Physiotherapist- Acute Medical Unit, Band 6
Join us at an exciting time for Gloucestershire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust! We have an ambitious plan for our journey to Outstanding and are looking for aspirational, committed individuals to join us, making a real difference to both staff and patients.
As a former winner of England for excellence award: Tourism destination of the year, the beautiful city of Gloucester and the scenic regency spa town of Cheltenham are fantastic places to work and live.
As a hospital Trust we are currently involved in over 100 clinical trials and studies, whilst also providing acute elective and specialist services to a population of over 620,000.
By joining Gloucestershire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust new colleagues can look forward to a warm welcome and a future full of opportunities and support.
Job overview
Physiotherapist- Acute Medical Unit, Band 6 (22.5 hours a week)
We are looking for an experienced, dynamic Physiotherapist with highly developed specialist assessment skills as part of an integrated therapy team on the Acute Medical Unit at GRH.
The post will require leadership skills to support and manage the therapy team working alongside the Band 7 clinical lead/clinical specialist OT/PT and rotational Band 5 (OT/PT) and TSW staff. The caseload is variable and fast paced and will require strong organizational and prioritization skills to provide therapy assessments in a fast-paced environment.The therapy team is part of a strong multi-disciplinary team at the “front door” which can be both challenging and rewarding.
The post requires exceptional communication, advanced clinical skills and confidence in training, supporting and developing other staff. The ability to use own initiative and work well as part of a close-knit interdisciplinary team is essential.
Main duties of the job
To deliver therapeutic interventions, acting as a senior clinician using the principles of Physiotherapy in an integrated and client-centred way, supported by the Therapy Competency Framework. To assume responsibility for personal development and supporting the development and supervision of others by CPD linked to appraisal.
To support evaluation and service development in the clinical area in line with national and local drivers.
To communicate effectively with patients and carers to provide patient centred care, encourage self-management and maximise rehabilitation potential.
To support leadership and work within the Acute Medical Unit Therapy Team providing an effective and evidence-based service through assessing, planning and implementing treatment programmes.
The post holder assumes responsibility for the day-to-day management of the clinical area, in the absence of the Clinical Lead.
The post holder is supervised by a named therapist, who may not be present at all times. Clinical and professional supervision is in the form of regular clinical reasoning sessions, observed practice, peer review and formal training. The post holder will link with the Band 7 Clinical Lead therapist to support the use of resources within budget.The level of managerial responsibility involves the supervision and appraisal of junior therapists, support workers and undergraduates.
Working for our organisation
Gloucestershire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust is the largest employer in the county and with over 9,000 staff, we are one of the largest NHS trusts in the UK. We offer a generous annual leave allowance, excellent bank rates and access to the excellent NHS Pension Scheme.
The Therapy service provides Physiotherapy and Occupational Therapy to inpatients and outpatients at Gloucestershire Royal and Cheltenham General Hospitals.
We are an integrated therapy service providing patient centred care. Working closely with other allied health and nursing professionals our mission is to ‘enable people to maximise their potential to live well’.The Therapy service also has a dedicated R&D team who strive to encourage staff to build upon their research, leadership and career development skills, embracing the four pillars of practice. They offer support with research projects, participating in research trials and offer opportunities to become principal investigators.
They facilitate a therapy preceptorship program for new therapy graduates to support the transition from student to qualified professional and are principally involved in facilitating peer supervision sessions for other staff groups and action learning sessions for students.
They are available to provide advice and support to all therapy staff throughout their career journey.
Detailed job description and main responsibilities
Improving quality and developing practice
To work as a senior practitioner in the clinical area utilising theoretical knowledge, clinical experience and clinical reasoning skills and techniques to assess, diagnose, plan and offer a range of treatment options; deliver, evaluate and amend the treatment plan.This will include patients with diverse or complex presentations/multi-pathologies in individual or group therapy sessions. Working as an autonomous practitioner with access to guidance from the clinical lead therapist when necessary, including working as a lone practitioner in the community.
To maintain clear, accurate and concise patient records in line with departmental and professional standards and include relevant outcome measures. This will include writing patient reports for e.g. medical practitioners and solicitor’s requests.
To support audit and research projects, to further own and team’s clinical practice. To be involved in making recommendations for changes to practice and procedures for the relevant clinical area, and the implementation of these changes.
To contribute to the Clinical Governance and Quality agenda by active participation in service initiatives, health and safety and risk management.
To participate in the out of hours service at Gloucestershire Royal Hospital and/or Cheltenham General Hospital after appropriate induction and training as required. (When performing on call duties, staff must be available on the ward within 45 minutes of the call.For staff living more than 45 minutes from the hospital, a designated on-call room for overnight stay is available in GRH and is free of charge. This room can be used by staff at both sites.)
To comply with Trust and Departmental policies and procedures e.g. Health and Safety at Work Act (1974), Manual Handling, clinical equipment competency, risk management, Data Protection Acts and patient confidentiality at all times. This will include demonstrating compliance with the terms of all safeguarding policies and processes relevant to the safeguarding of adults and children in the care of GHNHSFT and to undergo regular mandatory training concerned with safeguarding matters.
