Newborn Hearing Screener | East and North Hertfordshire Teaching NHS Trust

We are recruiting for a Newborn Hearing Screener who shares our vision to be trusted to provide consistently outstanding care and exemplary service to our patients.

The post holder will work as a member of a team that screens the hearing of newborn babies within East and North Hertfordshire, gathering and accurately recording clinical and test data relevant to the screening process.

This post involves direct handling of newborn babies and contact with their parents and continued communication with Healthcare Professionals.

At the heart of everything we do are our core values:
Include, Respect, and Improve. We encourage you to embrace these values throughout the recruitment process and in your role with us.

The Newborn Hearing Screener will plan, organise and carry out day-to-day work tasks or activities.

• Identify which baby requires screening on the Postnatal Ward, Special Care Baby Unit and in Community Clinics by communicating and assessing with midwifery, medical staff and child health.
• Make judgments involving a range of facts or situations which require analysis or comparison in conjunction with protocols and procedures already in place.
• Obtain informed consent from parents before any screen is carried out by explaining the process of the screen and involving the parents from the start.
• Carry out the hearing screening of newborn babies within the maternity unit using specialised equipment (full training will be provided) and accurately record clinical and test result data by data input.
• Promote a professional, welcoming and caring environment endorsing a family‑friendly approach.
• Work as part of an established hospital‑based team that provides newborn hearing screening 7 days a week, 365 days a year to all eligible newborn babies born in our area.
• Undertake training commensurate with the role and complete the Level 3 Diploma for Health Screeners qualification.
• Identify which babies require screening by using the Smart4
  
  Hearing (S4H) database and liaising with ward staff.
• Ensure all parents of eligible babies are offered the newborn hearing screen in a timely fashion.
• Organise workload with colleagues to cover postnatal wards and the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) so as many babies as possible complete screening prior to discharge.
• Maintain a high‑quality service that promotes the principles of family‑friendly hearing services for children.
• Provide parents and carers with clear and accurate information regarding NHSP.
• Explain the screening tests and possible outcomes to parents to obtain informed consent.
• Offer the automated otoacoustic emission (AOAE) and/or automated auditory brain response (AA ) screening test and gain verbal consent.
• Carry out the hearing screening of newborns in both inpatient and outpatient facilities, accurately recording clinical and test data.
• Maintain up‑to‑date knowledge of NHSP procedures and protocols relevant to the role of NHSP screener.
• Explain the results of the screening tests and their significance to parents.
• Refer babies to local audiology services in a timely manner using local processes and procedures.
• Always maintain confidentiality of the babies and their families.
• Work with anxious, distressed or emotional parents, ensuring babies and families retain their dignity, privacy and individuality at all times.
• Establish and maintain effective communication methods with parents, primary care teams, other NHSP teams and audiology services where follow‑up is indicated.
• Always ensure the safety and security of equipment and report any problems to the NHSP local manager at the earliest opportunity.
• Adhere to safeguarding procedures and local safeguarding policies.

• Completion of the Health Care Level 3 Diploma is required; if the post is fixed term, completion is not required as the post is for 12 months and the diploma requires 24 months to complete.

At East and North Hertfordshire Teaching NHS Trust, we are proud of the range of general and specialist services we provide and our 6,000 or so dedicated staff ensure our patients get the best care.

• The Lister Hospital, Stevenage
• New Queen Elizabeth II (New QEII), Welwyn Garden City
• Hertford County, Hertford
• Mount Vernon Cancer Centre (MVCC), Northwood

We are committed to a positive work‑life balance for our employees. Any employee is entitled to seek flexible working patterns and we are committed to listening and considering all requests formally, balancing them against service needs. Our starting point is to support making flexible working happen where possible.

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