Band 7 Highly Specialist Physiotherapist/Occupational Therapist

at  Birmingham Community Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust

The Regional Posture and Mobility Service (RPMS) is a tertiary/specialist service provided to Service users with complex posture and/or mobility needs .The Service works in collaboration with Local Wheelchair Services to support the mobility needs of patients with a wide range of presentations including rapidly deteriorating conditions, congenital, progressive, intermittent and stable conditions .
The post holder will assess, prescribe and evaluate a variety of Wheelchair equipment for patients referred to the service. The post holder will have special responsibility for specified service developments with the Team They will work with other therapists and rehabilitation engineers in an integrated rehabilitation setting.
They will also participate in a number of service development activities such as audit, research and education and training.
Ability to travel independently to various locations across the West Midlands Region - Essential.
The Regional Posture and Mobility Service is one of the services in West Midlands Rehabilitation Centre We work across the West Midlands Region , within a range of community, educational and home settings, thus requiring successful applicants to demonstrate a high level of flexibility.
We value our staff and advocate career progression internally. We encourage our AHPs to contribute to service development, and we welcome and value new ideas and experiences.
We offer a supportive working environment with access to specialist clinical support, and an emphasis on sharing good practice through effective team working.
BCHC has more than 5000 staff working across Birmingham and the West Midlands. We deliver a wide range of services for children, young people and families as well as adults and community services, two community hospitals, services for people with learning disabilities, the internationally recognised West Midlands Rehab Centre and one of Europe’s leading Dental Hospitals and School of Dentistry. We deliver all of this with a commitment to integrated, personalised care that is rooted in our local communities. We have an ambition to deliver outstanding, integrated care as one of the key NHS providers in the West Midlands.

If you want to ‘Be Part of Our Team’ and work with a Foundation Trust which is continuously striving for best care and healthy communities, we want to hear from you

• Delivers specialist assessments of the clients individual requirements and provides prescriptions and recommendations for appropriate wheelchair and accessories
• Undertakes assessments which take into account a clients physical, functional, cognitive/perceptual, behavioural, psychological/emotional and social needs.
• Assesses clients within the Regional Rehabilitation Centre and a range of community settings, such as schools, clients’ homes and nursing homes, hospitals and day centres.
• Facilitates clients in being able to verbalise / communicate their own goals at the start of the assessment, in order that the assessment is holistic and remains client centred at all times.
• Understands and applies the wide variety of diagnoses and complex medical conditions and how this is related to the clients’ specific wheelchair needs.
• Displays knowledge and understanding of medication and basic surgical interventions with regards to spasticity management, prevention of postural deformities and function.
• Takes the clinical lead within the team on specific areas of client treatment/care, such as children’s provision , pressure area management, functional ability and environmental aspects of a clients daily life.
• Communicates with, and supports other inter-disciplinary team colleagues (including Medical Consultants and Clinical / Rehabilitation Engineers) to ensure optimum care and treatment of the client.
• Communicates effectively and appropriately with clients and carers who may have differing communication needs and understanding, either through different cultures / languages or a variety of verbal / non-verbal, alternative and augmentative methods of communication.
• Understands a wide range of assistive technology equipment solutions and their application for clients, ensuring this knowledge is kept up to date.
• Ensures knowledge is up to date regarding rehabilitation approaches, methods of assessment and postural management philosophies.
• Demonstrates clear understanding of treatment concepts such as Normal Movement and Child Development in order to optimise function and reduce deformity through postural management techniques.
• Problem solves and clinically reasons, both independently and within the team, specific and complex issues that each client presents during an assessment appointment, and establishes clear treatment actions and future plans.
• Works within an interdisciplinary team to provide Special Controls assessments to facilitate a client’s ability to drive a powered wheelchair and achieve an increased level of independence.
• Interprets and analyses both clinical and non-clinical details, regarding acute, chronic and rapidly deteriorating conditions in order to make recommendations.
• Prescribes specialist mobility and pressure care equipment on a daily basis for clients who have complex postural and medical diagnoses.
• Identifies appropriate times for client review appointments, in order to evaluate equipment and whether client, carer/family and team agreed goals have been met and formulating an action plan if goals have not been achieved.
• Trains clients and carers in the use of specialist wheelchair equipment and other appropriate therapeutic equipment and treatment approaches, whilst remaining aware of risk assessment and health and safety issues.
• Maintain an understanding / knowledge of the Medical Devices directive (eg. to include planned preventative maintenance) and clinical governance issues, (eg. to include user focus, education and training, development and audit) ensuring best practices are promoted and developed.
• Keeps up to date with regional, local and community service issues in order to refer the client appropriately onto alternative services.
• Practices as an autonomous therapist on a daily basis, without direct support / supervision from therapist colleagues, prioritising workload as required.
• Participates in reflective practice and peer review sessions. Ensures that clinical practice is evidence based at all times.
• Practices with an awareness of associated physical effort, such as manual handling and positioning of client during assessment together with regular handling of Posture and Mobility equipment.
• Practices with an awareness of associated mental effort, such being involved in long complex assessments, writing reports and being involved in lengthy meetings.
• Practices with an awareness of associated emotional effort, such as working with clients who are experiencing a loss of role and functional ability or a quickly deteriorating condition.

Please refer the Job description for details