Job summary Working Part Time : 22.5 hours per week Permanent Contract, but very willing to accept applications for full time, part-time, flexible work hours, all work modalities will be considered. Will commence the post as a Band 6 but with progression to a Band 7 after full training. An exciting opportunity for any newly qualified Optometrist; any Optometrist working in community who wants something new, or any Optometrist with an interest in Hospital Optometry. You will work closely with the Head Optometrist, Doctors and Consultants, Orthoptists and other members of staff to assist in the care of our patients. Who Our Opportunity is for: A Optometrist to work in the Optometry Department at The Countess of Chester Hospital. Optometrists without previous hospital experience will be considered and will be provided with training and support to enable them to fulfill the requirements of the job description What this Opportunity means: We are a small, friendly and supportive team, working closely with the Ophthalmologists and Orthoptic Department We support staff in expanding their knowledge and skills The successful applicant will have the opportunity to develop a career within Hospital Optometry Main duties of the job Your main responsibilities will be helping the clinic by performing diagnostic refractions on patients of all ages with a myriad of eye conditions; cycloplegic and subjective refractions on the young children, low vision assessments for patients who are struggling with poor vision and performing (often complex) contact lens fits and aftercares.This opportunity will have you working as mentioned but as your skills and confidence in Hospital Optometry develop your role will change to include becoming optometric lead for a service in extended role clinics, and we will support you with higher education courses support and working closely with the consultants in your chosen field of interest. We are a small team of Optometrists who would like to be able to expand and grow the department and look forward to hearing back from you About us The Countess of Chester Hospital NHS Foundation Trust provides services to West Cheshire and to Welsh patients covered by Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board. The Trust works collaboratively within the wider Cheshire and Merseyside Health and Care Partnership. Its services are provided from three locations: The Countess of Chester Hospital: providing 438 general and acute beds Ellesmere Port Hospital: providing 56 beds as a rehabilitation, intermediate and outpatient facility Tarporley War Memorial Hospital: a base for community services which serve the local rural population. The Trust employs over 6258 staff (headcount) which includes temporary bank staff and provides acute emergency and elective services, primary care direct access services and obstetric services to a population of approximately 407,000. This includes 357,000 residents in Chester and West Cheshire which includes Ellesmere Port and Neston as well as the Deeside area of Flintshire which has a population of approximately 50,000. The Trust is a busy district general hospital and in 2022/2023, there were more than 503,342 patient attendances (inpatient, outpatient and diagnostic) ranging from a simple outpatient appointment to major cancer surgery. This is an increase of nearly 10,000 compared to the previous year when there were 494,387 patient attendances. Date posted 14 January 2025 Pay scheme Agenda for change Band Band 6 Salary £37,338 to £44,962 a year pa pro rata Contract Permanent Working pattern Part-time Reference number 210-2024-662-D Job locations Countess of Chester Hospital Liverpool Road Chester CH2 1UL Job description Job responsibilities See Job Description for further details. Recruitment selection processes are based on competence (see Person specification) and values. Please note applicants will be required to pay for their DBS check. Costs are deducted from salary following appointment. The cost of the DBS application is £27.50(standard) or £55.50(enhanced), this cost will be deducted from your salary over the first three months of employment. You are encouraged to enrol for the DBS Update Service. A small annual fee of £16per year applies. New entrants to the NHS will commence on the minimum of the scale stated above. Applicants are advised to apply early as if a large number of applications are received for this post, we reserve the right to close the vacancy prior to the advertised date. Good luck with your application. Job description Job responsibilities See Job Description for further details. Recruitment selection processes are based on competence (see Person specification) and values. Please note applicants will be required to pay for their DBS check. Costs are deducted from salary following appointment. The cost of the DBS application is £27.50(standard) or £55.50(enhanced), this cost will be deducted from your salary over the first three months of employment. You are encouraged to enrol for the DBS Update Service. A small annual fee of £16per year applies. New entrants to the NHS will commence on the minimum of the scale stated above. Applicants are advised to apply early as if a large number of applications are received for this post, we reserve the right to close the vacancy prior to the advertised date. Good luck with your application. Person Specification Qualifications Essential BSc(Hons) degree in optometry/vision science/ophthalmic optics 2:2 or above from one of the universities approved by the GOC Successful completion of postgraduate training including work based assessment and supervision by registered optometrists with achievement of all GOC competencies as assessed by the College of Optometrists Registration with the General Optical Council (GOC) as an optometrist Desirable Membership or Fellowship of the College of Optometrists Registration with the GOC as a specialist contact lens practitioner where contact lenses are offered as a specialist skill College of Optometrists Higher Qualification or a willingness to work towards these Knowledge and Experience Essential Post -qualification optometrist experience in a wide range of optometry services including assessment and management of children and adults Fulfilment of GOC requirements for CPD Desirable Previous hospital experience Evidence of commitment to continuing education and receptive to further training and development of skills and knowledge Experience of research and audit projects Person Specification Qualifications Essential BSc(Hons) degree in optometry/vision science/ophthalmic optics 2:2 or above from one of the universities approved by the GOC Successful completion of postgraduate training including work based assessment and supervision by registered optometrists with achievement of all GOC competencies as assessed by the College of Optometrists Registration with the General Optical Council (GOC) as an optometrist Desirable Membership or Fellowship of the College of Optometrists Registration with the GOC as a specialist contact lens practitioner where contact lenses are offered as a specialist skill College of Optometrists Higher Qualification or a willingness to work towards these Knowledge and Experience Essential Post -qualification optometrist experience in a wide range of optometry services including assessment and management of children and adults Fulfilment of GOC requirements for CPD Desirable Previous hospital experience Evidence of commitment to continuing education and receptive to further training and development of skills and knowledge Experience of research and audit projects 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). UK Registration Applicants must have current UK professional registration. For further information please see NHS Careers website (opens in a new window). Additional information 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). UK Registration Applicants must have current UK professional registration. For further information please see NHS Careers website (opens in a new window). Employer details Employer name Countess of Chester Hospital NHS Foundation Trust Address Countess of Chester Hospital Liverpool Road Chester CH2 1UL Employer's website https://www.coch.nhs.uk/working-with-us.aspx (Opens in a new tab)