Orthoptist

Job description

Barts Health is one of the largest NHS trusts in the country, and one of Britain's leading healthcare providers.

The Barts Health group of NHS hospitals is entering an exciting new era on our improvement journey to becoming an outstanding organisation with a world-class clinical reputation.

Our vision is to be a high-performing group of NHS hospitals, renowned for excellence and innovation, and providing safe and compassionate care to our patients in east London and beyond. That means being a provider of excellent patient safety, known for delivering consistently high standards of harm-free care and always caring for patients in the right place at the right time. It also means being an outstanding place to work, in which our WeCare values and behaviours are visible to all and guide us in how we work together.

Barts Health supports the Pregnancy Loss Pledge and commits to supporting their staff through the distress of miscarriage.

We are dedicated to being an outstanding place to work and will work with you to get the best experience. We know flexible working is not a one size fits all and will mean something different to everyone. We are inclusive, so if you are interested in flexible working, please speak to the recruiting manager.

Job overview

An exciting opportunity has become available with a vacancy within our orthoptic team. We are a friendly team looking for an enthusiastic and highly motivated Orthoptist to join us from October 2026. This is a fixed term, part-time (0.60 WTE) maternity leave cover post. You will be based at Whipps Cross Hospital and have an interesting mix of paediatric and adult hospital and community clinic & special schools with training opportunities within extended roles.
The post-holder will work as part of the multi-disciplinary Orthoptic and Ophthalmology teams that provide comprehensive and quality Orthoptic services for the Trust.
The Orthoptic department is a highly specialised department that provides comprehensive, quality and specialised Orthoptic services to the Trust as part of a multi-disciplinary Ophthalmology Team.
You will participate in the educational activities run by and for the Orthoptic Departments. This includes the teaching of other health care professionals, medical undergraduates and junior doctors.
There are significant opportunities to develop within the role gaining experience in extended roles and being involved in audit and research.
We are a support team and understand the importance of staff well-being, flexibility and good team engagement to make a great experience for you joining our department and Trust

Main duties of the job
• Provide a high quality orthoptic service as an autonomous practitioner, delivering both preventative and therapeutic care in line with the professional standards of the British and Irish Orthoptic Society (BIOS).
• Apply clinical expertise, sound clinical reasoning, and experience to independently assess, diagnose, and manage patients referred to the Orthoptic service, working collaboratively as part of a multidisciplinary ophthalmology and AHP team.
• Contribute actively to the education and development of others by teaching and supporting a wide range of healthcare professionals, including undergraduate orthoptic students, pre registration optometrists, health visitors, school nurses, GPs, junior doctors, and medical students.

Working for our organisation

Barts Health is one of the largest NHS trusts in the country, and one of Britain's leading healthcare providers.

Our vision is to be a high-performing group of NHS hospitals, renowned for excellence and innovation, and providing safe and compassionate care to our patients in east London and beyond. That means being a provider of excellent patient safety, known for delivering consistently high standards of harm-free care and always caring for patients in the right place at the right time. It also means being an outstanding place to work, in which our WeCare values and behaviours are visible to all and guide us in how we work together.

We strive to live by our WeCare values and are committed to promoting inclusion, where every staff member has a sense of belonging. We value our differences and fully advocate, cultivate and support an inclusive working environment.

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

The full job description provides an overview of the key tasks and responsibilities of the role, and the person specification outlines the qualifications, skills, experience, and knowledge required. For both documents, please view the attachment/s below.

Person specification

Experience

Essential criteria

• Evidence of clinical experience delivering orthoptic assessment, diagnosis, and management across paediatric and adult patients, including through pre-registration clinical placements, performing duties comparable to those described in the job description.
• Experience working as part of uni-professional and multidisciplinary teams to deliver coordinated patient care
• Experience providing advice, support, or training to students, support workers, or colleagues
• Experience maintaining accurate clinical records using paper or electronic patient record systems.
• Experience working with children and/or vulnerable adults, with an understanding of safeguarding responsibilities

Desirable criteria

• Post-registration experience in a specialist area such as paediatrics, stroke, neuro-ophthalmology, community services, or special schools
• Membership of a relevant specialist interest group
• Experience contributing to audit, service evaluation, or quality improvement activity
• Experience using Cerner Millennium, MediSIGHT, or equivalent electronic patient record systems.
• Experience supporting student placements or delivering clinical teaching.

