Senior Radiotherapy Engineer - Band 7

Job overview

We are looking for motivated and enthusiastic radiation engineer to join our team.

The Radiotherapy Physics department provides a specialist technical radiotherapy physics service to the Lincolnshire Oncology Centre, contributing to safe treatment of patients for radiotherapy. It is responsible for ensuring the accurate calibration of all radiotherapy treatment machines and providing a routine quality control service for all equipment used in simulating, planning, verifying and treating radiotherapy patients. This role contributes to these activities and will include:

• Assist in the delivery of the technological aspects of radiotherapy service.
• Assist in providing professional technological leadership in an area of expertise locally.
• Assist in maintaining and developing high standards of service provision throughout their area of responsibility.
• Assists in developing, implementing and monitoring clinical and organisational strategies within areas of expertise.
• Contributes to service and staff development.
• Responsibilities in specialist project areas.

This role will require occasional weekend working and contribute to bank holiday cover.

Main duties of the job

The post provides the comprehensive expertise and experience necessary for the department to operate clinical linear accelerators to the required legislation and national guidelines. A large degree of versatility, both in working patterns and skills base, is required to provide the immediate emergency coverage required during normal working hours and to effect permanent repairs during non-treatment hours. In addition both planned and corrective maintenance is performed to enhance the availability and reliability of the service.

Maintain clinical accelerators requiring core practical and theoretical electronic skills.

Engage in the activity and maintenance of the quality management system.

Attend necessary training courses required in the performance of your duties.

Ensure that all activities conform to statutory regulations, local rules and approved codes of practice, in particular IRR and IRMER and the use of radioactive substances.

Follow all the safety precautions relating to COSHH and Health & Safety regulations when dealing with radioactive and chemical products. Engage in the activities of a mechanical workshop including production of applicator cutouts and other items to the benefit of the radiotherapy service.

The post holder may be required to perform duties outside the normal working hours of the department, including weekends (on-call and service work) and contribute to bank holiday cover.

Applicants who are able to achieve registration on RCT or AHCS PTP Register within 12 months of starting the role are acceptable

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

Communication and Relationship Skills

Communicate complex information relating to specialist procedures to colleagues.

Develop positive working relationships at all levels in connection with their service.

Responsible for ensuring effective communications within their service and across professional boundaries, overcoming barriers to understanding.

Provide accurate oral and written reports.

Analytical and Judgemental Skills

Interpretation and formulation of complex technical data.

To have the scientific skills to interpret results and form a judgement on their significance in situations from a range of possible options.

For example, when carrying out a repair on a linac, deciding on how best to affect a repair considering the various active systems.

Planning and Organisational Skills

Plans a complex range of activities in accordance with Trust objectives, standards and priorities, including the formulation and adjustment of plans.

For example, organising the part for a repair, arranging delivery, coordinating time in a busy schedule to carry out the repair and communicating with the necessary staff members to return the machine to clinical use.

Ability to operate medical equipment safely and effectively for prolonged periods of time.

Provide highly specialist technical service.

To provide technical assistance and advice to medical staff or other health care professionals performing clinical investigations or interventions.

To ensure patient safety with the use of commercially manufactured equipment and systems ensuring that these are adequately maintained, calibrated and tested. For example, creating a custom cutout that needs to be quality assured before clinical use.

Responsibilities for Policy and Service Development Implementation

To be aware of relevant legal and statutory issues, international standards, and guidelines for best practice.

Implementing local, departmental and Trust policies to meet legal and statutory requirements at all times, for example in relation to the data protection act.

Contributes to discussions on changes to policies within own area to ensure they reflect best practice, thus maintaining and improving the quality of the services.

Ensure new or amended protocols and procedures are correctly and uniformly implemented within own work area.

Responsibilities for financial and physical resources

To be responsible for the safe use of expensive highly complex equipment.

Order supplies for area of work.

Responsibility for human resources (including training)

Trains other Engineers and other healthcare professionals as required.

Responsibilities for research and development

To audit services to contribute to clinical governance.

Freedom to Act

The post holder is expected to work independently, within professional guidelines, and use their own judgement to determine when it is necessary to refer to their line manager for guidance.

To be expected to act in a manner consistent with the best interests of the patient, and the highest standards of safety to staff, other persons and the environment.

Mental Effort

There are frequent periods of concentration while using technical software.

Frequent requirement for concentration in repair work where work pattern is unpredictable. For example, stay after planned work hours to effect a repair of a treatment machine to help the service.

Emotional Effort

Occasional exposure to distressing circumstances. For example, being occasionally in proximity to cancer patients receiving radiotherapy.

Applicant requirements

The postholder will have access to vulnerable people in the course of their normal duties and as such this post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (Exceptions) Order 1975 (Amendment) (England and Wales) Order 2020 and as such it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service to check for any previous criminal convictions.