Job summary
Employer heading
Dispensing Optician
Band 5
Newcastle Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust is one of the busiest and largest NHS foundation trusts in the country, with around 15,000 staff and an annual budget of £1.6 billion.
We have a long history of providing high quality care, clinical excellence, and innovation in medical research regionally, nationally and internationally.
We’re in the top five providers of specialised health services in the country, supporting people with a range of rare and complex medical, surgical and neurological conditions, cancers and genetic orders.
Our staff oversee around 6,500 patient contacts each day, delivering high standards of healthcare.
We are committed to promoting equality and diversity and recognise the benefit in providing an inclusive environment. We value and respect the diversity of our employees and aim to recruit a workforce which reflects the communities we serve, and is equipped to deliver the best service to our patients. We welcome all applications irrespective of people’s race, disability, sex, sexual orientation, religion or belief, age, gender identity, marriage and civil partnership, pregnancy and maternity and in particular those from under- represented groups.
Newcastle Hospitals are proud to be one of the exemplar organisations across the NHS on sustainability, with a long history of delivering Sustainable Healthcare in Newcastle (Shine) and the first healthcare organisation in the world to declare a climate emergency. Our strategy includes commitments to being Net Zero by 2030, for our direct carbon footprint, and Net Zero by 2040 for our footprint plus. Delivering these ambitions will not be possible without the help, support and action of every single member of our team.
Job overview
We are seeking a motivated Dispensing/Contact Lens Optician to join our dedicated team within a busy, fast-paced hospital setting.
This role provides a rare opportunity for a Dispensing Optician to gain comprehensive experience in medically necessary contact lenses and low visual aid assessment and includes opportunities to participate in research, audit, teaching and quality improvement projects.
- Interview Date: 9 October 2025
- 15 Hours/Week
- You will be redirected to Trac to apply for the vacancy. Please expand the job details section and read all of the information before applying for the vacancy.
NO AGENCIES PLEASE
Main duties of the job
You will be responsible for over-seeing the small number of spectacle dispenses we provide for in-patients and bespoke dispenses for patients with specialist requirements such as acquired facial differences and ptosis. There will also be the opportunity to provide low vision services to our patients.
You will be actively involved in our contact lens service which provides therapeutic and specialist contact lenses to both adults and children for a range of conditions including keratoconus, aphakia and post keratoplasty. As such, you will be registered with the GOC as a Contact Lens Optician. However, we welcome applications from candidates not yet registered as a Contact Lens Optician and, will support them in obtaining the relevant qualifications.
As a department, we are actively involved in teaching a range of ophthalmology professionals and you will participate in this programme. This includes the teaching of resident doctors, nurses and pre-registration optometrists.
If you are a Dispensing Optician with a genuine interest in developing your clinical skills within a hospital setting, we strongly encourage you to apply.
Working for our organisation
As a flexible working friendly organisation, we want to be sure that you can work in a way that is best for us and for our patients, and for you. Speak to us about how we might be able to accommodate a flexible working arrangement. If it works for the service, we will do our best to make it work for you.
Our staff oversee over 6,500 patient contacts every day, delivering high standards of healthcare from the following sites:
• Freeman Hospital
• Royal Victoria Infirmary (RVI)
• Health Innovation Neighbourhood (on the former Newcastle General Hospital and Centre for Ageing and Vitality site)
• Newcastle Dental Hospital
• Newcastle Fertility Centre
• Northern Centre for Cancer Care, North Cumbria
• Northern Genetics Service
• Cramlington Manor Walks
These include a range of flagship services which deliver cutting-edge care (supported by state-of-the-art diagnostic services in both radiology and pathology) and are a catalyst for innovation to support pioneering clinical practice in the NHS.
We also have offices at Regent Point in Gosforth and community sites.
Please see attached information on what Staff Benefits we have to offer at our Trust under ‘Documents to download’ or ‘Supporting documents’.
For further information on The Newcastle upon Tyne Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust please visit: Careers | Newcastle Hospitals | NHS | Newcastle Hospitals and Newcastle Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
Detailed job description and main responsibilities
- To assess and diagnose adult and paediatric cases registered with the
ophthalmologist - Creating and delivering specialised individual treatment programmes as agreed with the patient
- To demonstrate optical theory and practices to optometry undergraduates, optometrists and other health professionals and junior medical staff
Person specification
Qualifications
Essential criteria
- Degree in Ophthalmic Dispensing/Level 6 Diploma of Association of British Dispensing Opticians
- Post graduate contact lens certificate
- State registration with the General Optical Council as Dispensing Optician and Contact Lens Optician
Desirable criteria
- UK recognised driving licence
- Post graduate low vision certificate
Knowledge
Essential criteria
- Qualified Dispensing and Contact Lens Optician registered with GOC
- Awareness of evidence based medicine and its impact upon clinical practice
Experience
Essential criteria
- Practical working knowledge of spectacle dispensing
- Practical working knowledge of contact lens practice
- Experience of more unusual/novel dispensing
- Experience of performing stock taking/other administrative duties
Desirable criteria
- Active involvement in clinical audit
- Experience of research methodology
- Experience of low visual aid clinics
Skills
Essential criteria
- Good organisational skills
- Good time management
Desirable criteria
- Basic IT skills
- Evidence of team working
- Ability to work single-handed/autonomously
Applicant requirements
You must have appropriate UK professional registration.
This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (Exceptions) Order 1975 (Amendment) (England and Wales) Order 2020 and it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service.
Documents to download
Further details / informal visits contact
- Name
- Aedheen Regan
- Job title
- Head of Department / Clinical Lead
- Email address
- aedheen.regan@nhs.net
- Telephone number
- 01912825588
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