Senior Engineer - Medical Engineering, AfC Band 7 (subject to qualifications and experience).

NHS Jobs ref: 384-OB-029 closing date for applications 24/11/2010.

For this post, the holder must be experienced as well as possessing an Engineering HND or if not experienced must possess BSc/BEng in Electronic or Mechanical Engineering or equivalent engineering qualification.

Professional registration (Eng Tech / I Eng) is a requirement and although not essential, Registration on the VRCT is desirable.

Operating from the workshop based at The Royal Surrey County Hospital, the Electronics & Medical Engineering Department manages a wide variety of Biomedical equipment & devices. This includes acceptance testing, servicing, repair and delivery of medical equipment.

The successful candidates will have a good knowledge of electrical and electronic or mechanical engineering theory coupled with a logical approach to fault finding on complex equipment as well as excellent IT skills.

The ability to build and develop excellent relationships with Clinical Colleagues, Suppliers, Contractors and others is of paramount importance in this busy, varied and rewarding role.

Current knowledge of regulatory issues affecting medical equipment and/or experience in its service and maintenance is highly desirable as is some experience of delivering user training in equipment or devices.

For further information & to arrange an informal ‘look around’ please contact

Mr Garrith Jenner
EME Department Manager
01483 464068
or
gjenner@nhs.net

This sounds good and right up my street, Garrith. It's just a pity I'm going to be in my present job for the next four years. Shame, though I don't imagine, especially in the present economic climate, that you'll be short of applicants.

A pity? Don't you mean "fortunate that"?

By that time, no doubt you will have picked up some nous about some of the realities surrounding the NHS, Jocky. Yes, there will be plenty of applicants ... but how many* will be suited to the post?

You may not be aware that, once in post, it's very difficult to be rid of an NHS employee if they turn out to be ... er, disappointing.

As I've already said, you're far better off as you are, Mate.

Meanwhile (Garrith), I don't see any salary figure mentioned.

* Hint:- very few, if any.

Geoff this is the post I mentioned earlier in the current vacancies thread I believe its this one http://www.jobs.nhs.uk/showvac/uEv15_/900877/912572038 .

It's also band 7 so since the NHS actually publish their pay scales you should be able to work the salary out (although it's published on that link)

All I can say is that Garrith must really appreciate his staff, quite a lot of other trusts would have advertised this post as a band 6! I don't want to relocate but if I could hook up the Royal Surrey County Hospital and drag it to Bristol even I'd apply for it.

As for the number of applicants, advertising at this level I'd imaging that their going to be swamped with applications and therefore suspect they don't experience employees being er, disappointing

"AfC Band 7" could be a troupe of performing seals for all the Rest of the World knows! But, there again, they're not going to have much of an idea what £ 31,983 to £ 41,773 pa inc actually relates to either, I suppose.

Regarding Garrith's apparent generosity ... I notice that this position comes under "Estates". Any clues there, then?

Hopefully Garrith will indeed be inundated with applicants of quality and finally end up with the Senior Engineer of his dreams.

Perhaps he will be back on here in a few weeks to let us all know how he got on.

How much is left in your pocket after taxes and everything else?

No, under NHS Agenda for Change estates departments didn't do very good, usually clinical engineering departments or departments attached to medical physics do better (not always thought)just nice to see a department offering a decent salary.

How can that be the case? Same job, same pay? Perhaps someone can explain.

And (whilst we're on that point), can someone explain as well why some biomeds still come under "Estates" at all? My own guess would be:- historical reasons. That is, back in the early days (and in older hospitals) many biomed "departments" were started off by some lucky electrician in the Works Department (as they may have been known at the time).

It seems to me a pity that AfC didn't sort all that out whilst they were at it!

Geoff AfC job evaluations are based on this document now section 6 covers patient care, just imaging what a chippy is going to get graded on this, EBME jobs still manage to pick up points on this, a consistency check should be performed, but it does seem that you stand a better chance of a higher band if the rest of the department didn't get a pay cut. It's been pointed out in other newsleters that it happens if the manager is a clinical scientist and the estates manager isn't.

Geoff re the difficulty getting rid of staff who are not up to it. That is exactly the same perception which is held for civil servants, hence the joke 'What do civil servants and an SA80 have in common? They don't work and you can't fire them'. However, if the NHS is like the civil service in the disciplinary respect then you may find it is far easier to get rid of them than many think. My wife (who is a civil servant) says you can get rid of someone in next to no time. Obviously I may be wrong but from my (limited) experience you do tend to find there are systems in place for dealing with such situations. I'd have thought that these were the same across the public sector. Again I may be wrong.