Deputy Head Audiology - Clinical Lead Adult

Job description

Job responsibilities

1. To be responsible for the day to day management of the Audiology Service, in compliance with the policies and procedures of 3 NHS Trusts, and in the light of statute and external guidance, to ensure demonstrably high professional standards are maintained in all areas of clinical, scientific, technical, therapeutic, educational, and rehabilitation service provision as they pertain to both patients and staff.

2. The post holder will be expected to provide supervision, training and advice to all junior staff and students within the department. The post holder will take responsibility with the agreement of the Head of Department, for individual personal development of junior staff.

3. To act as an authorised signatory and be responsible for the management of department accounts where appropriate.

4. To have an in-depth understanding of all operational management systems for the provision of the clinical service including the use of their applications, eg eRS, Hospital PAS system, Audiology PAS system, SPINE, Procurement system, Leave record system and others.

5. To promote and support the professional and vocational development of staff within the Audiology Service, and to implement good working practices, in compliance with Trust Human Resource policies, in order to ensure the effective and equitable recruitment, retention, development and training of staff.

6. To help the Head of Department maintain and develop audit and CPD programmes for the department and use this as the mechanism through which it can monitor its performance, assure its quality and strive for continuous improvement in service delivery.

7. To assist the Head of Department, to develop and sustain work derived externally to Royal Surrey County Hospital that is delivered in the department or performed off-site, and is provided on a contractual basis. To be responsible for the collation of activity data from all external sites in order to monitor service Level agreements related to the provision of services.

8. In conjunction with the Head of Department, to investigate and respond to all patient complaints in compliance with Trust policy and within the timescales set by the Trust, using complaints positively to review and improve services.

9. To keep abreast with the latest developments in Audiology to inform and ensure their continued personal development and that of the department.

10. To take forward the modernisation of the service and to develop innovative and patient focused models of care.

11. To comply at all times with the Royal Surrey Health and Safety Policies, in particular by following agreed safe working procedures and reporting incidents using the Trusts Risk Incident Reporting System.

12. To cooperate with all policies and procedures designed to ensure equality of employment. Co-workers, patients and visitors must be treated equally irrespective of gender ethnic origin, age, disability, sexual orientation, religion etc.

13. To actively develop and sustain a Clinical Governance programme for the department

14. To respect patient confidentiality at all times and not divulge patient information unless sanctioned by the requirements of the role.

15. To actively support and assist colleagues across the Trust to achieve their personal and Royal Surrey objectives and to receive similar support.

16. Participate in research and other technical work as may be necessary to develop and improve the Audiology Service including keeping abreast of current developments, by study and attendance at technical meetings.

Clinical

17. In conjunction with the Head of Audiology, be professionally responsible for the provision of a clinical, technical Audiology service, and to undertake regular clinical sessions in order to maintain a high clinical profile, professional competence, authority and credibility.

18. To be responsible for the day to day clinical pathway management of the Adult Audiology Service and its specialties, to support demonstrably high professional standards are maintained and national waiting time targets are met.

19. To professionally lead and actively participate in the work of specific specialised disciplines in the Department appropriate to skills and experience of the post holder.

20. To undertake specialist adult clinical work, including electrophysiology testing and lead complex (needs) clinics.

21. To provide specialist advice to patients, professionals and professional services on all matters pertaining to adult audiology and clinical services.

22. To be professionally responsible for test results and the writing of test reports by all junior staff particularly in the absence of Head of Department.

23. To be responsible for the clinical decisions as to the viability of which diagnostic tests to undertake.

24. To be responsible for the calibration and maintenance provision of the equipment.

25. To work closely with the Adult Team Leads and Adult Administrators to develop the adult service with consistency across the 3 NHS Trusts, and use this as the mechanism through which it can monitor its performance, assure its quality and strive for improvement.

26. To work closely with the Deputy Head and Clinical Lead for Paediatric Audiology so Adult and Paediatric Audiology services are aligned.

27. In compliance with Department policies, be responsible for referring patients to other professionals where appropriate.

28. To undertake with the Head of Department, the development of the clinical services at Royal surrey County Hospital and external sites with expansion of specialist testing of children and adults and training of staff in undertaking new test procedures.

29. To audit clinical effectiveness and maintain a programme of development.

To undertaken any such duties as deemed appropriate by the Head of Department.

Managing Adult team leaders and junior staff member of the Audiology team.

To take full management responsibility of the team, providing leadership, recognising and developing the teams, mentoring, coaching and training them to utilise the strengths to enhance the departments performance and build organisational capability.

Assessing staff performance against agreed performance standards/objectives and/or competencies at least annually and develop meaningful and achievable personal development plans and objectives

To be responsible for the self- development of skills and competencies through participation in learning and development activities, and to maintain up to date technical and professional knowledge relevant to the post

You are required to comply with the Trust Standard of Business Conduct policy and the NHS Codes of Conduct and Standards of Business Conduct for NHS Staff and you are required to declare all situations where you (or a close relative or associate) have a controlling interest in a business (such as a private company, public organisation, other NHS organisation or voluntary organisation) or in any other activity which may compete for an NHS contract to supply goods or service to the Trust.

Person Specification

Qualifications

Essential

• MSc in Audiology or equivalent
• A certificate of Audiological Competence, HTS modules or equivalent
• Be a member of an appropriate professional body (RCCP/HCPC)

Desirable

• Be a member of the British Academy of Audiology or other professional organisation

Experience

Essential

• Have extensive current practical and theoretical knowledge and experience of clinical adult audiology and hearing aid technology, scientific updates and Audiology support services.
• CPD - Evidence of post qualifying and continuing professional development
• Possess a thorough and current knowledge of the background to and aims of current healthcare policy/national guidance/CQC/ and generic operational working of the organisation
• Have extensive experience physiological measurements or central auditory testing
• Have management experience at a senior level in Audiology with knowledge of HR issues relating to the management of staff
• Have extensive experience of working both as an independent practitioner and supervisor for as wide range of Audiological assessment and rehabilitative techniques and outcomes.
• Have experience relating to monitoring and controlling budgets with a working knowledge of financial processes

Desirable

• Have experience in specialised areas e.g. Vestibular testing.
• Have experience in service development

Skills

Essential

• Excellent communication, organizational and interpersonal skills: Ability to communicate on difficult and controversial issues including performance and change.
• Analytical Skills Problem solving skills and ability to respond to sudden unexpected demands
• Research and critical thinking skills
• Planning Skills: Demonstrated capability to plan over short, medium and long term timeframes, work under pressure, meet deadlines and delegate appropriately.
• Excellent communication, organizational and interpersonal skills.
• Proven business planning skills
• Management Skills and leadership skills - Must be able to prioritise own work effectively and be able to direct activities of others. Experience of managing and motivating a team and reviewing performance of the individuals
• Ability to make decisions autonomously, when required on difficult issues, working to tight and often changing timescales
• Demonstrates modernised thinking, and experience with service redesign in association with a wide range of health care partners.
• IT Skills: Working knowledge of Microsoft Office and Audiology PAS system with intermediate keyboard skills
• Equality and Diversity Needs: to have a thorough understanding of and commitment to equality of opportunity and good working relationships both in terms of day-to-day working practices, but also in relation to management systems

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.

UK Registration

Applicants must have current UK professional registration. For further information please see NHS Careers website (opens in a new window).

Employer details

Employer name

Royal Surrey NHS Foundation Trust

Address

Egerton Road

Guildford

Surrey

GU2 7XX

Employer's website

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