Specialist Orthoptist | East Suffolk and North Essex NHS Foundation Trust


Company:	Colchester Hospital University NHS Foundation Trust
Salary:	£39,959 - £48,117 per annum
Hours:	Full-time
Location:	Colchester, CO4 5JL
Job type:	Contract
Posting date:	10 Sept 2026
Closing date:	10 Oct 2026

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Summary

East Suffolk and North Essex Foundation Trust are recruiting an Orthoptist to join our friendly and dynamic team who deliver orthoptic services in and around Colchester and Ipswich on a fixed term basis. This role is predominantly based at Colchester hospital and outreach clinics within north Essex, though with cross site working in Ipswich as required . You will be supported by the team to deliver high quality orthoptic services and will include a varied orthoptic caseload.

The department delivers adult and paediatric services, in-patient and out-patient stroke services, specialist SEN clinics in special schools and is an accredited department for student placements.

As an AHP at ESNEFT you will join a network of supportive and forward thinking AHPs across the trust who will support you in your role and who champion the work and development of the AHP community.

The department is committed to providing opportunities for continuous professional development and is active in audit and research.

This role is Band 6 and so is most suited to an orthoptist with post qualification experience. However, we also welcome applications from newly qualified staff who would commence in post at Band 5 with the potential to progress to Band 6 following successful completion of preceptorship.

Fixed term role for 1 year

Internal applicants currently employed by ESNEFT will be offered on a secondment basis only

· To conduct single-handed Orthoptic and work as part of a team in specialist multi-disciplinary paediatric clinics as required at the main base and in community settings.

· To provide appropriate Orthoptic assessment and diagnosis for all patients referred to the department from other specialist clinics, as in-patients or out-patients

· To formulate and implement an individualised treatment plan for paediatric and adult cases balancing medical evidence and patient circumstances, including amblyopia therapy, refractive treatments, orthoptic exercises, prismatic therapy and planning strabismus surgery.

We are ESNEFT and we provide hospital and community health services to almost one million people across east Suffolk and north Essex. Our dedicated staff deliver care from acute hospitals in Colchester and Ipswich, community hospitals, surgeries, community clinics and in patients’ own homes.

We are one of the largest NHS organisations in England, employing more than 12,000 staff.

We pride ourselves on supporting our staff. We offer a wide range of training and development opportunities, as well as flexible working options.

Along with supporting you to achieve your career goals we offer a generous pension scheme, unsocial hours payments (where applicable), 27 days annual leave on commencement (pro rata) and access to a range of NHS discounts. Our Staff Health and Wellbeing programme offer a variety of services.

Our philosophy is thatTime Mattersto everyone. Across the Trust, we concentrate on improving the things we do and removing those which cause time delays for our staff and patients.

We are investing in our commitment to Time Matters with a partnership with leading electronic patient record (EPR) supplier Epic. This digital transformation will bring what’s widely regarded as the world’s best EPR system to ESNEFT, transforming life in hospital for staff and patients.

If you are passionate about patient care and want to develop your skills and knowledge, then we want to hear from you.

Find out about living and working here -www.youtube.com/watch?v=GkPu7HphU8A

For full details of the responsibilities and duties of this role please see the attached job description.

This advert closes on Sunday 20 Sep 2026

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