Leeds Teaching Hospitals

Highly Specialist Cardiac Sonographer(XR07)

This job is now closed

Job summary

The post-holder will provide direct care and a high-quality diagnostic imaging service, justifying and performing cardiac ultrasound examinations, interpreting the results and providing diagnostic reports for fetal, neonatal, paediatric and adult patients. He/she will work within the multi-disciplinary team, as an independent practitioner, contributing to the provision of a highly complex, specialist tertiary service for patients of all ages with suspected congenital heart disease.

Main duties of the job

The role involves working collaboratively on a day-to day-basis with others to ensure that service needs are met, including responsibility for the development and training of cardiac sonographers within this specialist area of ultrasound and the supervision of other health care professionals (including sonographers, clinical physiologists and medical staff) ensuring continuity of service delivery.

The post-holder will work as part of the sonography team to provide the highest standards of clinical care and ensure the application of evidence-based practice and efficient, effective use of resources. He/she will also collaborate on research projects, identify and carry out audit of practice in collaboration with the multi-disciplinary team and participate in the evaluation of highly specialised medical equipment.

About us

Leeds Children's Hospital covers 27 medical and surgical specialties and is one of the largest specialist children's hospitals in the country. We have over 20 inpatient wards, employ over 800 nurses and last year held over 170,000 outpatient appointments and treated over 25,000 surgical patients both electively/non-electively.

Leeds Teaching Hospitals is currently embarking on one of the largest and most high-profile investment, transformation and regeneration programmes in the city and the wider region. Its Building the Leeds Way Programme aims to transform healthcare for patients in Leeds and the wider region. The investment Programme include the construction of two new hospitals at the Leeds General Infirmary (LGI) site one for adults and the other a brand state of the art Children's Hospital for Leeds and the surrounding region.

Leeds Teaching Hospitals is committed to our process of redeploying 'at risk' members of our existing workforce to new roles. As such, all our job adverts are subject to this policy and we reserve the right to close, delay or remove adverts while this process is completed. If you do experience a delay in the shortlisting stage of the recruitment cycle, please bear with us while this process is completed, and contact the named contact if you have any questions.

Date posted

14 March 2024

Pay scheme

Agenda for change

Band

Band 7

Salary

£43,742 to £50,056 a year

Contract

Permanent

Working pattern

Part-time, Flexible working

Reference number

C9298-CHI-0247

Job locations

Leeds General Infirmary

Great George Street

Leeds

LS1 3EX

Job description

Job responsibilities

A qualified cardiac sonographer with extensive experience of all aspects of congenital heart disease related to the fetus, neonate, child and adult. The post-holder will perform, analyse and interpret a wide range of highly specialist and complex cardiac ultrasound investigations and generate factual reports that are documented in patient clinical notes and/or on relevant databases and directly used to influence patient management. These sources are then used to aid audit and compilation of statistical information. He/she will have a highly developed level of sensory skills and good hand to eye co-ordination in order to immediately analyse and respond to complex life threatening physiological signs. A high level of manual dexterity, with enhanced precision and timing skills, is required in order to ensure the accurate application of a range of diagnostic tools. Following interpretation of the ultrasound findings the post-holder will use judgemental skills in order to make instantaneous decisions about further patient care.

The post-holder should be able to:

demonstrate highly specialist in-depth knowledge and theory in the field of cardiac ultrasound

prioritise and organise a clinical caseload

demonstrate commitment to self-development and improving clinical practice and patient outcomes

provide leadership and supervision to sonographers and more junior grades in difficult situations such as very busy periods and with patients requiring multiple examinations

use knowledge and skills attained through experience, training and CPD be actively involved in the training and development of more junior members of staff

to account for own professional actions and work independently

decide if a referral for another type of ultrasound examination (TOE, Stress, contrast study) is required to support ultrasound findings

use skills, based on experience, to assess a patients condition and decide on an appropriate method to obtain an ultrasound scan from a range of options

plan and prioritise own patient workload and that of junior sonographers when required

assess and be involved in the development and implement ultrasound procedures

work within a team and autonomously using his/her discretion to re-adjust plans as the clinical situation/needs of the patient change

use excellent communication skills, both written and verbal to inform patients and relatives/carers including children and those with learning and/or physical disabilities about specialist cardiac investigations

exercise initiative as an autonomous practitioner, using his/her own discretion to re-adjust plans as the clinical situation/need of the patient changes

take responsibility and act in a supervisory capacity

demonstrate evidence of continuing professional development