Clinical Technologist

Job responsibilities

Clinical Scientific

The post holder will:

• Provide technical support through carrying out servicing, inspection and repair / maintenance, calibration, safety and acceptance testing on a range of delicate and sensitive medical equipment, requiring high levels of dexterity and coordination, along with a use of sensory skills and precision tools.
• Ensure that equipment is readily available to service users.
• Ensure the prompt delivery of requested items to service users and collect items as required.
• Clean and decontaminate equipment between return and reissue.
• Provide administrative support to the team including updating job and device records in the medical equipment management database.
• Support with the procurement, the associated record keeping and the administering of the calibration of test equipment, escalating to Senior colleagues for more complex scenarios as required.
• Adopt and promote a customer focused culture, understanding customer requirements and ensuring that complex and sensitive communication to service users and patients is appropriate, timely and effective.
• Demonstrate their own duties to other members of the team for a shared and continual learning experience and training of new and developing colleagues

Duties include:

• To provide day-to-day technical support, working primarily unsupervised for much of the day.
• Carrying out regular (at least daily) rounds to collect equipment no longer in use; negotiating with clinical users to ensure equipment is not required.
• Cleaning and disinfecting equipment before it is put back into use using knowledge of cross-infection risks and infection control policies and procedures.
• Carrying out functional tests, identifying faulty equipment, logging the fault on the equipment management database.
• Rectify equipment faults. Undertake repairs on mechanisms to component level.
• Check that equipment performs to manufacturers specifications
• Carry out calibration, quality control and safety testing.
• Advise on equipment specification, evaluation and selection to support with compliant and robust procurement. Supporting at clinical evaluation trials / open days.
• Report problems associated with user error to the medical device training team.
• Assist with ensuring all requests, deliveries and collections are logged into the computerised equipment management system so that the loan status of all equipment is kept updated. This includes logging out-of-hours loans.
• Carrying out planned preventative maintenance (PPM) on a range of clinical equipment, using test equipment, to ensure that manufacturers functional and safety specifications are met.
• Negotiating with service users to ensure that equipment is available for PPM.
• Provide technical support to assess the performance, diagnose faults and carry out repairs to a range of clinical equipment and medical devices using a range of appropriate techniques.
• Rectify equipment faults to component level, with more complex faults referred to senior colleagues as required.
• Carry out electrical safety tests to identify any potentially hazardous equipment.
• Carry out repairs in isolation rooms under the Trusts Infection Control Policies and Clinical Guidelines.
• Carry out acceptance testing and commissioning of new equipment and decommissioning of end-of-life equipment, in accordance with departmental and Trust policies and procedures.
• In consultation with senior clinical technologists, identifying potentially hazardous symptoms and faults when in clinical areas or in talking to clinical staff.
• Provide technical support to users of clinical equipment. This will involve giving advice on the operation of equipment to clinical users at the point of use.
• To keep accurate and complete technical records of work performed. In particular to ensure that the equipment management database is accurately and consistently maintained, with work being logged as it progresses, until completion.
• To take responsibility for all tools and equipment within the post holders care. Ensure workshop facilities are kept clear and well-organised, tidy and presentable consistent with the Trusts policy and procedures.
• To keep the Equipment area well organised, tidy and presentable, consistent with the storage of patient-connected equipment and in readiness for visits from service users and auditors.
• Monitor stocks of appropriate components and spares, identifying the need to procure parts or services as necessary and investigating potential suppliers through to quote request.

Professional

The post holder will:

• To participate in Continuing Professional Development as part of personal development. In particular:
• To develop and maintain current knowledge of the use and maintenance of a range of clinical equipment.
• To keep abreast of clinical and technical developments in Clinical Engineering.
• To attend relevant meetings, seminars, developmental activities and training courses as directed by the Chief Technician.
• To provide cover for other members of the section so that absence does not prejudice the service.
• The post holder must, at all times, carry out his/her duties with regard to all statutory and professional regulations and local rules, including health and safety, quality and risk management. The post holder will support the risk assessment of work activities.
• The post holder will be required to undertake duties at any location within the Trust, or at sites where Clinical Engineering has contractual obligations in order to meet the service needs.
• To take responsibility for, prioritise and manage own work in accordance with Team Leaders direction, departmental procedures, objectives and shared priorities.
• To ensure all activities are carried out within the requirements of the quality management system.
• To develop communication skills and occasionally give informal presentations to other members of the department or clinical staff.
• To occasionally informally deliver basic training to individual staff or small groups (doctors, nurses, allied health professionals, technical staff etc.) in the operation and care of medical equipment and the operation of the Clinical Equipment.

Organisational

The post holder will:

• To manage the condition and performance of equipment and other resources within the post holders care, escalating issues to the Team Leader or Service Manager.
• To receive feedback from service users and to propose improvements to own and teams working policies, practices and procedures.
• To maintain the Equipment database to ensure equipment can be tracked and effectively managed. This will require generating reports showing items on loan and those available for loan.
• To ensure that all administrative duties arising from the day-to-day working of the equipment are carried out in a timely manner.

To oversee the administration associated with ensuring that test equipment is calibrated in accordance with requirements in the Quality Management System

Qualifications

Essential

• BTEC OND or NVQ in Electronic Engineering (Level 4) or Physical Science or an equivalent combination of qualifications and experience.
• Full, clean driving license

Desirable

• Evidence of regular participation in formal and informal technical training throughout career
• Working towards Registered Clinical Technologist status

Experience

Essential

• Practical experience of using a range of test and measuring equipment and of applying electronic engineering workshop policies, practices and techniques
• Experience of providing front line customer service
• Experience servicing and repairing a wide range of clinical equipment

Desirable

• Experience of working in a clinical environment, taking account of patient safety, dignity and infection prevention
• Experience of working within a Quality Management System.
• Experience using E-Quip (Or a similar Medical Device Asset Management system)

Skills

Essential

• Knowledge of engineering theory necessary to be able to efficiently diagnose and rectify faults on clinical equipment
• Knowledge and understanding of the risks to patients and staff arising from the use of a range of medical equipment
• Electronic engineering skills including the use of test and measuring equipment, handling and assembly of components and boards, fault finding and diagnosis use of technical manuals and circuit diagrams
• Mechanical engineering skills including the use of test and measuring equipment, assembly and bonding of components, use of technical manuals and drawings
• Ability to use MS Windows and Office (Excel, Word, Outlook etc) to manage files and set up documents and spreadsheets
• Ability to use a computerised equipment management database system

Desirable

• Knowledge of relevant legislation, technical and quality national standards, national and professional guidance
• Knowledge of stock control systems
• Knowledge of test procedures used to verify the performance and safety of a range of clinical equipment. This will include being able to analyse basic measurement results in order to identify operational or safety deficiencies
• Knowledge of the operational and maintenance of a range of medical devices

Personal and People Development

Essential

• Proof of own personal development
• Enthusiastic and motivated
• Committed to providing the best possible service to patients
• Team player
• Able to work on own initiative
• Tact and diplomacy

Other

Essential

• Flexible attitude and approach to work

Personal Attributes / Behaviours (linked to the Trust's Behaviour Framework)

Essential

• Care, Respect and Dignity
• Work together in the community
• Integrity
• Taking Ownership
• Innovation, Flexibility and Resilience

Communication

Essential

• Able to communicate effectively in written and verbal English language

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).