An exciting opportunity has arisen for an enthusiastic Trainee Retinal Screener Grader to join the South East London Diabetic Eye Screening Programme, provided by Guy's and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust.

Trainees are enrolled on the Health Screeners Diploma, a nationally recognised level 3 qualification. They will be supported by qualified in-house assessors and be assigned a mentor to support their learning. Learning is gained in the clinical environment by learning how to use a retinal screening camera to capture images, how to take the patients relevant medical history, and how to assess the images which is known as 'grading'.

In addition to the practical training the successful candidate will be required to complete a number of written assessments and e-learning modules. Study time will be given for e-learning, however it is expected that trainees will complete some learning in their own time. Successful candidates will need to be engaged and proactive to complete their personal learning plan.

Trainees are employed on an AFC annex 21 training contract, which is equivalent to 70% of the top pay point for the band in the first year and 75% of the top pay point for the band for the second year

This contract is for a fixed term of two years, as the qualification should be obtained within 1 to 2 years of enrolment.

Once the qualification has been obtained the trainee moves to a permanent contract at the starting point of the band 4 pay scale.

Training is facilitated in Hospital outpatient clinics, NHS health centres and high street opticians. Once qualified, Screener Graders work independently or in pairs in clinics, with a few dedicated grading sessions a month at the central offices at Guy’s Hospital.

The candidate will work in clinics across Bexley, Greenwich, Bromley, Lewisham , Southwark and Lambeth during the training period, later settling into one locality team, with occasional cross cover in other localities.

Main Duties:
Learning how to use retinal screening cameras to capture retinal photographs

Learning how to use software to capture patient information

Learning how to assess a patients visual acuity

Learning how to instill eye drops

Learning how to identify eye diseases and pathology

Learning referral pathways

Offering excellent patient care in outpatient environments

Studying independently and providing written work, and/or practical evidence of skills and knowledge gained through training

Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust comprises five of the UK’s best known hospitals – Guy’s, St Thomas’, Evelina London Children’s Hospital, Royal Brompton and Harefield – as well as community services in Lambeth and Southwark, all with a long history of high quality care, clinical excellence, research and innovation.

We are among the UK’s busiest, most successful foundation trusts. We provide specialist care for patients including heart and lung, cancer and renal services as well as a full range of local hospital and community services for people in Lambeth and Southwark.

We have around 22,700 staff, making us one of the largest NHS Trusts in the country and one of the biggest employers locally. We aim to reflect the diversity of the communities we serve and continue to develop new and existing partnerships with local people, patients, neighbouring NHS organisations, local authorities and charitable bodies and GPs.

We strive to recruit and retain the best staff as the dedication and skills of our employees lie at the heart of our organisation and ensure that our services are of the highest quality, safe and focused on our patients.

Learning responsibilities

Enrol onto and undertake the Level 3 Diploma for Health Screeners qualification.

Engage with trainers and assessors to review own learning and create and update personal development plans.

Take responsibility for own learning, ensuing that units are completed and submitted in a timely fashion, in accordance with agreed learning plan.

Clinical Duties and Responsibilities

Greet patients courteously and explain the screening process from assessment to reporting of results;

work constructively with colleagues to ensure clinics operate smoothly;

confirm and update patient demographics on the patient’s screening record;

once trained and qualified, instil mydriatic eye drops into the patient’s eyes, in line with appropriate protocols, recording this information on the IT system;

to learn to use the retinal camera to gain good quality anterior and peripheral images of patients eyes where appropriate;

capture digital retinal images of patients’ eyes using retinal screening cameras available at the different screening sites;

to learn to grade retinal images to secondary level, making an assessment of the level of disease in line with local grading protocol;

to learn to identify and refer significant non diabetic related pathology;

to learn to ensure R3 (proliferative diabetic retinopathy) is appropriately fast tracked through the grading pathway and to ophthalmology;

refer any issues preventing patients being screened on that day to the administration team so that they can rearrange appointments and record this in the patient notes;

ensure the daily clinic list is kept up to date;

deal with any telephone and drop in enquires, providing information to patients and colleagues that is commensurate with training and referring any clinical queries to the team leader or clinical lead;

to learn to adjust the camera settings appropriately, and troubleshoot any camera/hardware issues that arise before reporting any problems up the line;

to learn to use the IT system, finding patients, adding new patients, updating patients and archiving patients in line with screening and administration policies and local training

Communication Duties and Responsibilities

Act professionally and courteously at all times to patients and colleagues;

Explain to patients and professional colleagues, the screening process and the importance of eye screening in detecting sight threat-threatening disease;

Explain to patients how their images will be assessed following their attendance and when they should expect to receive their results;

To report any complaints or issues that arise to the team leader or deputy programme manager as appropriate.

We have a large integrated team comprising of Screener Graders at three levels of competency, qualified specialist Optometrists, administrators and failsafe officers. The service is led by a dedicated management team and Consultant Ophthalmologist.

The team meet regularly for multidisciplinary meetings, shared learning, practical training and professional development.