Leeds Teaching Hospitals

Associate Practitioner (XR04)

This job is now closed

Job summary

Leeds Teaching Hospitals has an exciting opportunity to recruit two Associate Practitioners with a respiratory and sleep physiology focus to join our cardio-respiratory team. Please see our other advert if you are interested in a cardiology role.

We welcome applications from those seeking both full and part time work. The cardio-respiratory department is open Monday-Friday 08:30-16:30 with no routine evening or weekend commitment. We also offer condensed hours to those wishing to work longer days (8am-6pm).

Due to exciting service expansion plans through community diagnostic centres, we are looking for talented individuals who enjoy working in a team, motivated to learn new skills and will provide the best care to our patients. The successful applicants will join our friendly team at St James Hospital. There will be a requirement to work across all of our sites if required including Leeds General Infirmary, Seacroft Hospital as well as Armley Moor Health Centre and Beeston Village Surgery.

The role of an Associate Practitioner is exciting and varied. This role should appeal to those who have existing practical skills and in-depth knowledge of respiratory physiology. The role would be appropriate for other professional and academic backgrounds who have healthcare experience and current competency in performing spirometry.

To arrange an informal visit to the department and meet the team, please contact

Hayley.dodsworth@nhs.net

Main duties of the job

The main duties for this role will include performing a range of respiratory and sleep investigations including spirometry with reversibility, full lung function tests, capillary blood gases, field exercise tests as well as some sleep analysis under supervision. You will work towards being an autonomous practitioner through in house training and there will be opportunity to gain professional qualifications such as ARTP certifications.

As a vital member of the existing respiratory team, you will support junior members of staff with teaching and training in spirometry as well as being involved in departmental ordering, stock control and quality assurance processes. You will also work alongside visiting students including those on formal academic programmes.

Successful applicants will work as part of a friendly team to provide high quality and efficient respiratory services. The department has a monthly governance meeting where training will be provided to keep up to date with any new equipment and technology. Associate Practitioners are supported by the wider qualified healthcare scientist team, who ensure a fair and varied role with a focus on staff health and wellbeing.

We pride ourselves on supporting staff to grow and develop with career opportunities in the future, including opportunities to become a qualified Healthcare Scientist.

Expected Shortlisting Date: 19/02/2025

Planned Interview Date: 12/03/2025

About us

Come and join our team in Leeds and become part of The Leeds Way sharing our vision and values. Our Trust is recognised for our staff engagement, great care and rated GOOD by the Care Quality Commission.

Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust is one of the largest acute health providers in the UK and based in one of the fastest growing and vibrant cities in the north.

At Cardio-Respiratory CSU, we aim to be a fair and supportive CSU with positive, caring teams who are champions of the Leeds Way values. Our values are part of what make us different from other trusts, so we see this as a strength, as well as a responsibility. They have been developed by our staff and set out what they see as important to how we work. Our five values are:

Patient-centred

Collaborative

Fair

Accountable

Empowered

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

27 January 2025

Pay scheme

Agenda for change

Band

Band 4

Salary

£26,530 to £29,114 a year

Contract

Permanent

Working pattern

Full-time, Flexible working

Reference number

C9298-CRS-246

Job locations

Leeds General Infirmary

Great George Street

Leeds

LS1 3EX

Job description

Job responsibilities

Principal Duties & Areas of Responsibility

Clinical Duties

Performs spirometry, full pulmonary function testing and capillary blood gas tests alongside other diagnostic tests.

Support physiologists with the day to day running of respiratory labs including calibration, QC and ordering key stock/supplies.

Report any potential life threatening situations directly to the appropriate member of staff within the designated area of work.

To be professionally and legally accountable for all aspects of own work, including the management of patients in your care.

To assist in routine assessment of both in-patients and out-patients prior to a range of clinical Investigations to ensure the patient is suitable for the investigation.

Carries out all aspects of clinical work as approved by their Line Manager.

Works as an autonomous practitioner within established codes of practice.

Seeks advice from more experienced staff members when/if required.

Communicates with all members of the multidisciplinary team to ensure the best possible care for patients, including: negotiating, reassurance, and persuasiveness.

Communicates information about routine respiratory investigations to patients and relatives/carers including children and those with learning and/or physical disabilities.

Communicates information about routine respiratory investigations to senior members of staff.

Performs routine maintenance of a range of technical equipment.

Calibrates and manipulates a wide range of technical equipment which process, create, update and store information.

Prepares patients for clinical tests unsupervised.

Performs the following investigations on a range of patients including paediatric, elderly and those with a range of physical and learning disabilities.

- Spirometry

- Reversibility studies

- Full pulmonary function testing

- Capillary blood gases

Provides automatically generated reports recognising false/inaccurate reports and highlights inaccurate reports to more qualified staff.

Works in close liaison with other staff to ensure efficient and effective delivery of service.

Contribute to maintaining a friendly and welcoming atmosphere

Maintain a safe working environment

Recognises and attends to individual patients needs

Demonstrates personal duty of care for safe use of a range of expensive and highly complex equipment.

Reports equipment faults in accordance with departmental policy.

Assists member of staff responsible for maintaining stock in ensuring an appropriate level is maintained.

Professional

Responsible for maintaining own technical proficiencies and competencies in clinical areas.

Maintains and develops current knowledge of evidence based practice in each clinical area.

Responsible for reporting clinical incidents and adverse events to the appropriate Team Manager / Service Manager.

Responsible for formal mentorship and input into coordination of training of designated junior staff and students.

Be an active member of the in-service training programme by attendance at, and participation in, in-service training programmes, tutorials, individual training sessions, external courses and peer review.

Regularly provides training in fundamental cardiac techniques to Trainee Cardiac Physiologists and junior staff members.

Undertakes Continuing Professional Development (CPD) in accordance with Personal Development Plan (PDP) as developed with Line Manager.

Attends and participates in departmental staff meetings.

Frequently undertakes collection of data for use in audit, research projects and equipment testing.

Works in close liaison with other staff members to ensure efficient and effective delivery of service, contributing to maintaining a friendly and welcoming working atmosphere.

Organisational

Responsible for ensuring the Leeds Way Values and LTHT vision is integrated within the Cardio-Respiratory CSU.

Demonstrates the ability to prioritise and organise the clinical caseload within a designated area of cardiology.

Responsible for obtaining, transmitting and storing information relating to the delivery of a care service.

Keep accurate and timely records, inputting accurate data into the departmental databases allowing for the production of statistical resource information for accurate billing.

Effort

Required to exert moderate physical effort. Frequent transferring of patients and equipment on both trolleys and wheelchairs.

There is a frequent requirement for prolonged, but often predictable, periods of concentration.

Frequent exposure to highly emotional circumstances, i.e. patients undergoing investigation for heart disease.

To comply with the Trusts manual handling policy at all times.

Frequent exposure to unpleasant working conditions on a regular daily basis, e.g. bodily fluids including blood, sputum, vomit, urine, fleas and lice.

Occasional exposure to verbal and physical aggression.

Deals sensitively with patients who have high levels of anxiety and aggression caused by pain, dementia or limited mobility.