Dispensing Optician / Dispenser

at  Cardiff University

DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

Dispensing

• Provide professional advice and guidance to patients on all optical appliances including complex lenses, low vison aids and frame adaptations. Using judgement and creativity to suggest the most appropriate course of action where appropriate and ensuring complex issues are understood.
• To support students in practice, dispensing episodes and the checking and approving of spectacle verifications, as appropriate.
• Ensure that the provision of high-quality dispensing is delivered to patients, proactively changing the delivery according to customer requirements.

Clinic Management

• Under the direction of the Clinical Director and working in conjunction with the clinic leads and the clinic manager/s, to help ensure the smooth running of student clinics, to source, and manage the timetabling of patients, students and staff, managing absences, ensuring that clinic lists are updated and supporting the provisions for patients’ health and safety throughout their time with students.
• Working in conjunction with the clinic leads and the clinic manager/s, to assist in the management of the student clinic assessments. This includes regular audits of student clinic logbooks, ensuring that patient episodes are recorded completely and accurately, as per appropriate deadlines. To monitor the timely response of student feedback, advising on service provision, where appropriate.
• To work closely with the clinic leads, and the clinic manager/s, and Human Resources staff to support the human resource process of recruiting staff to the clinics, training, and all associated documentation (sickness absence etc) necessary to support employment of clinic staff.
• Working with the clinic lead and the clinic manager/s to help manage the daily running of the Eye Care Centre with particular emphasis on promoting team ethos/integration and upholding the highest of quality standards, recognising personal development opportunities, and managing staff rotas, and staff performance, when required.
• In partnership with the clinic manager/s, identify, develop, and deliver continuous training/development to the wider practice clinic team.
• Undertake a variety of administrative duties to support the School such as attending/organising meetings, assisting the reporting such as monthly KPI’s, income and expenditure against budgets and clinic governance.
• Working with the clinic manager/s to help cashing up, ordering and payments are undertaken appropriately and promptly, and reconcile the monthly accounts statements, when required.
• Working with the clinic manager/s to ensure all NHS paperwork, audits and cash-flow documentation are completed in accordance with NHS procedures and to deadlines.
• Ensure that systems are in place for the confidential and accurate maintenance of patient records.
• In consultation with the Clinical Director/School Manager and working with the clinic manager/s, to help plan, negotiate and deliver income generating projects e.g. clinical lens trials. supervising the team associated with the project and ensure all deadlines are met.
• Take responsibility for resolving issues independently including dealing with all customer complaints, non-tolerances and other visual problems.
• Collaborate with others to make recommendations for developments of established processes and procedures.
• Establish working relationships with key contacts, developing appropriate communication links with the University’s Schools/Directorates and outside bodies as required.
• Create specific working groups from colleagues across the University to achieve School objectives.
• Supervise specific project teams on an occasional basis to accomplish key objectives, if required.
• Work in conjunction with the clinic manager/s to ensure all clinics collaborate and integrate where necessary.

General Duties

• To ensure that an understanding of the importance of confidentiality is applied when undertaking all duties.
• To ensure compliance with legal and regulatory requirements in respect of equality and diversity, data protection, copyright and licensing, security, financial and other University policies, procedures and codes, as appropriate.
• To take reasonable care for the health and safety of yourself and of other persons who may be affected by your acts or omissions at work in accordance with the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974, EC directives and the University’s Safety, Health and Environment Policies and procedures and to cooperate with the University on any legal duties placed on it as the employer.
• You may be asked to perform other duties which are not included above, but which will be consistent with the role