Eye Clinic Liaison Officer

Job title: Eye Clinic Liaison Officer (ECLO) Location: Waterford University HospitalContract type: Full time, permanent Hours: Mon-Fri 9am to 5pm (with some flexibility, In line with scheduled clinics)Closing date: 16th December at 5pmVision Ireland is Ireland's national sight loss agency. We exist to transform the lives of children and adults who are blind or vision impaired throughout Ireland by ensuring access to the same opportunities, rights, and choices as anyone else in society.In partnership with the Acute Hospitals Division we are pleased to announce an exciting opportunity to join the ECLO team as part of Vision Ireland's Eye Clinic Support Service.In this role, you will be a vital member of the ECLO team working directly with patients diagnosed with conditions causing visual impairment or blindness. You will provide critical emotional support, information and guidance face to face within a hospital setting, across community locations and via digital platforms as required. Each day you will support families and people affected by sight loss to identify their needs, access information and make informed choices which enable and empower them to maintain their independence.You will have significant experience of delivering health or social care support services. Key to this role will be your excellent communication and relationship building skills with patients, clinicians and a wide range of cross sector partners. You must be able to work on your own initiative, have excellent organisational skills and be a confident user of multiple IT systems.Purpose of the role:To provide person centred service to patients of all ages and their families affected by sight loss through offering timely information, practical advice and emotional support. When deemed ready, the ECLO will empower patients and their families to access appropriate community and rehabilitative support services based on their individual needs.The post-holder will act as a bridge between the eye clinic and key support services to ensure that eye clinic patients receive the most appropriate and on-going care for their needs. This support will help all patients with a sight condition to maximise their independence and better understand their own eye condition and personal situation.Main Accountabilities:Provide timely advice, information, practical and emotional support to patients of all ages affected by sight loss, and their families and carers, whilst adhering to Practice and Policy Guidelines.Conduct an initial screening of needs, and if necessary and agreed with the patient, referral to habilitative/rehabilitative/reablement supports and relevant services in line with the patients wishes.Develop positive working relationships with health care professionals, statutory bodies and community health service providers to facilitate a needs-led, patient centred approach to service provision.Ensure patients are engaged and empowered around their medication compliance.Lead ECLO inductions to include visual awareness and disability awareness training to all eye clinic staff during six monthly rotation/changeovers. Act as the key contact person to support clinic patients, family members and carers to navigate their way through in hospital supports and ensure that patients are able to access relevant support services at all stages of the sight loss journey.Act as a key information and advisory link in the referral process for patients, family members, carers and eye clinic staff.Attend Vision Ireland Team Meetings and training events, taking responsibility for maintaining CPD.Attend in hospital clinical audit meetings / steering groups / quality forums and other events to promote the benefits of the service to eye clinic, healthcare staff and other social care professionals.Collate and maintain accurate patient records and input quality data using common data collection tools provided by Vision Ireland and the HSE.To ensure and maintain confidentiality for all patients who access the ECLO service, record in line with GDPR (and Vision Ireland/Hospital privacy policy).Ensure that specific safeguarding risks and regulatory requirements are understood, applied and managed in line with Vision Ireland/Hospital Safeguarding policies. Maintain an up-to-date, appropriate and comprehensive local information resources relating to services available for people with sight loss.Advocate for the complex needs of patients when they arise to ensure they receive appropriate in hospital services and supports.Further support in evaluating the ECLO service impact across eye clinics. Attend monthly external individual supervision General:Undertake any other duties commensurate with the postAdhere to all Hospital and Vision Ireland policies and procedures Person Specification Please note all criteria are essential unless otherwise stated1     Specialist Knowledge, Skills and Experience Qualification in Social Care / Rehabilitation / or significant other Allied Healthcare qualification or significant experience in an eye clinic or similar setting.Knowledge of community and social work including acute services and functions of professionals within the eye health field.Understanding of the need to involve patients, families and carers in assessing needs, accessing services and service development. Experience of involving patients in service planning is desirable.Ability to influence and motivate other professional disciplines to respond appropriately to the needs of people with sight loss. 2     Team working skillsAbility to communicate effectively with medical and other hospital staff in a professional manner and to develop and maintain appropriate positive relationships with eye clinic staff, people accessing the service and local agencies, and represent NCBI at a corporate and service level.Ability to work on own initiative and liaise with NCBI’s National Services Manager as and when required.3     Planning and Organisational skillsAbility to organise and manage time effectively and to prioritise workload in order to meet deadlines.Flexibility and adaptability in order to meet the demands of the role and to work within varying locations and different settings.Self-motivation and an ability to work independently and on own initiative.Knowledge of a variety of data collection tools and the ability to collect quality data in a systematic way. IT literate and competent in the use of Microsoft Office software including Word, Excel and databases, or equivalent.4     Communication skillsAbility to communicate clearly and effectively in a structured way and with a range of individuals, both verbally and in writing.Experience of the preparation and delivery of presentations to varied audiences in a manner which meets their needs.Ability to listen to and have empathy with patients and their families whilst remaining impartial and non-judgemental.5     Equal OpportunitiesAbility to understand and demonstrate commitment to Vision Ireland's Equal Opportunities Policy and to ensure all activities are consistent with Vision Ireland’s Equal Opportunities Policy and values. This includes all staff activities and their interface with the general public.6     Special Conditions This role is subject to Garda vetting.Travel when requiredFlexibility surrounding working timesVision Ireland is an equal opportunities employer.Accessibility, Equality, Diversity and InclusionVision Ireland is committed to creating an inclusive environment where diversity is celebrated, and everyone is afforded equality of opportunity. It is our policy to recognise people as a key resource required for successful attainment of the organisation’s mission. In support of this, it is important to remember that differences between people, whether devised from their different backgrounds and personalities, cultures and/or their different abilities, can be a source of strength to the organisation.We welcome, encourage, and embrace people of all backgrounds, to include those with disabilities, accessibility plays a huge part of ensuring that the needs of all our employees and service users, can access our systems and services, with ease and respect, in a supportive environment, enabling all to effectively engage our services and achieve our goals whether they are an applicant for employment or an employee requiring special facilitation. Additional information:Informal enquiries to recruitment@vi.ie.Applicants must have permission to work full-time within the EEA.