Paediatric AudiologistinLiverpoolinLiverpoolPUBLISHED THU 10 OCT 2024

An opportunity has arisen for a well-motivated and enthusiastic audiologist to join our friendly team based at Alder Hey Children's Hospital and in community clinics and schools across the region. We are a large, busy and expanding paediatric audiovestibular department offering a comprehensive range of diagnostic and rehabilitative audiological and vestibular services for children from birth to nineteen across Liverpool, Sefton and West Lancashire.

The successful candidate will join a hardworking and committed team of audiovestibular physicians, audiologists, a nurse specialist and audiometricians. This post will provide excellent opportunities to enhance your experience in all aspects of the paediatric audiovestibular spectrum. There is ample scope to develop your interest and progress yourself with CPD opportunities including peer review processes, attending academic conferences and meetings, and co-authoring publications.

This post is suitable for a qualified audiologist that would like to specialise in paediatrics and entails working as part of a multidisciplinary team providing highly specialised audiological services including rehabilitation of hearing-impaired children. The post holder will work at Alder Hey and community clinics and schools across the Liverpool, Sefton and West Lancashire region.

The post-holder will be expected to work closely with senior staff and ensure that a consistently high quality, complex and sophisticated clinical service is provided. This includes maintaining continuous professional development, working autonomously, managing own caseload, demonstration of own initiative and supporting senior staff and managers in developing the service.

Training and development in paediatric Audiology assessment and management will be provided.

About us

• Carry out Otoscopy following BSA recommended procedures.
• Identify children with atypical or abnormal ear conditions and refer on as appropriate.
• Identify any contraindications for any further procedures e.g. tympanometry and impressions.
• Take accurate and safe impressions of the ear following BSA recommended procedures for children aged 4 years and above.
• Diagnose, manage and rehabilitate children with hearing impairment using a wide range of audiological procedures.
• To be able to modify, when appropriate, diagnostic audiological assessment for children from birth to 19 years, in order to obtain reliable information about hearing and manage accordingly.
• Apply clinical knowledge to interpret and analyse test results, in order to devise an appropriate strategy and implement an individual patient management plan.
• Provide support for ENT, by performing pure Tone Audiometry for children aged 4 years and above. Perform tympanometry when appropriate for children from 6 month and above.
• Support the pre-school Tier 3 clinics for the assessment, diagnosis and management of pre-school children in Alder Hey and community clinics, using the following test techniques; Visual re-enforcement audiometry (VRA), Infant Distraction testing, Performance testing, Speech testing, Testing of middle ear muscle reflex (MEMR) using tympanometry and TEOAEs
• Produce accurate and detailed clinical reports to be used as an aid to diagnosis and future patient management.
• Arrange / advise referral to other professionals for treatment / management when required e.g. referral to ENT nurse or GP for treatment of an infection.
• Order ear moulds and hearing aid consumables using Trust ordering system. Ensure stock levels for the department are maintained at the required level to offer an efficient patient service.
• Carry out comprehensive hearing aid repair sessions.
• To be able to select, fit, verify and evaluate a range of NHS digital hearing aids, including BTE and open fit, CROS/BICROS and bone conduction aids and to provide appropriate care and review.
• Complete follow up reviews of existing hearing aid users and derive satisfactory outcome measures using speech testing and appropriate questionnaires.
• Carry out routine maintenance and calibration checks on audiological equipment, reporting faults and arranging for repair when necessary.
• Update national eSP/S4H database with results of hearing tests as and when required.
• Perform PTA in schools and community clinics as follow-up from the school entry screen programme across the North West, including Sefton, Southport and West Lancashire
• Assess, diagnose and manage children on Tier 2 clinics referred from the school entry screen programme
• Responsibility for triaging referrals from the school entry screen programme based on clinical need.
• Supporting the Cleft Palate team in delivering audiological Services for children aged 5 years upwards, with Cleft Palate.