Nuclear Medicine Lead Clinical Scientist - Regional Support Lead

Here at East and North Hertfordshire NHS Trust,

Our mission is: Providing high-quality, compassionate care for our communities

Our vision to 2030 is: To be trusted to provide consistently outstanding care and exemplary service

Job overview

We are recruiting for a Nuclear Medicine Lead Clinical Scientist who shares our vision to be trusted to provide consistently outstanding care and exemplary service to our patients.

The nuclear medicine department is part of the wider radiation services team at Mount Vernon Cancer Centre. We are looking for a lead clinical scientist to provide MPE, RPA and RWA support for the Trust and to support nuclear medicine services in a number of external Trusts under service level agreements.

The nuclear medicine department provides diagnostic, in-vitro investigations and radionuclide therapies to cancer and non-cancer patients and provides specialist scientific advice and technical support to nuclear medicine services within the Trust and to nuclear medicine services at other hospitals.

You will be a HCPC registered Clinical Scientist, qualified to act as an RPA, RWA and MPE in nuclear medicine. As an experienced and committed clinical scientist you will lead the delivery of scientific and technical support to nuclear medicine services.

You will have plenty of opportunities to manage staff as the department is currently accredited for STP training and also has a number of staff Route 2, practitioner training programs and apprenticeships.

At the heart of everything we do are our core values: Include, Respect, and Improve. We encourage you to embrace these values throughout the recruitment process and in your role with us.

Main duties of the job

Lead on the provision of radiation protection and scientific support to several hospitals. Working closely with the head of nuclear medicine you will be part of the leadership team delivering services to a number of Trusts.

Work alongside local service leads to ensure organisations deliver statutory obligations with respect to the safe use of ionising radiation.

Support and line manage clinical scientists, contribute to staff development and assist in the supervision of trainees undertaking the STP programme or equivalent.

Lead on the implementation, development and optimization of nuclear medicine imaging, including CT in SPECT/CT.

Lead on QA programs for nuclear medicine equipment.

Participate in the delivery of clinical Nuclear Medicine services provided by the department.

Working for our organisation

At East and North Hertfordshire NHS Trust, we are proud of the range of general & specialist services we provide & our 6,000 or so dedicated staff ensure our patients get the best care. Our ability to be flexible & innovative in the way in which we work and deliver our services to our catchment has never been more important than it is now.

We run the following hospitals:

• The Lister Hospital, Stevenage
• New Queen Elizabeth II (New QEII), Welwyn Garden City
• Hertford County, Hertford
• Mount Vernon Cancer Centre (MVCC), Northwood

We have ambitious plans to become an outstanding, patient-led Trust where dedicated staff provide high-quality, compassionate care to our patients. We continue to undergo significant transformation; our staff & patients are at the heart of delivering this ambitious agenda.

We understand that finding and starting a new job is an important life decision. If you need reasonable adjustments for a disability, or a life event, such as menopause - so that we can consider your application fairly & to get the best out of you during the selection process, please let us know.

We are committed to a positive work life balance for our employees. Employees are entitled to seek to work flexible working patterns & we are committed to listen and consider all requests. Such requests, of course, have to be made & considered formally, & will need to be balanced against service needs, but our starting point will always be to find ways to support making them happen.

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

Please see the attached Job Description and Person Specification applicant pack for further detailed information regarding this role.

Person specification

Qualifications

• Good (1st or 2nd Class) Honours degree in a relevant subject (physics or engineering).
• Postgraduate qualification in a relevant branch of physics or medical physics to the level of at least a Master’s degree (MSc).
• State registration with the Health & Care Professions Council, as a Clinical Scientist
• RPA accreditation by RPA 2000 (certificate of core competence)
• RWA accreditation by RPA 2000 (certificate of core competence)
• Current recognition as an MPE and on the IR(ME)R 2000 MPE list as maintained by RPA 2000

• Relevant PhD or comparable history of published research
• Qualification as a DGSA

Experience

• Specialised training and practical experience in Nuclear Medicine and Radiation Protection
• Specialised training and practical experience in the use and quality assurance testing of a range of highly technical equipment, including SPECT/CT, PET/CT
• Specification, procurement and commissioning of imaging systems
• Working as an MPE in a nuclear medicine service providing imaging and radionuclide therapies
• Previous appointment as RPA and/or RWA and working at this level
• Significant experience of delivering teaching and training

