Falkland Islands

This role is located in a British Overseas Territory, therefore UK legislation such as the Data Protection Act (2018) and the Equality Act (2010), or similar, may not apply.

The King Edward VII Memorial Hospital is looking for an experienced Sonographer seeking work in a friendly and supportive team which provides excellent care for patients. The hospital is the principal healthcare facility in the Falkland Islands providing primary care and a broad range of elective and emergency secondary care services.

The hospital is modern and well equipped and there are ambitious plans to expand and further upgrade facilities. In addition to Ultrasound, the imaging service provides Computed Tomography, Mammography and Plain Radiography. The service adheres to United Kingdom practices and standards, modified to local needs.

If you are interested in the role we would like to hear from you. In return we offer:

- A base salary of £42,641 to £52,555 (dependent upon experience)
- A gratuity (lump sum) payment on completion of contract equivalent to 25% of the total salary value of the contract.
- A relocation allowance, to help with moving costs.
- Paid leave of 41 days comprising 30 days of annual leave and 11 days of government/public holidays.
- Free flights for employee and recognised dependants at post both at the beginning and end of the contract plus additional annual return flights after the first year.
- Good quality furnished accommodation at reasonable rental rates and a starter pack to help settle in.

Main duties of the job

The post-holder will act autonomously as the independent ultrasound practitioner providing a high quality and comprehensive ultrasound service within agreed departmental protocols.

The post holder will also be professionally accountable for all aspects of their work and for managing their own workload competently to ensure a high standard of care is maintained for patients, as well as providing a high level of support for clinical and non-clinical staff alike as necessary.

About us

The Health and Social Services Directorate, Falkland Islands provides emergency, primary, secondary and community healthcare as well as social services assistance, support, and advice. Most health services are based at the King Edward VII Memorial Hospital (KEMH) which is the Islands only hospital and is based in the capital Stanley. We serve the local community of about 3,700 residents, short-term residents and visitors.

The Falkland Islands are an unique natural environment located in the South Atlantic, 8,000 miles south of the UK mainland, which is a British overseas territory with a full internal self-government. The Islands boasts unspoilt beaches, outstanding wildlife, and stunning landscapes with a good work/life balance. Stanley is a friendly and busy city with a wide range of amenities and a variety of clubs and associations. Our vacancies are in our local currency, Falkland Islands pound (FKP), which is directly equal to the U.K. pound (GBP).

The hospital environment is one in which clinical staff have the time, resources, and support to provide the highest standards of care and to develop their careers. In addition to being supported to practise with a broad scope, clinical staff are encouraged and assisted to develop particular areas of clinical expertise.

Job responsibilities

Day to Day Operational duties

- Undertake ultrasound scans performed on patients according to the examination type requested by healthcare professionals.
- Produce written reports based on the findings of scans according to their pathologies within the agreed delegation of clinical duties.
- Evaluate ultrasound images for technical quality using evidence-based practice and professional judgement to ensure imaging equipment and accessories are used to optimise image quality and improve clinical diagnosis.
- Apply professional expertise and judgement during scans and whilst creating and verifying ultrasound reports, accurately differentiating between pathological and normal anatomical variants. This will include, but not be limited to, analysing the information acquired from scans and subsequent images to make accurate diagnoses and inform reports.
- Undertake ultrasound examinations of the required standard for the antenatal clinic as necessary and providing written reports and plotting foetal growth on personalised charts.
- Communicate clearly with patients and their representatives in order to provide a high standard of patient experience. This may include a need to share highly sensitive and/or distressing news.
- Ensure that systems are in place to accurately capture, record and retrieve ultrasound data as required to support clinical service delivery.
- Participate in multi-disciplinary working to support other healthcare professionals in diagnosis formulation and improving patient treatment pathways.
- Liaise with overseas consultants when required to augment service delivery.
- Adhere to departmental protocols and policies, using professional judgement as required according to the requirements of individual cases.
- Participate in, and be involved in organising and undertaking, screening programmes such as Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm (AAA) screening.
- Adhere to recognised codes of practice and responsibilities.

Learning and Development

- Be personally responsible for maintaining own competency to practice in all areas, as necessary to maintain registration and the competency required in the role. In particular keep up to date with developments in ultrasound practice and maintaining a personal development plan.
- Complete all mandatory training for the Health & Social Services Directorate.

Health, Safety and Safeguarding

- Maintain high standards of infection prevention and control in the Imaging Department.
- Understand personal responsibilities for Health & Safety in general and adhere to King Edward VII Memorial Hospitals and Falkland Islands Governments Health, safety and wellbeing policies, procedures and guidelines.
- Safely use all ultrasound equipment, resolving any first line problems and recording accurate details of equipment faults as well as reporting faults as necessary.
- Commit to upholding safeguarding and welfare responsibilities for vulnerable parties, escalating concerns as necessary to senior staff.

General

- Attend relevant meetings as required to represent the Imaging Department.
- Participate, and lead where appropriate, in reviewing and developing department policies and guidelines.
- Ensure that the department is operationally ready at all times by maintaining appropriate levels of supplies, consumables and ensuring maintenance and calibration of equipment occurs to expected schedules.
- Participate in Quality Assurance and audit programmes to ensure the maintenance of high standards of sonography and to drive quality improvement initiatives.
- Maintain professional standards in accordance with the UKs Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC) and/or the UKs Nursing and Midwifery Councils (NMC) Code of Conduct.

The job description is not an exclusive or exhaustive definition of your duties.

Person Specification

Qualifications

- Post graduate qualification in Medical Ultrasound
- A Registration with the UK Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC) or equivalent national registration body
- Evidence of ongoing continued professional development

Experience

- 5 years experience as a qualified Sonographer including obstetrics, gynaecology and general medical
- Quality assurance/audit experience
- Experience of reporting scans autonomously
- Experience of independently examining patients, and using initiative during examinations to problem solve
- Ability to independently analyse cases and make sound professional judgements based on findings
- Good IT skills and experience of using computerised systems to record and report ultrasound findings
- Ability to develop/contribute to service protection and expansion
- Pays meticulous attention to detail
- High level of interpersonal skills that ensure effective working relationships with the medical officers, nurses, other health care professionals as well as service users
- Able to organise and prioritise own work efficiently and work under own initiative to ensure deadlines are met
- Ability to maintain sound professional judgement at all times and especially in pressurised situations
- Demonstrably good communication skills, including the ability to communicate information clearly in a variety of formats to colleagues, service users and members of the public etc
- Experience of communicating sensitive and sometimes distressing information to patients
- Good staff supervisory skills and experience
- Clear understanding of the importance of maintaining patient and data confidentiality and the ability to comply and maintain confidentiality requirements at all time

£42,641 to £52,555 a yearFalkland Islands Pounds

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