The Royal Wolverhampton NHS Trust

Optometry Assistant Practitioner

The closing date is 29 September 2025

Job summary

Patient assessment:

Undertaking Teaching of contact lens patients how to safely insert & remove contact lenses, & aftercare.

Undertake telephone appointments for patients who have attended the Face-to-Face Low Vision clinic

Undertake a range of support & diagnostic assessments & procedures, giving advice & arranging further follow-up as needed.

Administrative:

Undertake the processing of CVI (Certificate of Visual Impairment) forms ensuring that they are received by the Local Authority within the statutory timescale. a range of non-patient-contact activities to support the provision of optometry & related services to patients attending Wolverhampton Eye Infirmary including making appointments & arranging contact lens procurement & collection

Main duties of the job

Undertake review of patients attending the low vision clinic in person or by telephone, actioning any necessary outcomes of follow-up arrangements. This will involve one to one conversation with & assessment of, patients, plus signposting them to various support services such as low vision aid clinics, local sight charities, social services & other support organisations.

Undertake training for new Contact Lens Wearers in their use, giving follow-up support or repeat instruction where necessary

Undertake 'contact-lens collections (when patients come in to collect pre-ordered lenses) giving any appropriate instructions & ensuring the appropriate financial payments are made by appropriate routes.

Action, support& facilitate the CVI process, by which patients are registered as sight-impaired or severely sight-impaired. This involved liaising with every professional along the pathway from consultant to ECLO (Eye Clinic Liaison officer), to social services rehabilitation team

Ordering all stock & non-stock items for the department, using the e-series requisitioning system

Stock control of Contact Lenses and Low Visual Aids, including checking invoices & completing GRNs

Making appointments for all optometry-related clinics as necessary

Deal with telephone & in-person queries to the optometry department

About us

The Royal Wolverhampton NHS Trust is one of the largest NHS trusts in the West Midlands providing primary, acute and community services and we are incredibly proud of the diversity of both our staff and the communities we serve. We are building a workforce that can help us to fulfil our values, improve the quality of care for patients, and solve the health care problems of tomorrow. We're passionate about the value that diversity of thinking and lived experience brings in enabling us to become a learning organisation and leader in delivering compassionate care for our patients.

We are delighted that we have been rated as "Good" by CQC. We have achieved numerous awards; The Nursing Times Best Diversity and Inclusion Practice and Best UK Employer of the Year for Nursing Staff in 2020.

The Trust is a supportive working environment committed to creating flexible working arrangements that suit your needs and as such will consider all requests from applicants who wish to work flexibly.

Details

Date posted

15 September 2025

Pay scheme

Agenda for change

Band

Band 4

Salary

£27,485 to £30,162 a year pro rata

Contract

Permanent

Working pattern

Part-time

Reference number

225-DIV1-7438236

Job locations

Wolverhampton Eye Infirmary, New Cross Hospital

Wednesfield Road

Wolverhampton

WV10 0QP


Job description

Job responsibilities

Undertake review of patients attending the low vision clinic in person or by telephone, actioning any necessary outcomes of follow-up arrangements. This will involve one to one conversation with & assessment of, patients, plus signposting them to various support services such as low vision aid clinics, local sight charities, social services & other supportorganisations.

Undertake training for new Contact Lens Wearers in their use, giving follow-up support or repeat instruction where necessary

Photorefractive screening (& similar techniques such as topography)

Test & recordpatient visual acuity using a variety of methods appropriate to the type of clinic (such as Snellen, LogMAR, ETDRS)

Instil drops for use in ophthalmic procedures in line with current Patient Group Directions

Undertake contact-lens collections (when patients come in to collect pre-ordered lenses) giving any appropriate instructions & ensuring the appropriate financial payments are made by appropriate routes.

Undertake training, as required, in ophthalmic procedures, under the supervision of Head of Optometry, Optometrists, Orthoptists, ECLOand other designated staff, maintaining records of training undertaken, and reporting regularly on progress and further training needs.

Action, support & facilitate the CVI process, by which patients areregistered as sight-impaired or severely sight-impaired. This involved liaising with every professional along the pathway from consultant to ECLO (Eye Clinic Liaison officer) , to social services rehabilitation team

Support the ECLO in providing any necessary admin support for the low vision service, plus cover for signposting patients during periods of annual leave

Ordering all stock & non-stock items for the department, using the e-series requisitioning system

Stock control of Contact Lenses and Low Visual Aids, including checking invoices & completing GRNs

Managing the new & follow-up waiting lists on PAS, under the direction of the Head of Optometry

Making appointments for all optometry-related clinics as necessary

Deal with telephone & in-person queries to the optometry department

Any other clerical administrative tasks which support the clinical functions of the department

Job description

Job responsibilities

Undertake review of patients attending the low vision clinic in person or by telephone, actioning any necessary outcomes of follow-up arrangements. This will involve one to one conversation with & assessment of, patients, plus signposting them to various support services such as low vision aid clinics, local sight charities, social services & other supportorganisations.

