Advanced Cardiac Physiologist - Echocardiography
With the opening of our new hospital, Midland Metropolitan University Hospital, it’s the coming together of expertise from every corner of our organisation and a show of our commitment to provide better healthcare and create more jobs and so much more.
We at the Trust actively encourage Black and Minority Ethnic (BME) and disabled applicants, as well as members of the armed forces community and value the positive impact that difference has on our teams. We are committed to equality and diversity within our workforce.
Job overview
An exciting opportunity has arisen for an experienced Advanced Cardiac Physiologist - Echocardiographer to join the Cardiology Diagnostics team at Sandwell and West Birmingham Hospitals NHS Trust.
The post holder will be an independent, accredited echocardiographer, delivering a wide range of routine, complex and specialist echocardiography investigations across inpatient and outpatient settings. You will play a key role in supporting safe, timely diagnosis and ongoing management of patients with cardiac disease, working closely with consultant cardiologists and the wider multidisciplinary team.
The Trust actively promotes the provision of 7‑day diagnostic services, and the post holder will be expected to work weekends as part of their normal working shift pattern.
The post may also be suitable for an experienced Specialist Cardiac Physiologist who is looking to further develop their echocardiography skills. In these circumstances, support will be provided to achieve accreditation, with salary adjusted in line with qualifications and experience.
In addition to delivering high‑quality clinical activity, the role includes supporting service delivery, supervising and training junior staff, contributing to service development, and deputising for senior colleagues within the echocardiography service when required.All work will be undertaken in line with professional standards, Trust policies and governance requirements
Main duties of the job
Perform a full range of standard and complex echocardiography studies, including portable ward‑based scans, adapting examinations to clinical indication and patient condition
Produce accurate, timely clinical reports, recognising and escalating significantly abnormal findings to cardiology clinicians as required
Participate in advanced echocardiography activity, including stress echocardiography, contrast studies, TOE support and specialist physiologist‑led clinics
Work as an autonomous practitioner, exercising advanced clinical judgement in a high‑volume diagnostic service
Support the day‑to‑day running of the echocardiography service, including prioritisation of worklists and deputising for senior staff when required
Provide training, supervision and support to trainee and junior cardiac physiologists and contribute to education of medical staff
Maintain professional accreditation and contribute to clinical governance, audit, service development and quality improvement activity
Communicate effectively with patients, carers and the multidisciplinary team, ensuring care is delivered with dignity, compassion and professionalism
Ensure all practice complies with Trust policies, professional standards and national guidelines, contributing to a safe and effective diagnostic service
Working for our organisation
Sandwell and West Birmingham NHS Trust (SWB) serves Birmingham and the Black Country – one of the country’s most culturally diverse areas. It’s a friendly and welcoming place – a place where you can belong, and a place where you can grow.
We care for our patients, we care about our population, and we care about our people.
Our values – Ambition, Respect and Compassion – are at the heart of who we are. They guide us every step of the way; how we work with each other, and how we look after our patients and their families; how we respect and value the rich diversity of our team and our community.
Our Trust has always aspired to be more than a hospital, more than a healthcare provider. Our purpose is to “Improve the Life Chances and Health Outcomes of our Population.” It is what inspires, drives, and unites us every day. It’s what makes us unique.
We want working at SWB to feel like more than just a job. We want our Trust to be a place where you can feel you belong. A place where you feel happy, safe, and rewarded. A place where you can develop your career in whatever way you choose. When we say we’re ‘with you all the way’ we want you to know that we mean it.Visit the SWB website to find out more about our ambitions and people plans.
Detailed job description and main responsibilities
Please refer to the attached Job Description and Person Specification for details of the main responsibilities for this role.
Maintain professional accreditation and contribute to clinical governance, audit, service development and quality improvement activity
Communicate effectively with patients, carers and the multidisciplinary team, ensuring care is delivered with dignity, compassion and professionalism
Ensure all practice complies with Trust policies, professional standards and national guidelines, contributing to a safe and effective diagnostic service
Person specification
Qualification
Essential criteria- MSc or BSc in Clinical Physiology or equivalent
- BSE Adult Echo Accreditation
Experience
Essential criteria- Documented evidence of highly developed specialist training and competence in Echocardiography
Multi-site working
The four partner Trusts of the Black Country Provider Collaborative (Dudley Group NHS FT, Royal Wolverhampton NHS Trust, Sandwell & West Birmingham NHS Trust, and Walsall Healthcare NHS Trust) are actively working in partnership to deliver a collective vision focused on providing "better, faster and safer care to the population of the Black Country and beyond".
To support this vision, we are (where appropriate and safe to do so) actively looking at new models of care which:
- Better protect elective / planned care service delivery across the system by organising on a 'hot and cold' arrangement
- Consider the optimal use of resources through consolidation and specialisation, and
- Seek to reduce unwarranted variance, level up / standardise care through a 'Networked Service Solution' approach across the four sites
Against this context, although this post is hosted by Sandwell & West Birmingham NHS Trust, there may be an expectation to work flexibly across the four partner Trusts to better meet patient and service needs.
As a major employer in the Black Country and West Birmingham region we are committed to supporting all employees to achieve a healthy work life balance. We want the Black Country and West Birmingham region to be the best place to work and as such will consider all requests to work flexibly taking into account personal and individual circumstances alongside the needs of the service.We encourage all prospective applicants to discuss their individual circumstances with the Recruiting Manager as part of the on-boarding process.
Healthcare services have a significant impact on the environment. We are committed to embedding sustainable practices. We expect all colleagues to support the delivery of our Green Strategic Plan and to drive positive changes in their department by joining our Green Impact programme.