Advanced Specialist Physiotherapist - Paediatrics

at  Cambridgeshire Community Services NHS Trust

DO YOU:

Have a strong clinical background in Physiotherapy for Children and Young people?
Have leadership skills and are keen to offer clinical support to more junior staff and contribute to service development?
Want to work flexibly within a supportive, friendly, and innovative community multi-disciplinary team?
Want to work within a team that has links with Addenbrookes Hospital; a renowned teaching hospital and research centre in Cambridge?
If you’re answers are ‘Yes’, we could be the employer for you!
We have a vacancy for a dynamic Band 7 Paediatric Physiotherapist to work within an enthusiastic and well-established community paediatric physiotherapy team. This post is in the South Team based at The Peacock Centre in Cambridge and working 2 days at the Princess Of Wales Hospital in Ely. We work in close collaboration with the Paediatric Occupational Therapy team and run joint clinics with the Community Paediatricians.
The successful applicant will have a caseload of children with various neurodevelopmental conditions, who will be seen in the community, clinic and special school settings.
This post is 1.0 wte (37.5 hours) permanent
The salary will be pro-rata
Flexible working hours are negotiable with the core working day being a Tuesday
To ensure a high standard, cost-effective physiotherapy service to children and young people (CYP) living, or at school (mainstream and specialist) in a specified geographical area
To work with other team members to co-ordinate and develop the physiotherapy service
To provide assessment and highly specialist intervention to children referred for PT including information to parents, carers and other professionals
Following assessment, to design and develop evidence-based treatment plans and management programmes
To maintain continuous professional development and inform the Clinical Lead and Team Leads of the impact of research, policy etc. on local policies/procedures
To provide clinical supervision as delegated by the Clinical Lead and Team Lead
To manage own caseload in a range of settings including providing training to staff in these settings as required
To advise and provide clinical support to other PT’s and Therapy Assistants
To supervise and allocate work to designated assistants, PT students, volunteers and less experienced PT’s
Rated ‘Outstanding’ by the Care Quality Commission, we are proud to provide high quality innovative services across most of the east of England that enable people to receive care closer to home and live healthier lives.
There’s one reason why our services are outstanding – and that’s our amazing staff who, for the seventh year running, rated us incredibly highly in the national staff survey.
If you share our passion for innovative and high-quality care delivery, then please submit your application and join us on our exciting journey as a leading-edge specialist community provider. All are welcome to apply and our promise to you is a culture which prioritises staff engagement and development.
Main Duties and Responsibilities
To supervise and give training to more junior members of physiotherapy staff, provide clinical and management supervision and act as a source of specialist advice.
To provide highly specialised paediatric physiotherapy assessment and treatment for CYP living or at school (mainstream and specialist) in the specified geographical area.
To work effectively within multidisciplinary and multi-agency teams.
Where appropriate, to act as a key worker for CYP on their caseload, ensuring that there is good communication between all members of the team and that a coordinated programme is in place.
To supervise, educate and assess the performance of physiotherapy students; this would be to a graduate standard and involve working with universities to ensure the standard of practice and teaching meets the standards set down by the degree level qualification.
To work in a variety of settings such as mainstream schools, special schools, community settings and health bases (clinic-based work).
To plan their own diary and prioritise their caseload, working without direct supervision.
To work with the Physiotherapy Clinical Lead, Physiotherapy Team Leaders and other senior colleagues to coordinate physiotherapy delivery.
To undertake initial triaging assessments of CYP; setting expectations of therapy with families, prioritising need and giving initial recommendations.
To work collaboratively in multi-disciplinary clinics e.g. Complex physical needs clinics, joint paediatrician/physiotherapy clinics, plaster clinics, Tone Management/Botulinum Toxin clinic to support the needs of CYP and their families and agree joint goals/plans for intervention.
To undertake all aspects of clinical duties as an autonomous practitioner.
To incorporate evidence-based practice and NICE guidelines using clinical assessment, reasoning skills and knowledge of treatment modalities available, to provide effective and cost-efficient physiotherapy for CYP.
To delegate appropriate clinical work to therapy assistants, overseeing the safety and competence of delivery
To undertake evidence-based audit and research projects to further own and team’s clinical practice.
