Welcome From Orkney!
We are located just north of mainland Scotland, a small archipelago consisting of 70 islands, of which 20 are inhabited. The Hospital, The Balfour, is located in Kirkwall, the capital city of the islands. The population across the islands is around 20,000 residents.
What we do....
The hospital opened in 2019, replacing the old hospital built in the 1920's. The hospital moved patients and staff in June 2019 to a new building and new equipment. It is a state-of-the-art building incorporating everything a remote and rural hospital could need, now and for years to come.
The hospital comprises:
- Two inpatient wards with HDU
- Macmillan Unit
- Emergency Department (ED)
- Operating theatres
- Maternity Unit
- Outpatient department
- Ambulance Station
- Dental
- Radiology
- Audiology
- Pharmacy
- Laboratories
- Clinical support buliding
- 2 GP surgeries
A short video has been produced to give you a bit more insight into life and work in Orkney.
We’re looking to recruit an experienced BSE accredited Echocardiographer/ Cardiac Physiologist, primarily to provide an echo service but additional cardiac physiology skills would be welcomed- come and talk to us about your skills and interests! Candidates looking to work less than full time, flexibly or annualised hours would all be welcome to get in touch.
What we do....
The Clinical Physiology service currently delivers echocardiography imaging within the hopsital. The service will be developing it's delivery over the next few years with an expectation of an increase in both delivery and training and development in the Board.
Clinical Physiology works closely with the Cardiac Nursing team, NHS Grampian and the current Cardiac Physician in delivering both inpatient and outpatient services.
Our Cardiologist co-ordinates a Cardiac CT Service, implants reveal monitors and delivers an elective DCCV service.
Around 600 echos are performed in Orkney annually although this number is greatly supplemented by scans carried out by our visiting Cardiologist. NHSO has a GE E90 echo machine with Echopac reporting.
The areas within Clinical Physiology that can be delivered on island will be rolled out over the next few years in line with the corporate and clinical strategies.
As a remote and rural hospital we need to be prepared to deal with almost any type of patient and, while some patients are transferred off-island, our aim is to ensure they receive their care as often as possible, in their home community.
Staffing
Initially the service will be single-handed. There would be an expectation that the new postholder would help train and develop staff within the Board. The development of the service and in-house training will allow more services to be delivered in different locations and will build resilience into the service.
NHS Orkney has one Heart Failure Specialist Nurse post. There is one Cardiology Specialist Nurse post which covers everything else with cardiology in its name! e.g. arrhythmia investigation, cardiac rehabilitation, exercise tolerance testing, enhanced vetting etc.
Pacemaker follow up is currently provided by Grampian Physiologists who provide a bi-monthly visiting clinic. Emergency device problems can sometimes be dealt with remotely via Teams with the Grampian Physiologist Team.
Getting Here
Orkney is an island so the only two options to travel are to fly into Kirkwall airport or get the ferry to either St Margaret's Hope or Stromness.
Loganair is the airline that delivers the service to the islands and if you are flying up, we advise booking early to reduce cost. The link below takes you to their web page.
If you plan do come by ferry you can drive up to either Thurso (Scrabster Harbour) or Aberdeen for Northlink Ferries or the Gills bay where you can travel with Pentland Ferries. Both ferry companies take cars and foot passengers, again early booking is advisable.
When You're not working.....
We recognise that you are not going to spend all of your time at work and enjoying life is just as important as what you do in the hospital. There and many opportunities to explore the culture and history of the islands, the wildlife and scenery are amazing and the night life can be interesting!
Most food in restaurants is sourced on the islands and is traceable and sustainable.......some things have food meters not food miles. The island boasts two whisky distilleries, three gin distilleries, a rum ditillery and two breweries, and the local pubs stock from all of them.
Also note that during the winter months there is only around 6 hours of daylight but in summer, full daylight lasts 18 hours, the other 6 are twilight, not full darkness.
Winter can be very cold, we don't often have snow but the lochs and occasionally some of the bays can freeze over.
The coast offers some stunning views and large sections of the islands are either nature reserves or world heritage sites, such as Skara Brae and the Ring of Brodgar.
Getting in touch
Your main point of contacts will be Nick Crohn, the Audiology, Clinical Physiology and Radiology Services manager and Amanda Manson, the Cardiac Rehabilitation Specialist Nurse.
Please don't hesitate to get in touch if you have any questions for us.