Radiotherapy Physicist

Overview

We have an exciting opportunity to join our friendly, forward-thinking Radiotherapy Physics department in a key role at the North Middlesex Hospital site in North London. You will be a Senior Radiotherapy Physicist at Band 8A, responsible for the safe delivery and development of Radiotherapy.

You will act as a Medical Physics Expert under IR(ME)
R, providing expert advice to the Radiotherapy department and to members of the Radiotherapy Physics team.

The department provides a comprehensive physics service to support the delivery of radiotherapy treatment at North Middlesex Hospital. This includes all treatment planning, machine quality assurance and the provision of molecular radiotherapy. The department consists of 10 clinical scientists, including this post, 6 dosimetrists and 6 engineering and technical staff.

The Radiotherapy department has a mix of Varian True Beam and Halcyon Linacs and an XStrahl superficial unit. Varian Eclipse is used for all treatment planning activities, and we have ongoing projects to implement and expand knowledge based planning, AI auto-contouring, scripting and automation, and lots more besides., The senior physicist's role is to ensure the safe delivery of the Radiotherapy Physics Service at North Middlesex University Hospital, assisting the Head of the service as well as other designated Medical Physics Experts (MPE) in their various areas of responsibility.

The role is autonomous and the post-holder is expected to carry out their duties without supervision.

The senior physicist will have MPE responsibility in the safe delivery and development of the following areas:

• Treatment Planning
• Quality Assurance
• Molecular Radiotherapy

North Mid is part of North Central London integrated care system - consisting of the NHS and Local authority organisations in Camden, Islington, Barnet, Enfield and Haringey. As with other ICSl's, we are working increasingly closely with partners and indeed many of our financial and performance objectives are measured at this system level. Whilst all organisations remain as standalone, statutory bodies we have an ICSl infrastructure for making shared decisions and agreeing shared approaches.

We are proud of our staff and want to ensure their training allows them to provide excellent clinical care. We are also a training unit for medical students from UCL and St George's University Grenada, and for nursing and midwifery students from Middlesex and City Universities.

Take a tour of our hospital here, 1.1. Assist the Treatment Planning Lead Physicist and provide MPE advice where needed to ensure safe delivery of service.

1.2. Produce routine and complex treatment plans for external beam radiotherapy. Use computerised planning systems to design and customise treatment plans. Analyse requirements and make complex judgements regarding treatment parameters and patient dose effects to produce the required dose distribution over the treatment volume. Take responsibility for the accurate production of individualised treatment plans and associated dosimetry calculations.

1.3. Advise clinical staff on the effects of various treatment plan options on patient dose distributions. Discuss and agree approaches with clinical staff to create optimum treatment plans and advise on aspects of the treatment and patient set-up, as required.

1.4. Check and approve routine and complex treatment plans, dose calculations and templates produced by other members of staff.

1.5. Re-plan patient treatments where required, following a treatment error or changes in patient shape. Use judgement to analyse and determine the most appropriate compensation method. Calculate the compensation required and subsequent patient dose. Carry out manual dose calculations.

Quality Assurance

1.6. Assist the Quality Control and Dosimetry Lead Physicist, providing MPE advice where needed to ensure safe delivery of service.

1.7. Take responsibility for the development of the annual quality assurance programme including liaison with maintenance contract suppliers; radiotherapy physics engineers and radiotherapy.

1.8. Take responsibility for physics dosimetry and quality control in radiotherapy, according to established protocols. Undertake dosimetry measurements to a high degree of accuracy with suitable equipment. Perform quality control and other measurements and procedures on highly-complex patient-critical equipment.

1.9. Take responsibility for the revision of protocols and dosimetry techniques. Develop and revise working practices in accordance with national guidelines and codes of practice. Ensure the accurate calibration of all dosimetry equipment and Radiotherapy treatment machines is maintained.

Molecular Radiotherapy

1.10. Take responsibility for administration of radioisotopes for therapeutic use. Explain procedures to patients and liaise with other groups such as ward staff as required. Assist with resolving problems with the procedure, including those arising with the patient…