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Job summary

Main area
Opthalmology
Grade
NHS AfC: Band 7
Contract
Permanent
Hours
  • Full time
  • Part time
  • Job share
37.5 hours per week
Job ref
409-7208134
Employer
Mersey and West Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust
Employer type
NHS
Site
St Helens Hospital
Town
St Helens
Salary
£47,810 - £54,710 per annum
Salary period
Yearly
Closing
16/09/2025 23:59

Employer heading

Mersey and West Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust logo

Specialist Optometrist

NHS AfC: Band 7

After applying via NHS Jobs, your submitted application will be imported into our preferred Third-party recruitment system. All subsequent information regarding your application will be generated from apps.trac.jobs. You will not be able to track the progress of your application or receive messages through the NHS Jobs website, and furthermore, as an employer, we will not be able to respond to any e-mails sent to us via the NHS Jobs website. By applying for this post you are agreeing to "name of trust" transferring the information contained in this application to its preferred applicant management system. If you are appointed to a post information will also be transferred into the national NHS Electronic Staff Records system.

Job overview

An exciting opportunity has arisen for an ambitious and enthusiastic Optometrist to join our expanding Optometry department at Mersey & West Lancashire Teaching Hospitals Trust. 

This successful post holder will be required to carry out core optometry roles, including adult refraction, paediatric refraction and contact lens practice. Extended roles in AMD, Glaucoma and post-operative care are available to explore and training will be provided should the candidate be interested and have no prior experience. 

The successful candidate will be required to work closely with the Ophthalmology and Orthoptic teams to deliver and develop a high quality and diverse optometric services to our patients. 

Both full time and part time candidates will be considered. 

If you have any questions or wish to arrange an informal visit, please contact Mr Huzaifah Khonat, Principal Optometrist or Victoria Devlin, Head Orthoptist

An Enhanced DBS with barred lists for both Adults & Children is required for this post.

Main duties of the job

  • To work as part of a multi-disciplinary team providing Optometric services including specialist techniques to children and adults within St Helens Hospital, Community Outreach Clinics and Special Schools.
  • To assess, diagnose and manage patients in both the community and hospital-based Ophthalmology Service, under the guidance of the relevant Consultant lead.
  • To initiate follow up care by the relevant team where appropriate and onward referral where required.
  • To assist the department in providing timely, effective, safe and appropriate care to its patients.
  • To contribute to the development of Optometrist delivered secondary care services within St Helens Ophthalmology Service.
  • To take part in audit, review and teaching.

Working for our organisation

Mersey and West Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust serves a population of over 600,000 with a workforce of over 10,500 dedicated and skilled staff across 21 sites.

We strongly believe that the communities we serve should all have access to Five Star Patient Care.

Our services:

Acute Care

Providing emergency and maternity services at Whiston, Southport and Ormskirk hospitals, and medical and surgical specialties across all our sites.

Primary Care

Providing primary care services at Marshalls Cross Medical Centre situated in St Helens Hospital.

Community Services

Providing adult community services for St Helens and a wheelchair service in Chorley, South Ribble, and West Lancashire. Our inpatient unit at Newton Community Hospital is where patients needing acute hospital beds can continue rehabilitation. We also provide urgent care at our Urgent Treatment Centre located in St Helens town centre.

Specialist Regional Services

We provide the Mersey Regional Burns & Plastic Surgery Unit at Whiston Hospital and the Spinal Injuries Unit at Southport Hospital to more than 4 million people across the whole of Merseyside, West Lancashire, Cheshire, Isle of Man and North Wales.

Achievements:

  • Rated Outstanding by CQC Inspection August 2018
  • Top 100 places to work in the NHS (NHS Employers & Health Service Journal)
  • National Preceptorship Accreditation (2023) for Nursing & AHP Preceptorship Programme

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

Please ensure you have read through the attached Job Description and Person Specification before submitting your application. 

Advertising date: 2nd September 2025

Closing date: 16th September 2025

Shortlisting date: 17th September 2025

Proposed Interview date: 25th September 2025

Please note, this post may close earlier than advertised if a sufficient number of applications are received. 

Person specification

Qualifications

Essential criteria
  • BSc (Hons) Optometry
  • Registration with the General Optical Council (GOC)
  • Evidence of CPD

Knowledge & Experience

Essential criteria
  • IT literate
  • Accurate record keeping
  • Flexible approach to working patterns
  • Ability to work independently and as part of a multi-disciplinary team
  • Ability to deal with vulnerable adults and children
Desirable criteria
  • Postgraduate clinical experience
  • Previous work in Hospital Eye Service
  • Previous involvement in clinical/medical audit

Other

Desirable criteria
  • Ability to travel to various locations via own car or assisted driver

Employer certification / accreditation badges

Nursing TimesApprenticeships logoDisability confident leaderArmed Forces Covenant Gold AwardNavajo - Merseyside and CheshireCare quality commission - OutstandingDying to Work CharterStep into healthHappy to Talk Flexible WorkingNHS Rainbow Badge - BronzeDefence Employer Recognition Scheme (ERS) - GoldPeople Promise

Applicant requirements

You must have appropriate UK professional registration.

This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (Exceptions) Order 1975 (Amendment) (England and Wales) Order 2020 and it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service.

Documents to download

Apply online now

Further details / informal visits contact

Name
Victoria Devlin
Job title
Head Orthoptist
Email address
[email protected]
Telephone number
01744 646817
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