Job summary
- Main area
- Radiology
- Grade
- Band 5
- Contract
- Permanent
- Hours
- Full time - 37.5 hours per week (8:45 to 5pm)
- Job ref
- 249-7468584
- Employer
- Great Western Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
- Employer type
- NHS
- Site
- Great Western Hospital
- Town
- Swindon
- Salary
- £27,485 - £37,796 per annum
- Salary period
- Yearly
- Closing
- 09/10/2025 23:59
Employer heading

Assistant Practitioner
Band 5
Great Western Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust is a unique organisation, serving as the sole integrated provider in the Bath and North East Somerset, Swindon, and Wiltshire system. Our scope extends beyond boundaries as we oversee adult community services in Swindon and provide acute care from the Great Western Hospital.
Our 5,500 staff have 1.2m patient contacts a year, with 13,000 operations carried out in our Theatres, around 4,000 babies born, and our emergency attendances are now well over 100,000 per year. Those numbers only tell part of our story about what an exciting time it is to join Great Western Hospitals.
We are cultivating a culture that fosters our ambitions, prioritising equality, diversion, inclusion, wellbeing, and leadership. We aim to create an environment where every member of our team can truly thrive.
The Trust is a Disability Confident Employer; all applicants who have a disability can opt to be considered under the guaranteed interview scheme, which means that, providing they meet the minimum essential criteria for the post, they will be offered an interview. We are also proudly accredited as a Veteran Aware organisation and have signed The Armed Forces Covenant.
If we receive a high volume of applications, we may close adverts prior to the published closing date. Therefore, we advise you to complete and submit your application as soon as possible.
Job overview
This post is for a qualified Assistant Practitioner with experience of working in a breast unit and appropriate training and experience of working at a Level 5 Associate Practitioner role. The role encompasses working both at the Breast Centre at The Great Western Hospital and on the service’s two mobile units which travel around Wiltshire on a three year-round plan. The post holder will be expected to carry out breast screening, and in addition to the standard Assistant Practitioner role will carry out mammography in high-risk screening and symptomatic breast clinics for the cancer two week wait.
The post will be 37.5 hours per week, principally within 8.30-5.30 normal working hours but you will be expected to cover some limited evening and weekend work.
Main duties of the job
Patient Client Care
To independently assess each patient. Perform specialist mammography under the indirect supervision of a band 6/7 Radiographer/Mammographer at the speed and technical skill level demanded by the service, adapting radiographic techniques according to the needs of the patient.
To provide an excellent standard of care to women attending for mammography. Be sufficiently informed and professionally competent to identify and address patients’ information needs with respect to breast awareness and other health issues.
To provide imaging for screening, symptomatic, high risk, family history or post-surgery (“planned care”) patients.
Deal appropriately with complex, sensitive or contentious information on a regular basis.
To assist the Radiologist with Ultrasound examinations.
To meet the psychological needs of anxious patients undergoing biopsies and carry out basic nursing procedures to dress puncture sites and give after-care advice.
To support patients and relatives who may be in a distressed or anxious state with sensitivity and empathy and where there may be barriers to understanding.
Working for our organisation
“Our STAR values – Service, Teamwork, Ambition and Respect – are a golden thread running through everything we do. These values serve as a guiding principle, driving us towards our vision of delivering great joined up services to our local community. Whether at home, in the community, or within the hospital, our goal is to empower individuals to lead independent and healthier lives.”
Detailed job description and main responsibilities
Other Factors
To work at a band 5 level but also know when to seek assistance and refer to senior colleagues.
To have read and adhere to the departments “Assistant Practitioner Protocol” particularly in regard to categories of patient that can be imaged.
To carry out and record routine quality control procedures, equipment tests, and be responsible for reporting any adverse occurrences to nominated QA radiographer or line manager.
To assist with the transfer and management of digital images.
To travel regularly to the mobile screening units when required (own transport and a driving licence are required)
Transport by car memory sticks, paperwork and other items to and from the mobile units daily and in a timely manner, ensuring any patient identifiable data is store adequately in accordance with PIAG section 60 and in relation to security or delivered directly back to the department.
Assist in relocation of mobile screening units if required.
To maintain stock levels within the department and on the mobiles and keep them clean and tidy.
To record clinical details accurately on all paperwork.
To input data accurately onto NBSS computer system and to assist with clerical duties as directed.
To adhere to documented procedures to ensuring delivery of a quality service at all times.
To undertake and participate in departmental audit and to monitor, by self-audit, personal mammographic standards ensuring that they comply with NHSBSP standards. Receive any training necessary to maintain it.
To participate in Continual Professional Development, attend relevant study days and contribute towards multidisciplinary meetings.
To prepare and actively participate in Trust’s annual Performance Development Review and ensure training and development needs detailed in your PDP are followed up and their effectiveness evaluated in terms of self, patients and service.
To carry out all x-ray techniques with regard to legal requirements under Ionising Radiation Regulations
To be aware of manual handling, health and safety and clinical governance issues and their consequences. To advise on and assist in the development of safe systems of work.
To be involved in developing and maintaining a Quality Management System and the collation and distribution of statistical data. Develop protocols and work instructions in accordance with the QMS.
To comply with Data Protection Act, Health & Safety at Work Act, Fire Regulations, Infection Control policies and other Trust policies and guidelines.
Person specification
Mammography Qualification/Experience
Essential criteria
- Qualified Associate Mammographer
- Experience working in breast imaging
- Having daily use of your own vehicle
- Level 4 Mammography Associate Apprenticeship
Desirable criteria
- Qualified Band 5 Mammographer
- Currently working within the NHSBSP
- Current experience working within a breast unit
- Completion of a recognised training course in Mammography for Assistant Practitioners such as the Foundation Degree (FdSc) in Breast Imaging or equivalent, or Level 5 Assistant Practitioner Apprenticeship
Applicant requirements
You must have appropriate UK professional registration.
This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (Exceptions) Order 1975 (Amendment) (England and Wales) Order 2020 and it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service.
Documents to download
Further details / informal visits contact
- Name
- Lou Thompson
- Job title
- Advanced Practitioner Radiographer
- Email address
- [email protected]
- Telephone number
- 01793 604229
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