Ophthalmic Technician

Job overview

Are you a dynamic, highly motivated registered nurse with a passion for operational leadership, patient flow who thrives in a fast-paced, ever-changing environment?

King’s College Hospital is one of the UK's leading tertiary Neurosciences centres, providing specialist care to patients across South East London, Kent and beyond. We are seeking an experienced and innovative Band 7 Bed Manager to join our Neurosciences Division and play a pivotal role in ensuring patients receive timely access to specialist neurosciences services

Main duties of the job

• Act as the central gatekeeper for Neurosciences beds, coordinating elective and emergency admissions and ensuring clinically appropriate placement.
• Lead bed capacity and patient flow across multiple specialist clinical areas.
• Manage emergency tertiary referrals and inter-hospital transfers according to clinical priority and agreed timeframes.
• Work with multidisciplinary teams to progress treatment, discharge and repatriation plans, escalating delays promptly.
• Maintain oversight of demand and capacity, develop contingency plans during high demand, and support audit and service improvement.

Working for our organisation

The Trust provides a full range of local and specialist services across its five sites. In June 2026, we launched our new strategy for 2026-31. Our vision is to transform healthcare, and we have agreed six strategic ambitions to help us improve care for patients, and the working lives of our staff.

Our six strategic ambitions are delivering high-quality patient care ; creating a great place to work ; leading pioneering research, innovation and education ; building strong and successful partnerships ; providing timely and efficient care ; and ensuring long-term financial sustainability .

We have also agreed four new organisational values – Caring, Collaborative, Inclusive, Innovative – and these underpin everything we do, and how our teams interact with the patients under our care.

We are at a pivotal point in our history and we require individuals who are ready to join a highly professional team and make a real, lasting difference to our patients and our people.

King’s is committed to delivering Sustainable Healthcare for All via our Green Plan. In line with national Greener NHS ambitions, we have set net zero carbon targets of 2040 for our NHS Carbon Footprint and 2045 for our NHS Carbon Footprint Plus. Everyone’s contribution is required in order to meet the goals set out in our Green Plan and we encourage all staff to work responsibly, minimising their contributions to the Trust’s carbon emissions, waste and pollution wherever possible.

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

• A Registered Nurse with relevant acute clinical experience and a strong understanding of complex patient pathways.
• Hardworking, dynamic and resilient, with the ability to adapt as operational priorities change.
• A creative thinker and confident problem solver who makes sound decisions under pressure.
• An excellent communicator with strong influencing, negotiation and relationship-building skills.
• A collaborative leader able to work independently and across professional boundaries.
• Committed to safe, courteous, patient-focused care and continuous improvement

This is an exciting opportunity to influence patient flow within a major tertiary neurosciences service, work alongside expert clinical and operational teams, and make a direct difference to patient access, safety and experience.

Person specification

Education and Qualifications

Essential criteria

• NMC Level 1 or Level 15 Registered Nurse
• Relevant acute clinical post-registration qualification
• Advanced Life Support (ALS) skills.

Desirable criteria

• Management or leadership qualification, or willingness to undertake leadership development.

Knowledge and Experience

Essential criteria

• Demonstrable in-depth understanding of the neurosciences specialty and associated services, with the ability to apply this knowledge to meet patient needs
• Proven experience of audit, quality improvement and service development
• Previous experience in planning and managing patient flow, with an understanding of factors affecting capacity and throughput within a specialist service
• Knowledge of current developments in nursing and awareness of NHS policy and healthcare priorities, with the ability to assess their impact on service delivery

Desirable criteria

• Experience of developing policies and procedures

IMPORTANT

• Check your email account regularly as this is how we will communicate with you
• If you delete the job from any of your accounts, you may be prevented from accessing further communications
• To enquire about your application or inform us of any changes in your circumstances, please contact the named person on this advert
• Please provide email addresses for referees where possible
• Please review the documentation on our recruitment microsite, particularly the Trust’s criminal records checking policy
• All staff have a responsibility for safeguarding children and vulnerable adults and for ensuring they are aware of the specific duties relating to their role.
• Please note that the closing date is given as a guide. On occasion, we might close a vacancy early due to a high number of applications being received. You are advised to submit your application as early as possible to avoid disappointment.

AI tools like chatbots and virtual assistants can support you as you complete your application. For example, they can check for spelling or grammar errors, or help you to decide what to include. They shouldn’t however replace your own responses or be used to write the application for you.

Relying too much on AI can negatively impact your chances of success because automatically generated answers:

• might not be specific or relevant enough to address the criteria in the recruitment profile
• often seem generic and not personalised enough – an AI response won’t show your unique voice and perspective
• could misrepresent information about you, such as your qualifications, skills and experience

We monitor applications for any behaviour that could create an unfair advantage, and we check all references carefully. You are likely to be tested on your experience at interview, so be honest and make sure all the information in your application is correct.

King's College Hospital NHS Foundation Trust Annual Reports and Other Corporate Publications

King's Health Partners Academic Health Science Centre Website

King's College Hospital is part of King's Health Partners Academic Health Sciences Centre (AHSC), a pioneering collaboration between King's College London, and Guy's and St Thomas', King's College Hospital and South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trusts.