Senior Ophthalmic Assistant

Job description

Job responsibilities

WHO ARE WE?

Newmedica is one of the leading providers of NHS-funded ophthalmology services in England.

Our Purpose is to make a difference

Our Vision is a society where everyone can get access to free or affordable world class treatment for advanced eye conditions without any unnecessary delay or worry

Our Mission is to revolutionise the care and treatment for patients facing the prospect of sight loss by creating a new national network of specialist eye clinics that have a seamless link with all optometrists and GPs.

We provide services for NHS ICBs, NHS Trusts and Foundation Trusts, and other providers of NHS funded services. We deliver over 125,000 patient interactions annually, including outpatient appointments, diagnostic testing and eye surgery. Our services are delivered through a variety of models including Managed Services and Ophthalmology Joint Venture (OJV) Partnerships.

ROLE SUMMARY

The Senior Ophthalmic Assistant is responsible for the day to day running of the clinic. They coordinate the daily clinic schedule and ensure the smooth and efficient administration of the clinic. The Senior Ophthalmic Assistant also play a pivotal role in supporting the safe and effective running of our theatre activity, supporting the surgeon and nursing workforce in direct clinical care. This post holder will have the ability to work flexibly between outpatients and theatre based on demand.

Additionally, they work as a Senior Ophthalmic Assistant and are responsible for ensuring that patient appointments are booked and that clinics are full, for supporting the clinical assessment of each patient and for ensuring that all patients understand their treatment. They are also responsible for ensuring the smooth and efficient administration of the clinic, including retrieving patient notes, recording and filing clinical outcomes and utilising Newmedicas electronic patient records. They act as a mentor and guide to the Ophthalmic Assistants within the service and take a leadership role without line management responsibility.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES:

Responsibility for the day to day running of the clinic:

• Coordinate the daily clinic schedule.
• Competent in all diagnostic testing, medical histories, assisting in YAG clinics, admission and discharge for both cataracts and oculoplastic procedures
• Report any day-to-day staffing issues, such as sickness absence or training needs, to the management team
• Play a key role in the safe and effective running of theatre, both within the admission/discharge area and theatre itself
• Perform a daily equipment check and support review of stock levels
• Act as the point of contact for technical, operational or patient issues, resolving them or escalating them as appropriate
• Ensure the incident reporting and complaints procedures are followed as necessary
• Communicate key information from Senior Management or the Operational Director to clinic staff
• Obtain authorisation from the management team if unscheduled overtime is needed
• Take primary responsibility for reporting clinic data
• Involvement in the training and mentoring of new Ophthalmic Assistants

Perform Ophthalmic Assistant responsibilities to include:

• Managing the relationship with the patient and the provision of appropriate information to them, ensuring that exceptional customer service is delivered
• Management of patient data; ensuring availability, required accuracy and confidentiality. This may involve retrieving patient records from and returning them to the Trust, liaising with Newmedica's administration centre, updating Newmedica's electronic patient records and producing and providing letters to patients
• Performing, verifying and recording results of clinical testing with absolute integrity
• Working with other clinic staff to ensure optimal patient flow, including assisting them if required
• Appropriate escalation of process, clinical, equipment, quality or infection risk issues
• Maintaining a positive relationship with client teams at every interaction
• Committed to continued professional development and clinical governance, including participating in appraisal process, clinical audits and research as required
• Undertaking other ad-hoc duties and administrative tasks as required to ensure the smooth running of the clinic

Person Specification

Experience

Essential

• Experience in ophthalmology, undertaking diagnostic tests such as OCT, visual fields and visual acuity
• Experience of dealing with a variety of data for example patient records, GP and patient correspondence and diagnostic test results

Qualifications

Essential

• Good standard of education

Knowledge and skills

Essential

• Knowledge of eye physiology and treatment
• The ability to coordinate tasks within a small team where there is no direct management responsibility
• The ability to make a clear judgement about when to deal with issues and when to escalate them
• Proven customer service skills with a passion for customer care
• Excellent organisational skills and the ability to multi-task
• Committed to delivery of consistently high standards of testing and administration
• A competent user of all Office 365 programmes & comfortable working on new systems such as patient record systems or diagnostic programmes
• An excellent grasp of the English language both verbally and in written format
• A good team player happy to jump in and support others when required

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.

Employer details

Employer name

New Medical Systems Ltd

Address

Newmedica

Blackmore Road

Stretford

Manchester

M32 0QY

Employer's website

https://www.newmedica.co.uk/ (Opens in a new tab)