Newcastle Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust is one of the busiest and largest teaching NHS foundation trusts in the country, with around 16,000 staff and an annual income of £1 billion. We have a long history of providing high quality care, clinical excellence, and innovation in medical research regionally, nationally and internationally. We’re also proud to be the second largest provider of specialised services in the country. This means we support people with a range of rare and complex medical, surgical and neurological conditions, cancers and genetic orders.
The Department of Ophthalmology sees and treats around 120,000 patients each year in an outpatient setting. In addition to this, we perform around 10,000 surgical procedures annually. Our services are based at the Royal Victoria Infirmary, however we operate a large number of clinics around the region to provide care closer to the homes of our patients. We cover all aspects of adult and paediatric ophthalmic care with high-volume outpatient and day case surgery taking place, alongside a busy Eye Emergency service. The department has in-house Orthoptics and Ophthalmic Photography functions, and has a dedicated day case ward and in-patient ward.
Newcastle Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust is seeking a motivated newly qualified optometrist to join our dedicated team within the hospital setting. This substantive post offers a structured career path, commencing at Band 6 with progression to Specialist Optometrist (Band 7) expected within 2 years upon successful completion of a residency period. This role provides a valuable opportunity to gain comprehensive experience and develop the necessary skills for a successful career as a hospital optometrist. Your workload will encompass both clinical and non-clinical aspects, including opportunities in teaching, audit, research, and management. You will be actively involved in our core optometry service, developing your expertise in specialist contact lenses (adult and paediatric), low vision, and refraction. Furthermore, you will undertake rotations through our glaucoma, medical retina, and cataract (including YAG capsulotomy) services, with regular sessions in the eye emergency department.
Achieving the theoretical modules for Independent Prescribing is an important element of the residency period, and full support will be provided to help you achieve this. Support for other relevant qualifications may also be available. As a new member of our team, you will benefit from Newcastle Hospitals’ preceptorship programme, designed to support your transition from trainee to registered Optometrist. This programme covers topics such as leadership, human factors, and quality improvement, with opportunities to further develop your knowledge and skills in specific areas of interest. You will be encouraged and supported to undertake a quality improvement project during your residency. If you are a newly qualified optometrist with a genuine interest in developing your career within a hospital setting, we strongly encourage you to apply.