified by SMaRT (Screening Management and Referral 

Tracking system) from screening clinics. Any QA concerns should be brought to the attention of the director. The CST/IQA Lead advises on which ultrasound equipment should be purchased (subject to the specifications of the National Abdominal Aneurysm Screening Programme - NAAASP - guidelines) and when it needs to be updated or replaced.

Please note this position can be a remote role should the candidate live outside of Southend or even Essex. All of the IQA can be done remotely and any clinical observations/reaccreditations can potentially be done at one of our screening locations, e.g. if a CST/IQA Lead was residing in London or West Hertfordshire, the observations could be done at our Harlow, Brentwood, Epping or Stansted locations, wherever is most convenient. Similarly, if they resided in Cambridgeshire, Suffolk or Norfolk we have locations at Saffron Waldon and Braintree. There would be very little need to come to Southend and we remain flexible.

Main duties of the job

If successful your duties will include: 

• to be responsible for the clinical training and supervision of new and existing staff – ensuring they are familiar with scanning techniques and maintain screening programme procedures and high standards
• to act as the main point of contact and supervisor/assessor for the screening technicians while undertaking the required NAAASP qualification – this may require CST/IQA Lead to undertake additional assessor qualification
• to perform clinical assessments of trainee screening technicians at the specified ‘assessment gateways’ as per AAA screening programme guidance to ensure trainee technicians complete their portfolio of experience and log book (assessment criteria are provided to support CSTs when performing these assessments)
• to manage and review the work of the screeners at regular intervals as per programme QA framework and instigate further training where necessary
• to plan and provide local training and CPD sessions for screeners, including supervisory sessions as per clinical training requirements
• to offer support and advice to screeners if they encounter problems or unusual findings, particularly associated with conditions in men or technical malfunctions
• to play an important role in the recruitment process for new screeners, including assessing the candidates’ eye-to-hand coordination
• to carry out accurate abdominal ultrasound scanning as part of the local AAA screening programme, if required

Working for our organisation

Our ambition is to deliver excellent local and specialist services, to improve the health and well being of our patients, and provide a vibrant place for staff to develop, innovate and build careers.

We aim to make the most of our skills and experiences so we can become the best we can be. As one organisation we will recruit the finest and retain more specialist staff due to more employment opportunities across our Trust.