Physiotherapist (Respiratory)

Job description

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

To maintain own continuous professional development (CPD) and incorporate new trends and developments into practice. To be an active member of in-service training programmes. To attend and contribute as appropriate at staff meetings, tutorials, training sessions, courses, other CPD activities and to undertake reflective practice.

To maintain comprehensive and accurate assessment and treatment records in line with legal, professional, Trust and departmental policies and guidelines.

To train, supervise and performance manage other physiotherapists, technical instructors, assistants and students (this will include the use of formal appraisal documentation).

To provide leadership and peer support to physiotherapists and support workers within the paediatric physiotherapy team.

To demonstrate and apply a sound understanding of Clinical Governance and Risk Management, and encourage others to do likewise.

ORGANISATIONAL

To have an active role in the planning, development, coordination, delivery and evaluation of the critical care and respiratory medicine physiotherapy service.

To provide support to the clinical team leader in the daily operational management for the physiotherapy team.

To act as a mentor for physiotherapy colleagues, providing clinical and professional support on a regular basis.

To delegate to, supervise and monitor senior and staff grade physiotherapists, students and support workers.

To manage priorities for the Critical Care and Respiratory medicine physiotherapy team, balancing patient related and professional/managerial demands within available resources; ensuring that these remain service led.

To deputise for senior staff /Clinical Lead as required.

To ensure that physiotherapy equipment is suitable for the needs of the patient and facilities/environment are maintained in safe order.

To collect data and statistics for reporting purposes.

To carry out designated departmental/service responsibilities.

To be aware of Health and Safety legislation and to comply with policies relating to the work area, including risk assessment and the prompt recording and reporting of incidents and 'near misses'. To take necessary precautions to safeguard the welfare and safety of yourself and others.

To have an active role in developing, reviewing and updating departmental policies, procedures and guidelines relating to physiotherapy management of critical care patients.

To have an active role in the recruitment of new staff.

To comply with Trust and departmental policies, procedures and standards. To be involved in reviewing and updating departmental policies and procedures as required.

Effort

To carry out assessment and treatment using manual and therapeutic handling techniques which require moderate to high physical effort and intense concentration and vigilance for the vast majority of each working day.

To be interrupted frequently throughout the day to deal with bleeps, requests for assistance/advice from other staff, administrative enquiries and urgent referrals.

To comply with the trust manual handling policy at all times.

To deal sensitively with patients and carers who have a high level of anxiety or aggression due to, for example, pain, fear, dementia or failed expectations.

To be able to convey sympathetically unwelcome news regarding functional progress and diagnosis to patients and carers.

To travel between sites and patients' homes as required using own, hospital or public transport and to take responsibility for the safety of patients, therapists and assistants while on these visits.

Communication

To use a range of verbal and non-verbal communication tools to communicate effectively with patients and carers and to ensure understanding of condition. Patients/carers may require clarification of clinical decisions or investigations, potential outcomes and the implications for the patient/family. This may include highly sensitive/emotive information.

To use skills of persuasion, motivation, explanation, and empathy to encourage patients to undertake their treatment programme and optimise rehabilitation potential and/or quality of life. Barriers to effective communication may regularly be evident, e.g.: altered perception, age, dysphasia, pain, psychological/emotional status.

To use specific skills to communicate with patients who, for example, depend on sign languages, communication boards etc.

To communicate patient related information effectively, to facilitate co-ordinated services and ensure seamless collaborative working with the multidisciplinary team (MDT) and multi-agencies. This may include case conferences, handovers, ward rounds, discharge/transition planning, documentation in health records and medical reports. Patient related information might be complex, highly sensitive and contentious.

To contribute to and compile additional written reports which form the basis of legal documents for other agencies e.g. solicitors, education.

To provide spontaneous and planned advice, teaching and instruction to relatives, carers and other professionals to promote understanding of the aims of physiotherapy and to ensure a consistent approach to patient care.

To provide highly specialised advice in the physiotherapy management of adults in critical care and care of the elderly, to physiotherapy colleagues and other members of the MDT.

To use Information Technology for the purposes of:
• Communication within and outside the Trust
• Accessing clinical and professional information

To communicate effectively with colleagues at national centres of excellence to ensure continuity of 'shared' care.

Ensure all communication, which may be complex, contentious or sensitive, is undertaken in a responsive and inclusive manner, focusing on improvement and ways to move forward.

Ensure all communication is presented appropriately to the different recipients, according to levels of understanding, type of communication being imparted and possible barriers such as language, culture, understanding or physical or mental health conditions.

Please review the Job description for the full list of roles and responsibilities

Person specification

Qualifications

Essential criteria

• Degree
• Evidence of ongoing CPD/relevant post grad courses

Desirable criteria

• Post Grad Degree
• Member of specialist interest group

Experience

Essential criteria

• Evidence of postgraduate experience across core specialities in an acute hospital setting
• Evidence of experience at band 6 or equivalent in respiratory including Critical Care, medical and surgical settings
• On-going participation in respiratory on-call duties.
• Experience working as part of MDT
• Evidence of appraisal, supervision and teaching of band 6 staff, band 5 staff, assistants and students
• NHS experience as band 6 and above

Desirable criteria

• Co-ordination of in-service training and development of teaching programmes
• Involvement and experience in audit and service development
• Demonstration of experiences as a team leader

Management

Essential criteria

• Evidence of management and/or supervision of staff

Desirable criteria

• Management/leadership course

Important

• There may be some occasions when we have to close a vacancy earlier than the advertised closing date, this will be due to a high volume of applications. You are therefore advised to submit your application as early as possible to avoid disappointment.
• Please check your emails regularly (and your junk folder) as this is how we will communicate with you throughout the recruitment process.
• In submitting an application, you authorise the Trust to confirm any previous NHS service details via the Inter Authority Transfer (IAT) process, should you be appointed to the post.
• During the recruitment process your identity documentation (ie passport, driving licence, visa etc) will be scanned using a device which recognises UV, infrared and machine-readable zone security features of the documents provided.
• Employment at the Trust is offered subject to successful completion of a six month probationary period.
• Some roles may require weekend shift working across multiple sites
• We operate a joint recruitment hub across the North West London Acute Provider Collaborative Group. As part of this, your application and personal data may be shared with partner trusts within the group for recruitment and workforce purposes, in line with General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR)

Right to work

If you need sponsorship to work in the UK, please visit the Home Office website for information on sponsorship and visa status before you fill in your application form. Due to recent changes in the UK immigration rules which affect Skilled Worker Visas, Global Business Mobility, Higher Skill Level and Increased Salary Thresholds, please ensure that you are able to meet the requirements to live and work in the UK before applying. Further information about eligibility is available on