Leadership and management- To be responsible for the organisation of own caseload and appropriately delegate to junior therapists and support workers. To ensure the team is effective in the day to day running of the clinical area.
- To communicate with the multi disciplinary team (MDT) to aid effective patient care, which will include taking an active role in team meetings, joint treatment sessions, case conferences and specialist interest group meetings. Either working alone or as part of the multi-disciplinary team, to make recommendations for appropriate and timely discharge/transfer from hospital
- To consolidate and learn new skills and competencies to provide holistic care using the Therapy Competency Framework. To develop clinical reasoning and treatment techniques through the active participation in training and development. To consolidate knowledge and skills learned through this process with the direction of senior staff, and deliver research based presentations as part of in-service training. This will involve facilitating own learning opportunities, reflecting on practice and learning through this process
- To participate in the supervision, caseload monitoring and clinical education of junior therapists, support workers and undergraduate students. Providing support, guidance, training, and assessing and evaluating competence, in order to fulfil clinical governance requirements and retain a skilled workforce. To participate in the undergraduate education process, as a clinical educator for undergraduates from the University of the Gloucestershire or other universities. This involves the assessment of student’s competency to practice and contributes to their BSc honours award in the defined profession.
Most Challenging Part of the Job:
Dealing with an unpredictable workload and ensuring priorities are met especially during times of staff shortages
Balancing the day to day clinical work with the non-clinical responsibilities of the post.
Managing stressful, upsetting or emotional situations in an empathetic manner including managing own stress and developing resilience
Taking responsibility for the supervision and appraisal of undergraduates, support workers and less experienced staff
Working within a changing national and local context and adapting to meet these demands
Physical Effort and Working Conditions:
Frequent daily manual handling of patients both with and without equipment; with a range of weights and disabilities
Frequent daily manual handling of equipment; range of weights, sizes & shapes, and over varying distances
Frequently working in awkward positions involving bending, kneeling, reaching, crawling as a part of patient treatment
Often working in confined/cramped spaces eg. space around beds on wards, or in patients own homes
Frequent exposure to contagious conditions and bodily fluids
Occasionally experiencing distress when treating terminally ill patients or patients with chronic degenerative diseases
Occasional management of patients who may become aggressive.
Frequently working under pressure with heavy caseloads and time/staffing level constraints
Frequent repeated concentration for sustained periods e.g. assessment, analysis and problem solving etc
Frequent use of VDU equipment
Constant interruption from other members of staff, medical professionals, including carrying a bleep, or mobile phone
This job description may be amended by management through consultation with the postholder in order to reflect changes in, or to, the job.
Person specification
Qualifications, Knowledge and Experience
Essential criteria- Registered with the Health & Care Professions Council
- Degree/diploma in Physiotherapy
- Experience of working in the NHS in the UK
- Experience of supervising, appraising, and providing education/training to others
- Deliver a high level of skill in assessment and management of complex patients.
- Demonstrate the ability to network with other professionals and set up close working relations
- Work and maintain judgement under pressure whilst effectively managing own and others’ time.
- Work flexibly in response to the changing demands of the service and manage changes in service delivery in self and others.
- Knowledge of and ability to apply and utilise evidence based practice, including National guidelines to deliver, evaluate and audit the service.
- Have an understanding of the principles of physiotherapy as well as occupational therapy in order to contribute to the development of an integrated therapy service.
The health and wellbeing of our staff and patients remains the priority of the Trust. Vaccination remains the best chance we have of conquering COVID and the Trust encourages everyone to take up this offer.
Please note, this vacancy may close as soon as sufficient applications have been received, so please apply as soon as possible if you are interested. The Recruitment Team are unable to accept any applications after the position has closed on NHS Jobs.
Committed to safeguarding our community
If applicable for the post, all successful candidates will be required to pay for their own Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check. The cost will be £29 (standard checks) or £46 (enhanced checks), and will be recovered through two instalments from the candidate's salary.Please contact [email protected] for further information.
The Trust is a safeguarding employer committed to the safeguarding and promotion of welfare of children, young people and vulnerable adults and expects staff and volunteers to share this commitment. The Trust is committed to safe recruitment practices to protect children and vulnerable adults, and any appointment will be subject to satisfactory clearance.As part of the organisation's commitment to Safer Recruitment, candidates may request copies of relevant policies and procedures by contacting the Recruitment Team at [email protected]
Committed to supporting service personnel
As part of our commitment to support Service Personnel, Gloucestershire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, in collaboration with the Career Transition Partnership, offer a Guaranteed Interview Scheme for all qualifying Service and Ex-Service Personnel.To qualify for a guaranteed interview, candidates must meet the essential criteria for the post and be either a current member of the Armed Forces, or be within the two year period of resettlement. If this applies to you please email the job reference number and your AR number to the Recruitment Team at [email protected]
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