Lead Sonographer - General and MSK Ultrasound

Merseywestlancs; Chorley; On-site; GBP 40,000 - 60,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading healthcare provider in Chorley seeks an experienced Lead Sonographer for General and Musculoskeletal (MSK) Ultrasound. The successful candidate will manage the ultrasound service, perform examinations, and supervise junior staff. Applicants should hold an appropriate ultrasound qualification and have significant experience. The role offers opportunities to work within a dedicated team focused on patient care and quality service delivery.

Benefits

Generous pension scheme

27 days annual leave

Employee of the month recognition

Access to NHS discounts

Support for career development

Qualifications

• Significant experience in ultrasound.
• Experience in training/mentoring student sonographers.

Responsibilities

• Perform a wide range of ultrasound examinations.
• Report all ultrasound examinations by clinically interpreting images and providing a written report.
• Liaise with referring clinicians to discuss the ultrasound findings.
• Maintain a good working relationship with all departments.
• Be competent in the use of all ultrasound machines.

Skills

Ability to scan accurately

Ability to prepare reports

Good communication and interpersonal skills

IT Literate

Counselling skills

Education

DMU, PgCert, Pg Dip or MSc in ultrasound

Additional Masters level postgraduate module in specialist area of ultrasound

Job description

Lead Sonographer - General and MSK Ultrasound

We want talented and enthusiastic people from all backgrounds to join #TeamMWL. With us you can learn, grow, and develop yourself and your career, realising your true ambitions and aspirations.

Whatever you’re looking for in your career, you’ll find it here at MWL.

Job overview

An opportunity has arisen for a Lead Sonographer for General and Musculoskeletal (MSK) Ultrasound to join the Ultrasound Service at Mersey and West Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust based at Ormskirk Hospital.

We are committed to meeting the needs of modern healthcare and providing the best possible services to our patients; as a result we have an exciting opportunity, which represents great career opportunities for the right person.

• The successful candidate will be responsible for the management, co-ordination and clinical leadership of the General and MSK Ultrasound Service.
• For autonomously performing ultrasound examinations and clinically interpreting the images.
• For providing high-quality ultrasound scans in accordance with protocols within the ultrasound department.
• Supervision and teaching of junior and medical staff.
• Keeping up to date with current ultrasound techniques and maintaining a CPD portfolio.

Interviews will take place on 22nd January 2026

Please note that if a high number of applications are received this advert may close early. You are advised to submit your application at the earliest opportunity.

Main duties of the job

Perform a wide range of ultrasound examinations.

Report all ultrasound examinations by clinically interpreting images and providing a written report in accordance with the scheme of work and departmental protocols.

Liaise with referring clinicians to discuss the ultrasound findings if the need arises.

Abide by scanning protocols developed within the ultrasound department.

Undertake patient referrals to specific clinics with reports where appropriate.

Working for our organisation

Mersey and West Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust serves a population of over 600,000 with a workforce of over 10,500 dedicated and skilled staff across 21 sites.

We strongly believe that the communities we serve should all have access to Five Star Patient Care.

Services

• Acute Care – Providing emergency and maternity services at Whiston, Southport and Ormskirk hospitals, and medical and surgical specialties across all our sites.
• Primary Care – Providing primary care services at Marshalls Cross Medical Centre situated in St Helens Hospital.
• Community Services – Providing adult community services for St Helens and a wheelchair service in Chorley, South Ribble, and West Lancashire. Our inpatient unit at Newton Community Hospital is where patients needing acute hospital beds can continue rehabilitation. We also provide urgent care at our Urgent Treatment Centre located in St Helens town centre.
• Specialist Regional Services – We provide the Mersey Regional Burns & Plastic Surgery Unit at Whiston Hospital and the Spinal Injuries Unit at Southport Hospital to more than 4 million people across the whole of Merseyside, West Lancashire, Cheshire, Isle of Man and North Wales.

Achievements:

• Rated Outstanding by CQC Inspection August 2018
• Top 100 places to work in the NHS (NHS Employers & Health Service Journal)
• National Preceptorship Accreditation (2023) for Nursing & AHP Preceptorship Programme

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

Advertised on: 22nd December 2025

Advert Close: 5th January 2026

Interview Date: 22nd January 2026

Maintenance of a good working relationship with all other departments and staff, providing an effective and efficient ultrasound service to all users and patients.

Be competent in the use of all ultrasound machines and their associated equipment.

Responsible for the QA program in the general ultrasound department.

Maintain electronic records, updating electronic records as necessary.

Provision of reporting of ultrasound scans as per departmental policy on role of advanced ultrasound practitioners.

