Specialist Medical Engineer

at  The Christie NHS Foundation Trust

An exciting opportunity is available to join our clinical engineering team as a Specialist Medical Engineer. Our team are responsible for the maintenance, repair and management of a wide range of medical devices across The Christie NHS Foundation Trust.
Ideally you will have a minimum of a HNC in medical or electronic engineering and have several years’ post qualification experience. You will possess expert knowledge in engineering and electronic principles and be able to diagnose complex equipment faults. You will also be an effective problem solver and use initiative in prioritising your work.
As part of the team your role and the work you do will contribute to the safe treatment of our patients.
Working hours are 37.5 per week, nominal working hours are: 08:30 - 17:00.
The successful candidate will be enthusiastic, dedicated and flexible. Along with excellent technical skills you will be an excellent communicator and enjoy working as part of a team.
You will be involved in a mixture of planned preventative maintenance and repair work across a broad range of medical devices. You will be comfortable providing specialist technical advice to clinical equipment users and colleagues.
You will be expected to have some knowledge of Quality Management principles and work within our ISO 9001:2015 accredited system.
We are a relatively small team of 9 engineers with mixed levels of responsibility. Patient safety is at the heart of everything we do and therefore conscientiousness and attention to detail are key skills within the team.
Our engineers are split between two workshops, and you should expect to rotate through both.
This is a rewarding role, engaged in important work that contributes to the safety of our patients.

The tasks listed will be carried out with a large degree of autonomy, individual responsibility and personal accountability, unless otherwise stated. Support and advice in all areas will be available from the line manager as identified in the Organisational Chart.
All duties will be carried out in accordance with NHS guidelines and departmental Quality Assurance (QA) systems and policies in order to ensure that equipment is maintained in an accurate and correctly functioning manner for the safety and benefit of all users and patients.
Medical Equipment Service and Maintenance
Daily working in Critical Care patient areas throughout the Trust, providing technical support to clinicians involving exposure to adverse emotional and environmental conditions.
Troubleshooting on complex equipment whilst it’s connected to critically ill patients, involving exposure to adverse emotional and environmental conditions.
Test new equipment to ensure it meets all statutory, purchase and user needs, develop new test protocols as required and enter onto the asset inventory.
Perform unsupervised Performance assurance/QA checks (PPM) and precision repairs/calibration on highly complex multi-parameter medical equipment in a competent, professional manner, which demands good manual dexterity, sensory awareness, use of fine tools and small components, in-depth fault analysis and diagnostic skills and the ability to maintain concentration through frequent interruptions, including requests for immediate assistance to clinicians, where the demand for safety, precision, timeliness and accurate documentation is paramount.
Plan/re-schedule PPM checks on equipment after maintenance/repairs.
Order spares and maintain stock levels to minimise down-time and spares costs.
Assist in the planned replacement and decommissioning/disposal of equipment, advising on appropriate methods, mindful of risks and statutory requirements.
Exercise professional judgement in planning and prioritising own work and those of supervised staff in accordance with section policies, competing service demands and clinical need.
Within individual level of skills, knowledge and competence, provide technical support and advice to professional users and develop ideas to overcome problems.
Provide technical support to the Medical Equipment Library, where applicable, providing advice to clinical staff on safe equipment use. Participate in auditing data on service history and clinical usage to develop procedures on optimising the functioning of the library.
Must be prepared to work flexibly when working as part of the Radiotherapy Technical Services Group to support the needs of the service. This may include out of hours work, weekends and bank holidays
Must be prepared to work a shift system as required
Must be prepared to work across multiple workshops as required
Must be prepared to work across the Christie Network as required, and work with the Radiotherapy Technical support Team.
Risk Management and Governance
Participate in risk assessments to determine the level and frequency of maintenance required.
Exercise professional judgement when analysing the causes, circumstances and risks involved when equipment fails ‘in service’, advising users accordingly.
Act on relevant MHRA bulletins and manufacturers updates, liaising with other healthcare professionals to ensure timely execution .
Make decisions to withdraw safety-critical equipment from use where performance is below acceptable standards.
Report and investigate clinical incidents/near misses using the appropriate mechanism (hospital incident reporting system), including participating in Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Authority (MHRA) reporting when necessary.
Recommend/initiate immediate action to ensure safety and prevent further harm; quarantine equipment and scenes in order to preserve evidence and document observations.
Carry out all duties in accordance with the Health and Safety at Work Act, relevant statutory regulations, approved codes of conduct and local rules.
Ensure that appropriate Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) and other risk control measures, e.g. decontamination of equipment to minimise cross-infection risks to staff and patients, are used, reporting any deficiencies noted to the line manager.
Assess and report on potential risks immediately, taking corrective action to manage incidents or risks to health, safety and security.
Demonstrate and encourage good health, safety and security practices in the workplace.
Duties will require the moving and lifting of heavy equipment and manoeuvring around/ under it on a daily basis where safe lifting and handling techniques must be employed.
Duties will frequently involve the risk of exposure to dust, sharps, medical gases, fumes, chemical solvents, body fluids, electric shock, ionising radiation and cramped/unpleasant working conditions where appropriate precautions/PPE must be used. There will be regular exposure to situations where equipment requires attention whilst connected to patients.
Quality and Performance
Maintain and calibrate departmental test and measurement equipment used to ensure the accuracy of medical devices.
Participate in the maintenance and development of the departmental ISO 9000/2008 Quality System including carrying out audits of the service provided.
Ensure all activities are carried out within a quality framework and meet regulatory requirements.
Propose beneficial changes to own working practices and departmental policies/procedures
Plan and prioritize own work.
Finance
Contribute to the efficient use of physical, staffing and financial resources.
Contracts
Monitor and liaise with contractors over managed service contracts to ensure their service commitments are accurately and acceptably performed.
Data Management
Maintain accurate data/records of all personal work related activities including updating of the equipment management system, equipment records, QA document amendments etc, in line with departmental, NHS and statutory requirements.
Procurement and Commissioning
Communicate with Suppliers and Equipment Users to resolve problems and identify training deficiencies prior to commissioning.
Participate in the evaluation and procurement and commissioning of new equipment, including determining the clinical requirement, potential users and proposed location; designing appropriate evaluation procedures to effectively compare and assess products; evaluating any installation needs and its impact upon the proposed location; liaising with interested parties.
Staff Recruitment, Training and Development
Communicate effectively on the use and application of complex technical equipment with professional users at all levels including patients/end users.
Provide operational and technical service training to departmental staff, user training to other Trust staff, and develop support material as appropriate.
Supervise staff in junior roles effectively.
Keep abreast of scientific, technological and clinical developments to maintain a level of technical competence and clinical awareness appropriate to current duties and departmental requirements.
Develop new knowledge and competences in line with departmental requirements.
Produce and maintain a Personal Professional Portfolio, giving evidence of Continuing Professional Development and competence.
Other
The job description indicates the duties and responsibilities that are appropriate to meet the present needs of the service. Since these needs may change, as may the resources of staff and material available, it is necessary to recognise that the employee must be willing to undertake other and/or different duties that may, after discussion, be assigned by the director or nominated deputy