Undertake training for new Contact Lens Wearers in their use, giving follow-up support or repeat instruction where necessary

Photorefractive screening (& similar techniques such as topography)

Test & recordpatient visual acuity using a variety of methods appropriate to the type of clinic (such as Snellen, LogMAR, ETDRS)

Instil drops for use in ophthalmic procedures in line with current Patient Group Directions

Undertake contact-lens collections (when patients come in to collect pre-ordered lenses) giving any appropriate instructions & ensuring the appropriate financial payments are made by appropriate routes.

Undertake training, as required, in ophthalmic procedures, under the supervision of Head of Optometry, Optometrists, Orthoptists, ECLOand other designated staff, maintaining records of training undertaken, and reporting regularly on progress and further training needs.

Action, support & facilitate the CVI process, by which patients areregistered as sight-impaired or severely sight-impaired. This involved liaising with every professional along the pathway from consultant to ECLO (Eye Clinic Liaison officer) , to social services rehabilitation team

Support the ECLO in providing any necessary admin support for the low vision service, plus cover for signposting patients during periods of annual leave

Ordering all stock & non-stock items for the department, using the e-series requisitioning system

Stock control of Contact Lenses and Low Visual Aids, including checking invoices & completing GRNs

Managing the new & follow-up waiting lists on PAS, under the direction of the Head of Optometry

Making appointments for all optometry-related clinics as necessary

Deal with telephone & in-person queries to the optometry department

Any other clerical administrative tasks which support the clinical functions of the department

Person Specification

Educational/learning ability

Essential

  • Good standard of general education with good literacy skills demonstrated in application form

Desirable

  • Previous experience in similar role

Education level

Essential

  • Good standard of literacy & numeracy
  • Ability to work with accuracy and attention to detail
  • Appropriate communication skills for dealing directly with patients

Desirable

  • NVQ level 3 or equivalent ophthalmic knowledge or related field/experience
Person Specification

Educational/learning ability

Essential

  • Good standard of general education with good literacy skills demonstrated in application form

Desirable

  • Previous experience in similar role

Education level

Essential

  • Good standard of literacy & numeracy
  • Ability to work with accuracy and attention to detail
  • Appropriate communication skills for dealing directly with patients

Desirable

  • NVQ level 3 or equivalent ophthalmic knowledge or related field/experience

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.

Certificate of Sponsorship

Applications from job seekers who require current Skilled worker sponsorship to work in the UK are welcome and will be considered alongside all other applications. For further information visit the UK Visas and Immigration website (Opens in a new tab).

From 6 April 2017, skilled worker applicants, applying for entry clearance into the UK, have had to present a criminal record certificate from each country they have resided continuously or cumulatively for 12 months or more in the past 10 years. Adult dependants (over 18 years old) are also subject to this requirement. Guidance can be found here Criminal records checks for overseas applicants (Opens in a new tab).

Additional information

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.

Certificate of Sponsorship

Applications from job seekers who require current Skilled worker sponsorship to work in the UK are welcome and will be considered alongside all other applications. For further information visit the UK Visas and Immigration website (Opens in a new tab).

From 6 April 2017, skilled worker applicants, applying for entry clearance into the UK, have had to present a criminal record certificate from each country they have resided continuously or cumulatively for 12 months or more in the past 10 years. Adult dependants (over 18 years old) are also subject to this requirement. Guidance can be found here Criminal records checks for overseas applicants (Opens in a new tab).

Employer details

Employer name

The Royal Wolverhampton NHS Trust

Address

Wolverhampton Eye Infirmary, New Cross Hospital

Wednesfield Road

Wolverhampton

WV10 0QP


Employer's website

https://www.royalwolverhampton.nhs.uk/ (Opens in a new tab)

Employer details

Employer name

The Royal Wolverhampton NHS Trust

Address

Wolverhampton Eye Infirmary, New Cross Hospital

Wednesfield Road

Wolverhampton

WV10 0QP


Employer's website

https://www.royalwolverhampton.nhs.uk/ (Opens in a new tab)

Employer contact details

For questions about the job, contact:

Principal Optometrist

Claire Parkes

01902307999

Details

Date posted

15 September 2025

Pay scheme

Agenda for change

Band

Band 4

Salary

£27,485 to £30,162 a year pro rata

Contract

Permanent

Working pattern

Part-time

Reference number

225-DIV1-7438236

Job locations

Wolverhampton Eye Infirmary, New Cross Hospital

Wednesfield Road

Wolverhampton

WV10 0QP


Supporting documents

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