Frailty AHP Practitioner

at  Frimley Health NHS Foundation Trust

This is an exciting role for an experienced Physiotherapist/ Occupational Therapist to work within the multidisciplinary frailty team. The Frailty Team is responsible for providing Comprehensive Geriatric Assessments and advice to older people attending the acute hospital trust with a frailty syndrome (e.g., falls, reduced mobility, altered cognition, new incontinence, and polypharmacy). You will work collaboratively with, and be supported by, the Frailty team leads, Consultant Geriatricians, GPs and a team of multidisciplinary frailty practitioners that includes nurses, medics, physiotherapists, and a pharmacist).
This post would suit a Physiotherapist/ Occupational Therapist with experience of elderly care, emergency medicine and/or a rehabilitation background, but we would welcome applications from a variety of clinical backgrounds. Training will be provided to ensure that you are able to complete all aspects of the frailty practitioner role under the guidance of a senior clinician. The team has a warm supportive atmosphere with plenty of in-house training opportunities and potential for career development within the team.
You will work within the Emergency Department assessing older patients who have experienced a frailty crisis leading to hospital admission. You will also work within the hospital providing advice or a Comprehensive Geriatric Assessment for older people with frailty not admitted to geriatric medicine wards.
The frailty service operates 7 days a week, currently 7am-5pm (but soon to expand to an 8-8 service model). The post holder will be required to work within these operating hours, including sharing weekend and bank holiday cover with the other members of the team.
Frimley Health NHS Foundation Trust provides NHS hospital services for around 900,000 people across Berkshire, Hampshire, Surrey and south Buckinghamshire.
As well as delivering excellent general hospital services to local people, we provide specialist heart attack, vascular, stroke, spinal, cystic fibrosis and plastic surgery services across a much wider area.
We have three main hospitals - Frimley Park in Frimley near Camberley, Heatherwood in Ascot and Wexham Park near Slough.
Our three core values , and the behaviours that support them, guide everything we do and set out what we expect of our staff in the way they treat patients, visitors, service users and each other, Committed to Excellence, Working Together and Facing the Future .
We are also proud to host the Defence Medical Group South East at Frimley Park with military surgical, medical and nursing personnel working alongside the hospital’s NHS staff providing care to patients in all specialties.
Clinical
To provide evidence-based holistic assessment and treatment planning for patients with frailty referred to the service, without direct supervision.
Use assessment tools/skills that will ensure an appropriate level of recovery intervention so that patients who present with highly complex needs are timely referred to the appropriate clinicians/teams
Complete complex risk assessments, both as an independent clinician and drawing on the wider MDT as appropriate
Complex manual handling including urgent prescription of specialist equipment to manage immediate risks to patients during a crisis situation
Profession-specific assessments, generalist assessments and, where appropriate and within scope of extended practice, cross-profession assessments to maintain patient safety during acute medical / social crisis
Refer to appropriate clinical services to ensure patient safety is maintained
Non-clinical
Promote and contribute to our open reflective learning culture by supporting and educating others within the multidisciplinary team, particularly those from different professional backgrounds.
Review effectiveness of clinical care provided ensuring that patient safety is maintained and care delivery meets the standards required by the Trust and the Care Quality Commission.
Monitor the quality of care planning, implementation and evaluation to ensure optimum quality is maintained.
Maintain and always follow the standards within the HCPC code of conduct to ensure safe and effective delivery of patient care.
To remain up to date and within guidelines for revalidation/re-registration as required by professional bodies at all times.
Recognises own limitations in the provision of clinical care and urgency of patient’s needs, referring to other healthcare professionals accordingly and is accountable for his/her own action

Please refer the Job description for details