Guy's and St Thomas' NHS Foundation Trust

Surveillance Manager and Grading Lead

The closing date is 15 July 2025

Job summary

The South East London Diabetic Eye Screening Programme (SELDESP) is responsible for approximately 130,000 people with diabetesacross Lambeth, Southwark, Lewisham, Bromley, Bexley and Greenwich. Our team comprises Administrators, Failsafe officers, Screeners, Graders, Surveillance Practitioners and Optometrists,all of whom are passionate about providing a high quality patient experience.

The post holder will be part of the SELDESP Senior Management Team and will have the opportunity to contribute to key decisions, work on service and quality improvement projects and influence the operational management of the programme. The post holder will be line managed and supported by the Deputy Programme Manager and work collaboratively with the Programme Manager, Clinical Lead, and clinical and administrative team leaders.

Main duties of the job

We are seeking a motivated individual who is experienced in ROG and OCT grading . Applicants should have extensive experience and a good understanding of DESP screening pathways and standards.Excellent communication skills are essential, as the post holder will liaise with the SELDESP team to ensure the smooth running of the programme, building relationships with a range of stakeholders.The post holder will be adaptable, responding to events and queries. They will be organised and accountable with good judgement on when to make independent decisions and when to seek support.Applicants need the ability to analyse grading data, identifying themes and outliers and creating actions. Applicants should be passionate about teaching, able to deliver training to a large team of Screener Graders.The post holder will line manager a team of Surveillance Practitioners and Optometrists.The post holder will be responsible for the capacity and demand management of the surveillance and grading pathways, ensuring that sufficient SLB, OCT and grading capacity is provided to meet local and national standards.The post holder will play a crucial role in patient safety and service improvement, risk identification, investigation of incidents, audits and local policy.

About us

Guy's and St Thomas' NHS Foundation Trust comprises five of the UK's best known hospitals - Guy's, St Thomas', Evelina London Children's Hospital, Royal Brompton and Harefield - as well as community services in Lambeth and Southwark, all with a long history of high quality care, clinical excellence, research and innovation.

We are among the UK's busiest, most successful foundation trusts. We provide specialist care for patients including heart and lung, cancer and renal services as well as a full range of local hospital and community services for people in Lambeth and Southwark.

We have around 22,700 staff, making us one of the largest NHS Trusts in the country and one of the biggest employers locally. We aim to reflect the diversity of the communities we serve and continue to develop new and existing partnerships with local people, patients, neighbouring NHS organisations, local authorities and charitable bodies and GPs.

We strive to recruit and retain the best staff as the dedication and skills of our employees lie at the heart of our organisation and ensure that our services are of the highest quality, safe and focused on our patients.

Date posted

01 July 2025

Pay scheme

Agenda for change

Band

Band 7

Salary

£54,320 to £60,981 a year per annum inc. H.C.A

Contract

Permanent

Working pattern

Full-time

Reference number

196-LIS9669

Job locations

Diabetic Eye Screening Offices, Conybeare House, Guy's Hospital Campus

Great Maze Pond

London

SE1 9RT

Job description

Job responsibilities

Clinical and Technical

1. Responsible for the delivery of screening and monitoring using digital retinal photography, SLB and OCT in line with national and local standards;

2. Independently analyse retinal images and OCT scans presenting with a complex variety of appearances and grade in line with local protocols;

3. Grade digital retinal images to Referral Outcome Grader (ROG) level. Making clinical decisions for onward referral or monitoring;

4. Explain the results of screening to patients; educate and advise them with regards to modifying damaging lifestyles;

5. Conduct screening clinics at any of the sites as required, demonstrating the highest standards in all skill areas.

Service Planning and Management

1. Lead the operational management of the surveillance arm which includes the business planning in consultation with the Programme Manager and Clinical Lead;

2. Manage change, development and expansion of the surveillance services in conjunction with the Programme Manager;

3. Ensure that clinics are delivered in an efficient manner and action is taken to resolve technical problems, unavailability of staff and other issues;

4. Identify service improvements and implement processes to maximise the number of patients accepting surveillance to minimise the number of DNAs;

5. Responsible for drafting new clinical protocols and procedures and ensuring that clinical documents across the service are updated as required;

6. Responsible for the procurement and maintenance of all medical devices used by the service, including arranging regular testing to ensure all assets meet national standards;

7. Manage the resolution of patient complaints relating to the surveillance service and implement service changes arising from complaints

8. To ensure integration of the surveillance services with other eye care and diabetes services in conjunction with the Programme Manager and Clinical Lead;

9. Support the Service Manager in liaising with and supporting general practices and other organisations and locations involved in retinal screening;

10. Ensure that Trust Policies and Procedures are adhered to at all times and ensure that staff within the team are using safe practice;

11. Work with the Programme Manager to raise the profile of the services offered within the surveillance arm;

12. Develop a strategy to reduce inequalities of access to surveillance services;

Staff Management and Leadership

1. Full line management responsibilities for the surveillance team, including managing sickness and absence; disciplinary; carrying out appraisals; delivery of training; recruitment and retention

2. Assist in a skills analysis of the whole team to identify team members skill gaps and that training manuals or access to training are provided to ensure that all competencies are met and that the workforce is appropriately accredited;

3. Participate in clinical supervision to for the surveillance team;

4. Deputise for the deputy programme manager in their absence

Quality and Quality Assurance

1. Maintain a robust quality assurance system for the surveillance service

2. Ensure that all surveillance delivered consistently meets national quality assurance standards

3. Ensure the appropriate reporting and investigation of any clinical and non-clinical incidents relating to the surveillance service, feeding back where appropriate to team members and patients, and to continually develop effective preventative strategies to minimise incidents in the future.

Information and Resources

1. Ensure that procedures are in place for systematic data collection to facilitate the measurement of quality and activity.

2. Provide quarterly reports to the Clinical Lead and Programme Manager against standards

3. Collaborate with other service managers to prepare and submit the annual report

4. Advise on the development and deployment of complex imaging systems to meet local objectives.

Research, Audit, Education and Development

1. Lead on clinical audit and quality improvement projects to develop the service

2. Continually monitor the quality of grading across the programme, providing regular reports and implementing improvement plans where required

3. Engage patients and the public in the improvement and redesign of the Retinal Screening Service.