Were the Royal National Institute of Blind People (RNIB) and were here for everyone affected by sight loss. Working for us means working for one of the UKs biggest charities, supporting almost two million people living with sight loss in the UK.
RNIB is leading the creation of a world where there are no barriers for people with sight loss. One of our key priorities is to ask people to see sight loss differently, reversing inaccurate perceptions and changing public behaviours so everyone expects equal participation from people with sight loss and the creation of a fully accessible society.
We are pleased to announce this exciting opportunity to join our flagship UK Eye Care Support Service and the ECLO team in Wales.
In this role you will be working directly with people with sight loss, and those diagnosed with a condition which may cause sight loss in the future, as well as their families and carers. Providing understanding, information, and essential emotional support, you will support people to make informed choices which enable and empower them to maintain their independence and face the future with confidence.
Working across a large ophthalmology department you will work closely alongside clinicians and will develop strong partnerships across social care, community support and other local and national organisations.
Main duties of the job
You will have proven experience of delivering information and advice services working directly with the people you are supporting. Key to this role will be your excellent communication and relationship building skills with patients, clinicians, and a wide range of cross sector partners.
You should be confident to work on your own initiative, have excellent organisational skills and be a confident user of IT systems. Impeccable record keeping skills are also key to this role.
Job responsibilities
Job Title: Eye Care Liaison Officer (ECLO)
Section: Services
Unit: Eye Care Support Service
Type of Contract: Permanent
Reports to: ECLO Service Manager Wales
Purpose of Job: This well-established and much valued ECLO role has been in place for over 12 years. A recent and significant gap in service means the new post-holder will be reigniting the service across the Ysbyty Gwynedd Eye Clinic. This is an exciting opportunity to be involved in the redevelopment and delivery of ECLO provision across the clinic.
In this role you will be a vital member of both the Wales ECLO team and the eye clinic team within Ysbyty Gwynedd Hospital. You will be working directly with people diagnosed with conditions causing sight loss. You will provide critical emotional support, information, and guidance face to face within the eye unit, and via telephone or digital platforms as required.
Each day you will support people affected by sight loss to identify their needs, access information, and make informed choices which enable and empower them to maintain their independence.
You will be critical in developing internal and external cross-sector partnerships throughout north Wales, with statutory and Third Sector partners, NHS eye care service, and community-based partners. You will develop referral routes, relationships, and partnership working to support the needs of people living with a sight condition in Gwynedd and Ynys Mon.
Main Accountabilities:
1. Provide advice, information, practical and emotional support, to people of all ages affected by sight loss.
2. Provide a person-centred screening of needs by telephone, in person and via digital platforms, ensuring those affected by sight loss feel more confident about where and how to get support, advice and guidance, signposting and referring patients to a wide range of services and organisations, as identified in the screening of needs.
3. Develop positive working relationships to establish and maintain referral routes with a range of health, statutory and third sector organisations.
4. Provide basic visual awareness training to eye clinic staff and others as required.
5. Provide information and guidance on the certification and registration process for people with sight loss. To support eye clinic staff with the processing of the Certificate of Visual Impairment (CVI).
6. Maintain an up-to-date and comprehensive information resource relating to services available for people with sight loss.
7. Support patients, family, and carers with advice on falls prevention and refer to available services where appropriate.
8. When needed, act as an advocate for patients to navigate the complexities of the sight loss pathway to ensure they receive appropriate services.
9. Collate and maintain accurate patient records and input quality data using multiple IT systems. Undertake high-quality case recording in line with the highest standards and best practice principles and ensuring compliance with all GDPR and information governance policies and procedures.
10. Engage patients, their family members, or carers to gather feedback on the ECLO service. Positively contribute to RNIB evaluation, monitoring and continuous improvement of the service.
11. Attend clinical audit meetings, steering groups, forums, and other events to promote the benefits of the service.
12. Positively contribute to a range of local and national ECLO team meetings, networks, training, and information events. Attend mandatory ECLO seminars and take responsibility for own CPD.
13. Ensure that specific safeguarding risks, GDPR and regulatory requirements are understood, applied, and managed in line with relevant NHS and RNIB policies.
14. Support volunteers within the ECLO service and wider RNIB activities, where appropriate.
Person Specification
Specialist Knowledge, Skills and Experience
1. Proven experience of delivering information and advice services, preferably within a health, social care, or community setting.
2. Demonstrable experience of delivering person-centred support to customers and their family and carers.
3. Demonstrable experience of working in health, social care or community support services and understanding the functions of their practitioners.
4. Proven advanced communication skills, including positively influencing other professionals across health, social care, or community services.
5. Demonstrable IT literacy with proven experience of working with Office 365 and bespoke systems whilst adhering to GDPR Information Governance Policies and maintaining appropriate customer records.
Planning and Organisational skills
1. Ability to organise and manage time effectively and to prioritise workload to meet deadlines.
2. Flexibility and adaptability to meet the demands of the role and to work within varying locations and different settings.
3. Self-motivation and an ability to work independently and on own initiative.
Communication Skills
1. Ability to communicate clearly and effectively in a structured way and with a range of individuals, both verbally and in writing.
2. Experience of the preparation and delivery of presentations to varied audiences in a manner which meets their needs.
3. Ability to listen to and have empathy with patients whilst remaining impartial and non-judgemental.
4. The ability to speak Welsh is highly desirable but not essential.
Special Conditions
1. RNIB & City University Eye Clinic Support Studies qualification, or a willingness to undertake and obtain the qualification is essential.
2. Adhering to the RNIB ECLO Services Quality Framework and Practice Guidelines.
3. Must be prepared to travel and attend meetings and training as required which may involve occasional overnight stays.
4. Appointment is subject to an Enhanced DBS check/PVG checks, as appropriate.
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.
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