To undertake the measurement and evaluation of current practices through the use of evidence-based practice projects, audit and outcome measures, either individually or alongside Physiotherapy Team Leaders/Physiotherapy Clinical Lead. To work with colleagues to change the service protocol in line with results.
To provide clear, concise written reports for other agencies for statutory processes, e.g. Education, Health and Care Plan, Tribunal cases.
The post holder will be required to use a range of verbal and non-verbal communication tools to communicate effectively with CYP and their carers to progress rehabilitation and treatment programmes. This will include working with CYP who may have difficulties in understanding and/or communicating. To work with families and parents who are often in a grieving process, giving difficult information to families during this time.
To communicate effectively with CYP, families and other professionals to agree joint goals for therapy.
To employ advanced communication skills to investigate and manage concerns, incidents and complaints.
To manage clinical risk within own patient caseload.
To actively seek feedback from service users to help inform improvements and developments in services delivered.
To be responsible for the assessment and requesting of equipment such as postural sleep systems, walking aids and standing frames, for children on the postholders’ caseload, considering effective use of resources.
To give advice on provision and ordering of equipment to other members of the team.
To supervise band 6 physiotherapists, physiotherapy assistants and student physiotherapists in effective use of the record keeping system (SystmOne) according to professional body and the Cambridgeshire Community Services standards.
To be involved in recruitment for new staff into the paediatric physiotherapy team.
To provide support, guidance and training to therapy assistants and more junior physiotherapy staff assessing and evaluating competence.
To be responsible for maintaining own competency to practice through CPD activities and maintain a portfolio which reflects personal development.
To be responsible for teaching student physiotherapists to graduate level on paediatric physiotherapeutic skills and knowledge within core clinical areas.
To teach, assess and contribute to the performance assessment and appraisal of physiotherapy assistant staff, and also to teach assistants employed by education.
To maintain and develop current knowledge of evidenced-based practice in paediatric physiotherapy developing specialist knowledge of particular conditions and patient types.
To participate in the staff appraisal scheme as an appraiser and appraisee and be responsible for complying with agreed personal development programmes to meet set knowledge and competencies.
To be an active member of the in-service training programme by attendance at, and participation in, in-service training programmes, tutorials, individual training sessions, external courses and peer review.
Observe and maintain strict confidentiality with regards to any CYP/family/staff/records and information in line with the requirements of the Data Protection Act.
To be responsible for maintaining accurate and comprehensive patient treatment records in line with Chartered Society of Physiotherapy (CSP) standards of practice and Cambridgeshire Community Services guidelines.
To comply with departmental and organisational policies and procedures and will be involved in the reviewing and updating of departmental policies. To monitor their own and peer quality of treatment, and review accordingly.
It is a condition of the post holder’s employment that they are currently registered with the Health Professions Council, and it is their responsibility to maintain their professional registration.
To undertake mandatory training and any other training relevant to the role as required by Cambridgeshire Community Services NHS Trust (CCS).
Participate in clinical supervision on a regular basis, as a supervisor and supervisee.
To be professionally and legally accountable for all aspects of their own work, including the management of CYP in their care.
To be responsible for the safe and competent use of all equipment, patient appliances and aids and ensure that junior staff/assistants attain competency prior to use.
To be responsible for carrying out policies and procedures in accordance with best practice guidance, laid down by the Department of Health, the Association of Paediatric Chartered Physiotherapists and local departmental guidelines.
To have a responsibility to work within the policies and procedures relating to safeguarding children agreed by the CCG and the Cambridge Area Child Protection Committee.
To report all incidents and near misses, in accordance with trust guidelines.
To understand all pieces of equipment supplied to CYP and their families and ensure that they are safe.
To be responsible for inputting patient data onto SystmOne, on a daily basis.
This is a county wide service, and the post holder will be expected to work flexibly and may be required to cover for others within the county to support service need.
Keyboard skills required with a good working knowledge of Microsoft Word, Excel, et

Please refer the Job description for details