Skills

Essential criteria

• Clinical assessment and diagnostic skills across the range of orthoptic practice, including paediatric and adult ocular motility disorders.
• Ability to analyse and prioritise clinical information to develop safe and appropriate care plans.
• Ability to communicate clinical information clearly to a range of audiences, adapting communication for children, carers, and patients with additional needs.
• Ability to deliver sensitive or distressing information with professionalism, empathy, and clarity.
• Ability to work autonomously, making clinical decisions within professional guidelines and escalating appropriately
• Ability to perform the manual clinical techniques of orthoptic practice, including motility measurement, manual perimetry, focimetry, and instillation of diagnostic drops.
• Ability to organise and prioritise a clinical workload, demonstrating effective time management
• Ability to work effectively under pressure and manage frequent interruptions.
• Ability to maintain accurate, high-quality clinical documentation, demonstrating attention to detail and accuracy
• Commitment to inclusive, non-discriminatory, patient-centred practice

Desirable criteria

• Confident presentation skills, including delivering teaching sessions or case presentations
• Ability to support the development of students or support workers through mentoring or supervision.
• Experience contributing to service development or pathway improvement.

Knowledge

Essential criteria

• Developed knowledge of current best practice in orthoptics across paediatric and adult care.
• Understanding of the legal responsibilities, professional code of conduct, and ethical framework relevant to orthoptic practice
• Understanding of clinical governance, including audit, risk management, and evidence-based practice
• Knowledge of MS Office applications and confidence using electronic patient record systems.
• Understanding of safeguarding principles relating to children and vulnerable adults.
• Commitment to ongoing CPD and maintaining HCPC standards

Desirable criteria

• Knowledge of MediSIGHT, Cerner Millennium, or equivalent ophthalmic EPR or PAS systems
• Knowledge of national paediatric, stroke, or community eye care guidelines.

Qualifications

Essential criteria

• Bachelor of Science in Orthoptics (BSc Orthoptics, BMedSci Orthoptics) or Diploma in British Orthoptics (DBO).
• Current registration with the Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC).
• Evidence of ongoing CPD in accordance with HCPC requirements.

Desirable criteria

• Member of the British and Irish Orthoptic Society (BIOS)
• Postgraduate training or short courses relevant to paediatrics, stroke, or neuro-ophthalmology

Other

Essential criteria

• Able to travel between hospital and community sites as required.
• Physically able to perform the duties of the post, with reasonable adjustments where necessary.
• Flexible, dependable, and adaptable approach to work, including working across multiple locations.

Visa Sponsorship Information

This role is subject to UK immigration requirements. Where sponsorship is required, applicants must meet the eligibility criteria for a Skilled Worker visa in accordance with current UK Visas and Immigration rules, including any salary, qualification, and role-specific requirements applicable at the time of appointment. Candidates who require sponsorship will only be considered where the post is eligible and where all sponsorship criteria can be met. Evidence of the right to work in the UK will be required before appointment. Please note that for roles employed under Agenda for Change Terms and Conditions, the High-Cost Area Supplement (HCAS) is not included when calculating the basic salary for the purposes of sponsorship.

We strive to live by our WeCare values and are committed to promoting inclusion, where every staff member has a sense of belonging. We value our differences and fully advocate, cultivate and support an inclusive working environment where staff treat one another with dignity and respect. We aim to create an equitable working environment where every individual can fulfil their potential.

As an Equal Opportunities Employer we actively support applications from individuals' who apply under the Guaranteed Interview Scheme and will process your application as appropriate.

We reserve the right to expire vacancies prior to the advertised closing date once a sufficient number of applications has been received and we regret that we are unable to provide notification if your application is unsuccessful.

After applying via NHS Jobs, your submitted application will be imported into our preferred Third party recruitment system. All subsequent information regarding your application will be generated from apps.trac.jobs.

By applying for this post you are agreeing to Barts Health NHS Trust transferring the information contained in this application to its preferred applicant management system. If you are offered a job, information will also be transferred into the national NHS Electronic Staff Records system.

Barts Health is committed to safeguarding the welfare of children and to child protection. The Trust aims to ensure as far as is possible that anyone, paid or unpaid, who seeks to work in our organisation and who gains access to children, is safe to do so. As such, you may be required to undertake a Disclosure and Barring Check as part of the recruitment process if appointed to a post with direct access to children or vulnerable adults.

Barts Health promotes active travel as part of its goal to reach Net Zero. Each site is accessible by public transport and the Trust has a cycle to work scheme and some sites have Brompton Hire Pods.

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