Senior Clinical Engineer - UPMC Kilkenny

Senior Clinical Engineer - UPMC Kilkenny

Location: MacDonagh Office
Job Type: Permanent

Overview of Role

The Clinical Engineering Department is responsible for patient related hospital equipment services, support and medical device repairs. The service works with other healthcare departments and endeavours to support and advance patient care by applying clinical engineering and equipment management skills to healthcare technology. As part of service development and expansion within the UPMC network of hospitals, we are entering into a phase of departmental growth and development. We will be, on an ongoing basis, looking to bring in motivated and experienced Clinical Engineers and Technicians. These roles will be varied and will involve working with cutting edge technology and device integration as part of our exciting EHR Program among many other service expansions and developments. The Senior Clinical Engineer will work as part of a small but growing dynamic team to deliver enhanced technical support to clinical services in our hospital, sports medicine and outreach services network. This group based role will entail a significant amount of work with medical systems integration and Clinical Information Systems and act as an interface with IT services, including collaboratively working with cybersecurity teams, to ensure compliance with established UPMC standards and systems of operation. They will assist with the support of medical, nursing, paramedical and health and social care professionals (HSCPs) in the application of medical device technology.

Responsibilities

• Provide maintenance services for electro medical equipment under the remit of the Clinical Engineering Department in respect of its functional, electronic, optical, electrical and mechanical aspects to a standard of safety, accuracy and reliability consistent with its function and with professional standards.
• Follow and develop Clinical Engineering Department maintenance procedures to ensure that equipment performs to manufacturer's specification.
• Respond to equipment faults and breakdowns as they occur, and apply the ability to diagnose mechanical, electrical, electronic, IT problems/issues associated with medical devices using knowledge, qualifications, training and/or experience, ensuring that equipment is safe and functioning according to manufacturer's recommendations, and ensuring maximum uptime of medical device equipment.
• Assist with the co ordination and implementation of the preventative maintenance schedule and safety programmes.
• Assist with equipment acceptance testing and commissioning in line with department standards.
• Participate in the implementation and on going use of the designated Computerised Equipment Management System to maintain an up to date equipment inventory and records of equipment related interactions and interventions.
• Audit medical equipment in various UPMC facilities and report recommendations regarding life expectancy or replacement.
• Track the status of equipment repairs, communicating progress and return to service dates with relevant stakeholders.
• Assist when required on new technical installations/projects.
• Support medical, nursing, paramedical and health and social care professionals (HSCPs) in the application of medical device technology to patient care.
• Ensure that any medical devices considered for procurement conform to EU medical device regulation and are CE marked for the intended use and comply with all relevant UPMC policies.
• Liaise with clinical staff to schedule preventative maintenance.
• Act on notices received from HPRA regarding medical devices in accordance with UPMC policies.
• Attend all mandatory hospital training.
• Actively participate in accreditation programmes and work with multi disciplinary teams to ensure that all policies, procedures and general approaches are in line with requirements for all relevant accreditation bodies and assist required during inspections and audits.
• Take responsibility for tools and equipment within their care, ensuring testing equipment is calibrated when required.
• Perform scheduled department stock takes.
• Liaise with suppliers for the purposes of timely ordering and maintaining appropriate parts & consumables stock inventory, and to ensure optimal uptime and availability of equipment.
• Prepare equipment specification and cost estimates for the purpose of potential project options.
• Manage external contractors when on site to ensure all hospital procedures are adhered to.
• Co operate fully to ensure compliance with Health and Safety requirements and regulations.
• Be expected on occasion to attend manufacturer's training courses when requested.
• Travel from established base site to other UPMC sites to perform assigned appropriate duties when requested.
• Be flexible in attitude towards working hours to ensure that hospital and Clinical Engineering Department targets are adhered to.
• Develop and maintain good co operation and close working links with members of other teams, and act as a mentor for more junior staff members.
• Maintain good communications throughout the hospital where equipment issues impact on the provision of a service.
• Liaise as required with IT personnel to ensure availability of appropriate IT infrastructure for medical equipment, and that all systems and equipment involving IT system integration are carried out in accordance with established UPMC policies and systems of operation, review, analysis and deployment.
• Perform other duties as may be assigned to them by the Head of Clinical Engineering.
• Develop, as required by the exigencies of the service, areas of specialism within the health technology field and lead with cross service liaison with other departments in this area.
• Act as required as a team lead, and to assist in the day to day management of the Clinical Engineering service, where required.

Qualifications & Experience Essential Qualifications

• Hold as a minimum a recognised qualification at Quality and Qualifications Ireland, Level 8 or higher, in one of the following engineering disciplines:
  • Electronic
  • Electrical
  • Instrument Physics
  • Industrial Instrumentation
  • Applied Physics
  • Mechanical
  • Mechatronic
  • Biomedical Engineering
• Minimum of three years relevant hospital or industry experience.
• Full Clean Irish/EU driving licence with own transport.
• Membership of BEAI, or eligibility for membership.

Personal Requirements

• Possess good problem solving skills and the ability to develop solutions to complex situations with medical equipment and associated systems.
• Ability to engage and communicate effectively with multidisciplinary teams.
• Ability to gather, interpret and analyse information to make informed decisions.
• Ability to fault find complex electromechanical equipment.
• Ability to meet deadlines and work on own initiative.
• Possess excellent IT skills including Microsoft Word, Excel, e mail and internet knowledge.
• Maintain an awareness of the primacy of the patient in relation to all hospital activities and be expected to maintain and enhance professional knowledge and skills to keep pace with changes in the delivery of health care.

Desirable Requirements

• Clinical Engineering experience in the following areas: Theatre, Critical Care, Endoscopy, Diagnostic Ultrasound, Medical Device Integration.
• Where applicable, list the manufacturer/model of hospital equipment previously worked on and state whether O OEM training was completed.

Salary

€64,640.00 - €85,990.00 per annum based on a 35 hour week

Equal Opportunity Statement

UPMC is an equal opportunity employer. We celebrate diversity and are committed to creating an inclusive environment for all employees.

Benefits

• Fully paid maternity and paternity leave for new parents.
• Competitive pension plan.
• Company funded death in service benefit x 3 times.
• Critical illness cover for all employees up to the age of 66.
• Rewards for performance that supports the goals and mission of UPMC through our annual ACES programme.
• Enhanced annual leave up to a maximum of 27 days.
• Flexible working opportunities to support working around external family commitments.
• Opportunities for each employee to reach their career goals through continued learning and/or advancement.

Job Description Note

This job description is intended to be an outline of the areas of responsibility. As UPMC and the post holder develop, this job description may be subject to review in light of the changing needs of the business.