Job overview

An exciting opportunity has arisen for an Advanced Clinical Optometrist with a specialist interest in Glaucoma to join the Optometry team at Cwm Taf Morgannwg University Health Board.

The post holder will mainly be working within the Glaucoma service, notably within the Glaucoma diagnostic hub, but will be expected to work in face-to-face and virtual review clinics across a variety of sub-specialties within Optometry and Ophthalmology. 

Advanced Clinical Optometrists have the highest level of specialist clinical training, knowledge, skills and experience exceeding that of both community and more traditional hospital eye service optometrists to provide disease treatment, patient care and management of both optometric and specific ophthalmological caseloads.

To plan and deliver advanced specialist clinical examinations tailored to individual patient requirements. Examinations will be comprehensive & commensurate with clinical experience beyond Master’s degree level, acting with guidance from national recommendations. Skills are commensurate with those of sub-specialist trained (medical) ophthalmology staff.

Main duties of the job

Post holder should have extensive experience of advanced clinical and theoretical optometric procedures in related specialist area and would be responsible for autonomous independent prescribing or supply of topical and oral investigational and therapeutic drugs and where appropriate, to seek guidance from Consultant Ophthalmologist with respect to the requirement for ocular surgery, or where medical management requirements may be unclear.

They should lead on the provision of highly specialist clinical decisions following the assessment of complex cases in order to structure clear care plans based on best practice and following appropriate competency based training. 

Where appropriate the post holder should be involved in the delivery of further extended surgical roles within the Ophthalmology service such as Selective LASER Trabeculoplasty, YAG LASER Peripheral Iridotomy and YAG capsulotomies.

Welsh Skills Desirable: This post is advertised as Welsh Desirable. This doesn’t mean essential; whilst the candidate doesn't need to have skills in Welsh, we'll consider it an advantage when short-listing and selecting candidates. This isn’t ‘fluency’, just Speaking & Listening skills at Level 3 (equivalent to CEFR B2) or above. Level 3 means basic conversations with patients about their everyday health. For more information, see ‘Welsh Language Guidance’ in the documents right at the bottom.

Working for our organisation

Cwm Taf Morgannwg University Health Board is part of the NHS Wales family.  Our Health Board provides primary, secondary and community health and wellbeing services to around 450,000 people living in three County Boroughs: Bridgend, Merthyr Tydfil, and Rhondda Cynon Taf.

We live by our core values:

• We listen, learn and improve
• We treat everyone with respect
• We all work together as one team

We are a proud local employer; around 80% of our 15000 workforce live within our region, making our staff not only our lifeblood of our organisation but of the diverse communities that we serve.