JOB PURPOSE

To provide scientific support for radiotherapy clinical services in the areas of Treatment Planning, Brachytherapy and Dosimetry/QA.

Main duties of the job

JOB SUMMARY

The postholder is responsible for:

Participating in the provision of routine physics support to brachytherapy treatments

Participating in radiation dosimetry, quality assurance and calibration of radiotherapy equipment.

Participating in the provision of the Radiotherapy Treatment Planning service.

Exercising responsibilities in accordance with the Ionising Radiation Regulations 2017 (IRR17) and the Ionising Radiation (Medical Exposure) Regulations 2017 (IRMER2017).

Participating in the research and development activities of the department

Participating in teaching, training and staff development

Working hours are 37.5 per week. Based at Guildford, working on two sites (Guildford and Redhill) is required. Secondment to the satellite unit will normally be less than 25% of working time. The postholder will work flexibly to accommodate clinical need within the hours of 08:00 to 20:00. Bank holiday or weekend working may be required on occasion.

About us

Royal Surrey is a compassionate and collaborative acute and community Trust. Recognising that our 5000 colleagues are our greatest strength, we offer a comprehensive health and wellbeing program along with a commitment to developing and advancing your career. Our diverse and welcoming Royal Surrey family will ensure you that you feel valued from your initial interview through your entire tenure.

We are clinically led and provide joined up care by bridging the gap between hospital and community services alongside regional specialist cancer care. Our main acute hospital site is in Guildford with community hospital sites at Milford, Haslemere and Cranleigh. We provide adult community health services in homes across Guildford and Waverley.

The Care Quality Commission (CQC) have given us an overall rating of Outstanding.

Royal Surrey has a strong reputation and history to build on. We are proud of our achievements and we are investing in our colleagues through our commitment to supporting professional development as well as investing more than �45 million in our physical environment and new equipment in the next few years. There has never been a better time to join us.

Although it isn't the Trusts normal practice, adverts may close early, so you are encouraged to submit an application as soon as possible.

A video about the Royal Surrey - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R96pMboIYdo

Job description

Job responsibilities

Are you a HCPC-registered Clinical Scientist with a passion for delivering a high quality radiotherapy service? Are you ready to take on a role to support and develop services within a forward-thinking and technically-advanced department? If so, then why not become part of our excellent Radiotherapy Physics team at St Lukes Cancer Centre?

St Lukes Cancer Centre is focused on providing excellent patient pathways and patient-centred care. We strive to continuously evolve to reflect the technical advances within Radiotherapy, and work closely as a multi-professional team to achieve this. We have a Varian ETHOS on the Guildford site, delivering daily online adaptive radiotherapy for bladder and cervical cancers, as well as four Varian Truebeams. The satellite centre in Redhill has a newly-installed Varian Halcyon, with a second ETHOS unit to be operational from autumn 2024 both are equipped with Align-RT surface-guidance and Hypersight advanced imaging. External beam treatment planning is carried out using the Varian Eclipse system, and includes use of knowledge-based automated planning, machine learning autosegmentation and scripting for automated workflows. All systems work within a cloud-based Aria environment. We have 3 CT scanners across the two sites and use MR imaging in treatment planning, with further development of PET/CT underway. The Guildford site additionally has an orthovoltage unit, a Papillon unit for contact radiotherapy and a comprehensive, highly-renowned brachytherapy service including both HDR and LDR treatments.

The successful candidate will provide scientific support across the range of radiotherapy and brachytherapy services. There will be opportunities to contribute to developments and clinical research to enable continuing implementation and expansion of state-of-the-art radiotherapy techniques.

The post is based in our main site at the Royal Surrey County Hospital, Guildford. Guildford gives easy access to the beautiful North & South Downs Way, is an hour from the coast and has great transport links to the surrounding counties of Berkshire, Hampshire and Sussex. The city offers cultural diversity, is home to the University of Surrey and it is great place to reside and explore. Attendance at our satellite centre at East Surrey Hospital in Redhill will be required on rotation.

You will be encouraged to learn, grow and progress your career. We offer a variety of CPD opportunities, including through our strong links with the National Physical Laboratory and University of Surrey, as well as a collaborative partnership with GenesisCare enabling access to an MR-linac. Staff wellbeing is important to us and as such we offer staff the opportunity to work from home for part of the time.

Whilst HCPC registration is required for the position, applications are also welcome from candidates soon to complete the NHS Scientist Training Programme or a suitable equivalence route, for appointment at a lower grade pending registration.

Should you require more information or have any questions regarding this role please contact Liz Adams, Head of Radiotherapy Physics (liz.adams@nhs.net). To apply, please visit www.jobs.nhs.uk quoting the vacancy number above.

Person Specification

Qualifications

Essential

• Good B.Sc.(Hons) degree
• MSc in Medical Physics (or related subject)
• IPEM Part II training, STP training or ACS certificate of attainment, or equivalent.
• HCPC registered Clinical Scientist

Desirable

• PhD in Radiotherapy Physics, or equivalent scientific experience

Knowledge

Essential

• Specialist theoretical and practical knowledge of a wide area of radiotherapy physics (for example that accrued from national 3 year training scheme or equivalent demonstrable experience)
• Specialised theoretical and practical knowledge of the field of ionising radiation
• In depth experience of modern external beam radiotherapy and brachytherapy techniques
• Knowledge and experience in the use of specialist testing and measurement equipment to monitor the performance and safety of modern radiotherapy treatment machines.
• Specialist Knowledge of clinical issues and their implications for radiotherapy physics practices.
• Specialist Knowledge of clinical procedures in radiotherapy
• Knowledge of physical and radiological anatomy and disease states relevant to Oncology practice
• Knowledge of patient and staff risks arising from exposure to ionising radiation
• Broad knowledge of other areas of medical physics e.g. Radiology, Nuclear Medicine, MRI and Ultrasound
• Understanding of patient and staff risks arising from equipment failure or operator error
• In-depth knowledge and understanding of relevant legislation, regulations, national standards, professional codes of practice and other guidelines.
• Understanding of hazards posed by and precautions needed with ionising and non-ionising radiation and electrical, material, biological and mechanical hazards
• Knowledge of external beam treatment planning systems and algorithms, including necessary quality assurance procedures.
• Registered for Continuing Professional Development

Desirable

• Corporate Member of the Institute of Physics and Engineering in Medicine (or equivalent)
• Aria/Eclipse experience
• Experience in teaching and training.
• Experience of working in or supporting research in the clinical environment
• Experience of managing projects
• Experience of various Radiotherapy Clinical Trials

Employer details

Employer name

Royal Surrey NHS Foundation Trust

Address

Royal Surrey County Hospital

Egerton Road

Guildford

GU2 7XX

Any attachments will be accessible after you click to apply.

384-SB-EMF16823