Person specification

Qualifications

• DMU, PgCert, Pg Dip or MSc in ultrasound
• Additional Masters level postgraduate module in specialist area of ultrasound

Knowledge and Experience

• Significant experience in ultrasound
• Experience in training/mentoring student sonographers

Skills

• Demonstrate ability to scan accurately
• Ability to prepare reports
• IT Literate
• Able to act within a multidisciplinary team
• Student assessor
• Counselling skills
• Audit analysis

Other

• Good communication and interpersonal skills with the ability to be diplomatic
• To be a team player
• Process a flexible approach to work
• Be committed to quality
• Ability to cope under pressure
• Able to demonstrate substantial professional interests and motivation
• Willingness to undergo further training according to the needs of the post
• Satisfactory CPD portfolio
• Membership of professional bodies
• Attendance at professional meetings

Our Values

• We are Kind
• We are Open
• We are Inclusive

Thank you for considering an application to work for Mersey West Lancashire NHS Trust. MWL is an exciting and forward-thinking NHS Trust who are one of the best places to work for in England.

Given sometimes we receive a high volume of applications to work for us, please be aware, that we may close a vacancy earlier than stated should a sufficient number of applications be received from which a shortlist can be confirmed. Therefore, you are advised to apply at your earliest convenience.

The Trust may contact you during the recruitment process for your feedback on your experience. We always aim for continuous improvement in our practice.

Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion

We actively cultivate a professional environment of fairness, equality, dignity, and respect for all individuals. We welcome individuals from all backgrounds and value the unique skills, perspective and experience you bring. We are grounded in the belief that diversity enhances our collective strength, fostering innovation and excellence within our workforce. We welcome all applications irrespective of people’s race, disability, gender, sexual orientation, religion/belief, age, gender identity, marriage and civil partnership, pregnancy/maternity and in particular those from under- represented groups.

As a Disability Confident Leader, we commit to offering an interview to all disabled applicants who meet the minimum criteria for the job (the essential criteria) listed in the personal specification. If you wish to apply under this Guaranteed Interview Scheme, please indicate this on the online application form.

If you are having difficulty completing an online application, or require any disability reasonable adjustments, to the application process, please contact [e-mail]

We also commit to offering an interview to all armed forces veterans who meet the minimum criteria for the job (the essential criteria) listed in the personal specification. If you wish to apply under this Guaranteed Interview Scheme, please indicate this on the online application form.

The Trust operates anonymous shortlisting where no personal information about you, including your name or personal details are shared with the recruiting manager. No equality information is shared at any time during the recruitment process with the recruiting manager or other people involved in the decision-making process.

The equality monitoring information you provide is used in the following situations: to review our recruitment practices; where a job is limited to a specific person to verify their eligibility to apply; and to offer disability reasonable adjustments to the recruitment process.
Certificate of Sponsorship

Following the recent update on UK immigration policy for those on a Health and Care Visa or Skilled Worker Visa, please click here to check your eligibility before applying for this post as we may be unable to provide sponsorship.

eVisa Update
For successful candidates on selected work and study visa routes, who have completed and paid for their applications will no longer receive a visa vignette in passport as evidence of their permission to enter the UK.
Instead, you will be issued with an eVisa only, which is accessed by creating a UKVI account.
Before travelling to the UK, we advise applicants to:

• Understand how to generate an eVisa share code

Disclosure and Barring Service Check

If this post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (Exceptions Order) 1975 it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service (formerly known as CRB) to check for any previous criminal convictions.

Please note if applicable, applicants will be required to pay for their DBS check. Costs are deducted from salary following appointment.

If you have not already done so, you are therefore encouraged to enrol for the DBS Update Service to which a small annual fee of £13 per year applies.

Flexible Working

We actively support flexible working patterns throughout MWL. Changes made to the NHS Terms and Conditions of Service Handbook mean that:

• All employees have the right to request flexible working from day one of employment.
• There is no limit on the number of requests they can make.
• Employees have the right to make requests, have them considered, regardless of the reason.

At Mersey and West Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust, we will consider requests for flexible working. We would also encourage you to also discuss flexible working options at interview stage.

Working for Team MWL

Staff recognition is especially important to us; as well as performance reviews and appraisals, we recognise staff through Employee of the month. Along with supporting you to achieve your career goals we offer a generous pension scheme, unsocial hours payments (where applicable), 27 days annual leave on commencement (pro rata) and access to a range of NHS discounts. Our Staff Health and Wellbeing programme offer a variety of services.

The Trust is a non-smoking across all our sites. Failure to follow this rule could lead to disciplinary action. For more information, see the Smoke Free NHS website.

You must ensure that your application, including personal statements and behaviour examples, are truthful and factually accurate. Please note plagiarism can include presenting the ideas and experience of others, or generated by artificial intelligence, as your own.

The Trust will not accept applications which are found to be AI generated and will check all applications against AI detection software.

Additional Information

Before applying, we encourage you to review the Trusts Values and Behaviours which are We are KIND, We are OPEN, We are INCLUSIVE, which can be found here.

An applicant guide to help and support you with your application and what to expect during your recruitment journey can be accessed in the supporting documents.

Good luck with your application. We hope to welcome you to Team MWL very soon.

Employer certification / accreditation badges

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.