Band 3 Audiology Technician Officer (ATO)

Whittington Hospital NHS Trust

This job is now closed

Job summary

This is an exciting opportunity for someone to start their career in Audiology. The Audiology department at St Anns hospital is looking for an energetic and enthusiastic ATO to support the provision of adult and paediatric audiology services. This is a technical assistant role in an NHS audiology department to help adult and paediatric population in their diagnosis and treatment of hearing loss. You will be expected to provide clinical, technical and administrative support to audiologist.

We are looking for somebody with great communication and people skills. Anyone who has previous experience of working with patient with hearing difficulty or has experience in handling hearing aids would be desirable if not post holder will be given appropriate training.

The main site will be St Anns hospital however there will be rotation to outreach paediatric and adult site.

Main duties of the job

To assist with the assessment of routine children's hearing in the paediatric audiology service.
To assist with the assessment of adult's hearing in the adult audiology service.
To assist in the provision of the community hearing aid service to adults and children.
Working with existing audiology service users providing routine repairs of hearing aids
To plan and prioritise elements of own workload, within the framework of service delivery priorities as defined by the line manager.
To contribute to the training of students and volunteers, by providing experience of community audiology services.
To appoint patients and deal with routine enquiries from parents, adult patients and professionals under direction/support from line manager
To support or undertake validation of data from informatics and scanning, filing of patients record.

About us

Whittington Health serves a richly diverse population and works hard to ensure that all our services are fair and equally accessible to everyone. Nowhere is this more obvious than in the way we look after our staff. We aim to employ a workforce which is as representative as possible of this population, so we are open to the value of differences in age, disability, gender, marital status, pregnancy and maternity, race, sexual orientation, and religion or belief. The Trustbelieves that as a public sector organisation we have an obligation to have recruitment, training, promotion and other formal employment policies and procedures that are sensitive to these differences. We think that by doing so, we are better able to treat our patients as well as being a better place to work.

Date posted

06 December 2023

Pay scheme

Agenda for change

Band

Band 3

Salary

£27,129 to £28,649 a year per annum inclusive of HCAS

Contract

Fixed term

Duration

12 months

Working pattern

Full-time

Reference number

220-WHT-1773

Job locations

St Anns Hospital

London

N15 3TH

Job description

Job responsibilities

Paediatric audiology:

1.To undertake the role of assistant in the audiological assessment of second tier and some tertiary paediatric patients, including those with complex presentations/multiple pathologies.

2.To assist in the management of children during assessment, including engaging childrens attention appropriately, to allow for effective behavioural hearing assessment in line with local guidelines. To contribute to the provision of a family friendly service.

3. To consider the relevant problems and concerns of the patient and/or carer, in a holistic context. This includes explaining test procedures and offering appropriate guidance within remit, where there may be anxiety or other barriers to understanding or co-operation.

4. Supporting parents to complete a history questionnaire prior to a face:face appointment

Adult assessment and rehabilitation:

1.To assist with the provision of the diagnostic audiology and hearing aid service to adults in community settings in accordance with the most recent national best practice guidance and protocols (eg NICE, MHAS).

2. To assist in providing diagnostic hearing, hearing aids, ALDs and balance assessments to adult patients who attend service.

3. To ensure on-going support is available to clients in accordance with national and local protocols. Including evaluation of clients progress and arranging appointments with qualified audiologists where revision of treatment plans is indicated.

4.To follow national and local protocols for the routine repair of hearing aids and to ensure on-going support is available to clients via follow up.

Please look at attached Job description for detailed roles and responsibilities.

Job description

Job responsibilities

Paediatric audiology:

1.To undertake the role of assistant in the audiological assessment of second tier and some tertiary paediatric patients, including those with complex presentations/multiple pathologies.

4. Supporting parents to complete a history questionnaire prior to a face:face appointment

Adult assessment and rehabilitation:

2. To assist in providing diagnostic hearing, hearing aids, ALDs and balance assessments to adult patients who attend service.

4.To follow national and local protocols for the routine repair of hearing aids and to ensure on-going support is available to clients via follow up.

Please look at attached Job description for detailed roles and responsibilities.

Person Specification

Education & professional Qualifications

Essential

4 GCSE (A-C) (9-4) including English and Mathematics

Skills & Abilities

Essential

Ability to follow protocols and guidelines
Planning and Organisation Skills
Ability to use Microsoft Word, Powerpoint, Excel spreadsheets
Ability to work well in a multi-disciplinary team

Communication skills

Essential

Excellent verbal communication
Good written communication
Daily communication and interaction with colleagues using tact, empathy and motivation

PERSONAL QUALITIES

Essential

Able to show understanding and empathy
Ability to work co-operatively within a team

Knowledge & Experience

Essential

Experience of working with children
Basic administration duties
Previous NHS experience
Knowledge of safeguarding children

Desirable

Testing children with additional needs

Person Specification

Education & professional Qualifications

Essential

4 GCSE (A-C) (9-4) including English and Mathematics

Skills & Abilities

Essential

Ability to follow protocols and guidelines
Planning and Organisation Skills
Ability to use Microsoft Word, Powerpoint, Excel spreadsheets
Ability to work well in a multi-disciplinary team

Communication skills

Essential

Excellent verbal communication
Good written communication
Daily communication and interaction with colleagues using tact, empathy and motivation

PERSONAL QUALITIES

Essential

Able to show understanding and empathy
Ability to work co-operatively within a team

Knowledge & Experience

Essential

Experience of working with children
Basic administration duties
Previous NHS experience
Knowledge of safeguarding children

Desirable

Testing children with additional needs

Disclosure and Barring Service Check

This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (Exceptions Order) 1975 and as such it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service (formerly known as CRB) to check for any previous criminal convictions.