Orthoptist
| Posting date: | 18 February 2026 |
|---|---|
| Salary: | Not specified |
| Additional salary information: | Negotiable |
| Hours: | Full time |
| Closing date: | 18 March 2026 |
| Location: | Bury St Edmunds, IP33 2QZ |
| Company: | NHS Jobs |
| Job type: | Permanent |
| Job reference: | C9179-26-0102 |
Summary
Please see attached the job description and person specification for details around the main responsibilities of the job role. Band 5 Orthoptist (competent practitioner with structured support): Youre expected to deliver safe, effective orthoptic assessment and treatment for the core caseload, working to SOPs/protocols and recognising your limits. You can work autonomously day-to-day, including lone working at times, but you should seek senior advice when needed (e.g., complex presentations, uncertainty, deterioration, safeguarding, or when management needs to change). Band 6 Orthoptist (autonomous clinician managing complexity and risk): Youre expected to run clinics independently and take clear accountability for your clinical decision-making across a broader and more complex case mix. This includes assessing/diagnosing/managing patients with a wide range of binocular vision and VA abnormalities, organising and prioritising your workload, and acting as an advice resource within your specialist area. Band 6 roles commonly include managing a complex caseload and defined single-handed practice (e.g. community), with escalation to ophthalmology when required. Band 7 Orthoptist (advanced practice plus leadership and service accountability): Youre expected to combine highly specialist clinical practice (often the go-to for complex assessment/diagnosis/management and second opinions) with leadership responsibilities that shape quality, safety, education, and service development. In practice, this means advanced autonomy and complex decision-making, contributing to guideline development/audit/service improvement, and providing senior supervision/teaching across the team and wider MDT. This aligns with the British and Irish Orthoptic Society advanced practice framing (four pillars: clinical, education, leadership, research) and the expectation that advanced practice is characterised by high autonomy and complex decision-making, typically underpinned by Masters-level capability.