• Operational management in a healthcare service / team
• Previous appointment and experience as a DGSA
• Experience in computing relevant to Nuclear Medicine
• Previous appointment as an MPE for CT
• Experience of CT quality assurance testing

Knowledge

• Advanced theoretical and practical knowledge and deep understanding of the nature, use, risks and radiation protection of ionising radiations including X-rays, gamma rays, electrons & neutrons
• Specialist knowledge and full understanding of all the areas of legislation, approved codes and good guidance, applicable to the use of sealed and unsealed sources of ionising radiation in the field of medical, dental, veterinary and industry where appropriate
• Theoretical and practical knowledge to act as a Medical Physics Expert regarding the safety of the patient under IRMER within nuclear medicine
• Specialist experience (significant nuclear medicine experience since registration) in medical physics and radiation protection
• Knowledge and understanding of patient and staff risks arising from use of ionising radiation with unsealed radionuclides, including equipment failure, procedural defects and human error

Skills

• Good communicator of complex and sensitive information to patients and members of the public. Able to communicate highly complex scientific data to multi-disciplinary staff
• To be able to communicate effectively with Government agencies and regulatory bodies (e.g. CQC, HSE, EA, ONR etc.) on behalf of Trusts or other organisation
• Ability to use own judgement involving complex facts that require analysis, interpretation and comparison of a range of options as, for example, in analysing the results of scientific measurements or processes, which may conflict, and deciding upon an appropriate course of action
• Highly developed physical accuracy, manual dexterity skills and good eye-sight to achieve precision and speed in radiopharmaceutical dispensing procedures and the use of sophisticated scientific and technical equipment
• Ability to apply knowledge and experience of practical nuclear medicine and radiation protection in order to implement new procedures and suggest developments to existing ones
• Understanding of hazards posed by, and precautions needed with: Ionising radiation including X-rays, gamma rays, alpha and beta particles Electrical & mechanical hazards
• Ability to teach, train and supervise students and other members of staff within their areas of competence

Others

• Understands the impact on equality, diversity and inclusion issues in all aspects of service delivery and planning.
• Role model our Trust values every day

Our values

We want our staff to believe in, demonstrate and live our values in everything we do.

Include

We value the diversity and experience of our community colleagues and partners, creating relationships and climates that provide an opportunity to share, collaborate and grow together.

Respect

We create a safe environment where we are curious of the lived experience of others, seek out best practice and are open to listening and hearing new ideas.

Improve

We are committed to consistently delivering excellent services and continuously looking to improve through a creative workforce that feels empowered to act in service of our shared purpose.

Committed to our Community

In particular we encourage applications from candidates with disabilities, and candidates from Black, Asian and Minority ethnic (BAME) backgrounds who are currently under-represented in various parts of our workforce .

We understand the importance of balancing work and home life. We are committed to support flexible working for our staff wherever possible and all our employees are given the opportunity to discuss potential for flexible working.

We are proud to be a Disability Confident employer and achieved our status in 2019.

We will remove barriers that prospective candidates might face at any stage of our recruitment process. If you have a disability and would like the advert in an alternative format, or would like to talk about how we can adjust the interview process to best support you, please contact us by emailing [email protected]

We are also proud to support our UK armed forces by supporting Reservists, Cadet Instructors, Veterans and military spouses/partners into employment and offering supportive policies that value their contribution to the community and to our Trust.

Our approach is inclusive, recognizing diverse challenges and creating a supportive environment where carers feel valued.

When you apply...

Please note that vacancies may close prior to the advertised closing date in certain circumstances. Please ensure that you make your application as soon as possible.

All correspondence relating to vacancies will be via the e-mail address you have provided on your application form. Some servers automatically send e-mails to your junk mail so please check as well as your inbox.

As a publicly funded employer, we need to ensure we utilise our funds responsibly, this may mean we are unable to support sponsorship required to gain the right to work for particular positions. We strongly advise you to contact the line manager or a member of the Resourcing Team before applying to confirm if we will be able to support with sponsorship for that post.

King's Trust Support

Please contact Enquiries.H&[email protected] for support.

Secondments/Fixed term

Where a vacancy is advertised as a temporary position, the duration will be specified in the advert. If the vacancy becomes permanent towards the end of the specified duration, the successful applicant may not be required to re-apply and can be slotted into the role on a permanent basis if appropriate.

If you are an internal applicant applying for a temporary working arrangement, please see the attached notes on secondments.