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Deputy Head of Medical Physics (Radiology and Radiation Protection)

Job Description

Somerset is looking to develop its newly created Medical Physics Team to be fit for the future in preparation for a county-wide merged Trust.

We would like to invite expressions of interest (or applications) from forward thinking, innovative and enthusiastic individuals who are interested in the opportunity to support the growth of this new medical physics service. Initially, support will be provided by our current RPA service hosted by University Hospitals Birmingham.

Successful applicants will be at the heart of building this exciting project from day one.

The post holder will deputise in the responsibility for developing this new service whilst providing leadership and robust governance for the team that supports all activities of a medical physics service. It is an exciting opportunity for the right applicant who is interested in this next career progression and who is also keen to lead on innovation and research.

Applicants must be both a Registered Healthcare Scientist and an RPA2000 certified Medical Physics Expert in Medical Physics with considerable experience in this area. Applicants should ideally hold RWA and RPA certification with RPA 2000.

• We will welcome applications from people who may not meet the specific criteria but who are working towards.

• management of diagnostic radiology equipment quality assurance
• management of calibration procedures and radiation dosimetry equipment quality assurance
• line management of Medical Physics staff
• taking the lead role in the commissioning of diagnostic radiology equipment and ionising radiation systems
• leading research and development projects as assigned by the Head of Medical Physics
• leading in training clinical scientists and clinical technologists ensuring competency to act as defined by national regulations and guidance
• Conducts formal teaching to postgraduate students (MSc level, FRCR) and at courses run by medical physics
• Maintains personal dosimetry records, in line with legislation
• Is the Trust lead for Radiation Safety
• Support the wider Medical Physics service in Diagnostic Radiology and Radiation Protection as agreed with Head of Medical Physics

• Flexible working hours
• A hybrid of agile working from home and on site
• Training and development opportunities

• Communicate effectively with the team which includes clinical scientists & clinical technologists.
• Draft and Implement policies and perform tasks related to attendance management, HR processes, recruitment and selection, departmental workload, and allocation etc.
• Act as Section Lead inIonisingRadiation Protection and Diagnostic Imaging.
• Provide expert advice in relation to the medical physics to the county-wide Trust sites.
• Provide expert advice within SFT for the Radiation Emergency Planning and Response. This requires the interpretation of overall Health Service Policy and Planning on emergency planning (e.g. operational doctrine on handling major incidents.)
• Advise Trust on radiation safety policies and IR(ME)R procedures and protocols required for compliance with all Regulatory and National Standards relating to radiation.
• Advise Trust in any building changes which require radiation protection
• All these duties require providing and receiving highly complex, sensitive, and contentious information both verbally and in writing, to and from a wide range of staff from multiple organisations and services. On occasion, communication with the public where there may be significant barriers to acceptance or understanding.
• As the lead for radiation safety, links with all departments and provides reporting and assurances to the executive team

• Support the formulation and implementation of long term strategic and development plans within the medical physics Business Planning Process.
• Deal with unpredictable scientific and technical situations.
• Implementation of Trust and medical physics policies relating to section.
• Preparation and maintenance of local rules.
• Preparing the Statements of Service submitted to the Health and Safety Executive (HSE).
• Advise the Head of Medical Physics, Clinical Scientists, Clinical Technologists, Radiology mangers and radiographers on quality assurance and dosimetry procedures of diagnostic imaging equipment.
• Supervise the participation of the department in dose audits as required.
• Prioritise and manage allocated work.
• Delegate and oversee work appropriately.
• Identify developmental and performance improvement needs of the service.
• Keep abreast of the latest technical and scientific developments and their applications in Diagnostic Radiology.
• Work independently with minimal supervision

• Manage the quality assurance programme for diagnostic radiology equipment and be responsible for development of QA procedures in line with local requirements and national recommendations.
• Ensure each item of equipment is correctly calibrated and its performance is monitored against required standards.
• Manage the quality assurance programme for diagnostic radiology equipment.
• Lead in the commissioning of new diagnostic equipment, associated instrumentation and imaging techniques.
• Manage the development of work instructions for the use of diagnostic equipment and associated imaging techniques.
• Ensure that all procedures, written records, etc which are required are completed promptly and properly.
• Provide an immediate response to the notification of faults with any equipment, assess their local significance and advise upon continued use of the equipment. Recommend and oversee any necessary subsequent quality assurance checks and certify that they are performed according to standard requirements before returning the equipment to clinical use.
• Investigate non-compliant diagnostic equipment performance, liaise with engineers and equipment suppliers, in order to plan appropriate corrective actions.
• Investigate patient overexposure (as a result of equipment malfunction) and staff overexposures and notifications to HSE.
• Report radiation incidents to CQC in accordance with IR(ME)R guidance
• Have detailed knowledge of all the legislation relating to the safe use of ionising radiation including the Ionising Radiations Regulations 2017, the Ionising Radiations (Medical Exposure) Regulations 2017, Environmental Permitting Regulations 2016 and the Carriage of Dangerous Goods and Use of Transportable Pressure Equipment Regulations 2009.
• Develop a strategy for carrying out patient dose measurements, quality assurance and dose optimisation so that the best image quality is achieved with the minimum radiation dose.
• Monitoring patient doses against national and local diagnostic reference levels.

• Responsible for the safe use of expensive ( >£50,000) and highly complex diagnostic X-ray equipment during testing, and for ensuring that, on completion of testing, the X-ray equipment is left in a safe state and that the room is left tidy.
• Manage physical assets used for dosimetry and quality assurance, including: dosimeters, image quality phantoms, dose measurement systems.
• Ensure that all equipment is working effectively and safely. Arrange for repair, calibration, and equipment stability and integrity checks.
• Lead in the implementation and development of changes in the service delivery as agreed with the Head of Medical Physics, with the costing and resourcing of any such changes.
• Lead in equipment evaluations as part of the planned equipment replacement programme, or as required to support new clinical innovations.
• Undertake costings, setting prices, review of maintenance contracts, stock control etc. Authorised signatory for expenses and requisitions (up to £50,000).
• Produce reports as part of the quality assurance service within medical physics following specialised testing on the full range of highly complex diagnostic x-ray equipment. The test results have a direct impact on patient care and require analysis, comparison and interpretation of highly complex facts and comparison of a range of options.

• Deputise for and as agreed with the Head of Medical Physics and act as first point of contact in their absence.
• Undertake staff appraisal and job description reviews as required.
• Ensure the optimum utilisation of available staff and other resources in order to provide an effective and efficient service.
• Be responsible for presenting cases of need for equipment required for service development and thus contributing to the development of departmental budget. For specific projects the post holder would be responsible for purchasing and maintaining the required resources.
• Have shared responsibility for the teaching and training commitments of the department, including that of Clinical Scientists, Clinical Technologists and other professional groups.
• Support training programmes within medical physics and the wider MDT
• Supervise junior physicists, clinical technologists or students carrying out research projects in Medical Physics.
• Assist in the overall management of the Medical Physics Service.

• Accredited Radiation Protection Adviser(RPA) under the Ionising Radiations Regulations (IRR17), providing highly specialised scientific support and expert advice to all areas delivering ionising radiations
• Medical Physics Expert(MPE) under the Ionising Radiation (Medical Exposures) Regulations 2017 (IR(ME)R2017), providing highly specialised scientific support and expert advice in all areas delivering ionising radiations, working collaboratively with the MPEs in radiotherapy.
• Radiation Waste Advisor (RWA)providing highly specialised scientific support and expert advice to all areas involved with radioactive waste.

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