Diabetic Eye Screener

Job overview

The Diabetic Eye Screening Programme is growing, and we’re looking for enthusiastic, caring people to help deliver eye‑screening across Herts & West Essex. Diabetes can affect eyesight, so spotting changes early  directly helps people protect their vision.

What You’ll Be Doing

You’ll travel to different clinics taking photos and scans of patients’ eyes using state of the art retinal cameras. The images you obtain will help us identify early signs of problems so people can get the support they need.

Where You’ll Work

Our main hub is in St Albans, but we need to deliver screening at all our locations, including Harlow, Bishop’s Stortford, Stansted, Saffron Walden, Watford, Elstree & Loughton.

Once you’re fully qualified, typically after 12-18 months, we can offer hybrid working, meaning some of your grading can be done from home (subject to a suitable workspace).

No Experience? No Problem.

You don’t need a background in healthcare or screening as we provide full training. We will fund and support a recognised Health Screener Diploma.

If you already hold the qualification you would join us at Band 4 (AfC)

About the Role

This is an active, hands‑on job where you’ll:

• Be on your feet for most of the day
• Work face‑to‑face with patients
• Move and set up equipment to get high‑quality images

You’ll need a full UK driving licence and access to a car for work travel (unless exempt under the Equality Act 2010).

Main duties of the job

The Diabetic Eye Screening Programme supports people across Hertfordshire and West Essex who are living with diabetes. Because diabetes can affect eyesight, regular eye checks are  vital —spotting changes early can literally help prevent sight loss. That’s where our screener/ grader team comes in: you’re the friendly faces who make a real difference every single day.

If you join us, you’ll be right at the heart of the action. You’ll be checking patients’ vision, instilling dilating eye drops, and using high‑tech retinal cameras to capture detailed photos and scans. It’s hands‑on, fast‑moving, and genuinely meaningful work. You’ll learn specialist skills, work with state‑of‑the‑art equipment, and play a key role in helping people protect their sight for the future.

Fun fact: The retina is the only place in the body where you can see blood vessels directly without surgery—so your work gives a real‑time window into someone’s health!

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

• To undertake assigned screening clinics as directed by the Programme Management to ensure the effective running of the Hertfordshire and West Essex Diabetic Eye Screening Programme.
• To liaise with administrative and medical staff to identify and discuss any patients with specific needs (e.g., hearing difficulties, limited mobility) to ensure all resources are available.
• To competently prepare the patient (including instillation of mydriatic eye drops) and take Retinal photographs of sufficient quality to meet the National Quality Assurance Standard.
• To be able to stand for long periods during clinics, and carefully manoeuvre expensive screening equipment. Some patient handling will be necessary (training provided).
• To manage consumable supplies to deliver clinic activity, including mydriatic eye drops.
• To operate autonomously at an assigned clinic, liaising with venue staff to manage patient appointments.
• To make decisions and judgements based on the information provided by the patient, recorded actions and contemporaneous notes on the clinical system OptoMize and referring to the Team Leader for advice where necessary.
• To be aware that patients’ emotions can fluctuate due to their condition, managing this in a sensitive and caring manner.
• To attend and contribute to regular Team meetings and supervision sessions with the team and clinical leads and complete the necessary mandatory training.
• To uphold the Trust values, Innovation, Caring, Agile.