Audiologist (Advanced Practitioner)

NHS Scotland is committed to encouraging equality and diversity among our workforce and eliminating unlawful discrimination. The aim is for our workforce to be truly representative and for each employee to feel respected and able to give their best. To this end, NHS Scotland welcomes applications from all sections of society. NHS Ayrshire & Arran, located on the west coast of Scotland including the Islands of Cumbrae and Arran, has a comprehensive Audiology Service providing care to a population of 275,000 citizens. The Service, delivered from our two acute Hospitals and a number of peripheral locations including patients’ homes, prides itself on being a forward thinking and progressive Service where size has never been a limiting factor on the range of services provided, the technology used or the approach taken to deliver those services to a mix of town and rural based communities. The Service is now at a turning point as a result of the need to review how we deliver audiological care and will be an important participant in the conversation that forms around NHS Ayrshire & Arran’s 10 year plan “Caring for Ayrshire”. This plan recognises the need for radical change in how health and care services are delivered and has already been recognised locally and nationally for its’ innovative design and the work associated with how it will take this Plan forward. The Plan will shape the future of health and care services in Ayrshire & Arran for many years to come and while challenging, is arguably one of the most exciting opportunities that we’ll experience for many years and should be considered as a “once in a lifetime” opportunity to be part of a future defining change that intends to set out what we will do, how we will do it and the resources available to deliver against this Plan. We believe that NHS Ayrshire & Arran will evolve to become a stronger leader in new models of service delivery and we would like you to consider being part of that, influencing and supporting the work required within the Audiology Service in particular. Creativity and a degree of bolder thinking is very much part of what will be required as well as experience of working with others to effect change. This position will be a key contributor to the work the Audiology Service needs to do to ensure that the Service is fit for purpose and meets the aspirations not only of Caring for Ayrshire but most importantly, the local community and its citizens who we look after. The Audiology Service, part of the Surgical Directorate, enjoys a close working relationship with the local Ear, Nose & Throat Service where historically the Services have worked in partnership in the specialist areas of paediatric audiology and bone anchored hearing aid systems as well as more generally in support of ENT out-patient activities. The National Cochlear Implant Programme is also based within NHS Ayrshire & Arran and while separate from the Audiology Service, is a stone’s throw from the Audiology Department at University Hospital Crosshouse and shares the same ENT Service and surgeons. The Audiology Service delivers care to all sectors of the population providing paediatric and adult assessment and rehabilitation services, tinnitus services, bone anchored hearing aid services, a comprehensive hearing aid maintenance and support service, diagnostic services and newborn hearing screening services. It also works closely with the third sector and the three local authorities in Ayrshire. The Service inputs at a national level supporting the work of the Scottish Audiology Heads of Service Group and the subgroups that it has commissioned for tinnitus, paediatrics and balance. Most recently, this has led to the national commissioning of a Managed Clinical Network for Paediatric Audiology which the Service is a member of. The Service is currently staffed by a technical and clinical team of Assistant Technical Officers and Audiologists supported by a dedicated Administration and Clerical Team and while the majority of the Service is based within our Acute Hospitals, the Service runs independently using its own patient management system and has full autonomy over the booking of patients and scheduling of activities in general. Support for the Service is via a clear line management structure from Head of Service via General Manager to Director and has allowed the Audiology Service over many years to maintain a highly visible profile within the Organisation. We are now recruiting to a key position within the Service and invite individuals who believe they have the requisite skills, experience and enthusiasm to apply. This position will be challenging and requires a mix of strong leadership along with high quality expert clinical practice to help us rebuild an area of the Service that has recently seen a number of staff retire. It is an opportunity for someone with enthusiasm and drive to join a Team eager and keen to move this aspect of the Service forward and develop a sustainable and high quality paediatric Audiology Service for the future. In particular we are interested in people with paediatric assessment and rehabilitative experience including electrophysiology who can demonstrate a genuine drive and interest in their career to date. You must be registered with the Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC) or Registration Council for Clinical Physiologists (RCCP) or equivelant. A car driver is essential.