Specialist Physiotherapist

at  Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust

We have a really exciting opportunity to develop your clinical skills in managing a complex caseload within a diverse and unique service whilst working within a supportive integrated therapy team.
We’re looking for a Specialist Physiotherapist who thrives on providing excellent care to patients when they really need it most. Our patients are often going through a difficult time and your compassion and empathy will help achieve the best outcomes for them.
Not only do we promise you a varied caseload, where there’s plenty of opportunities to learn and develop from your colleagues, but we are passionate about continuous development to ensure the best quality care and experience is provided to all our patients. We don’t shy away from trying new things, and with Frailty now nationally recognised as its own speciality due to the complexity & experience required in this field, along with the emphasis on admission avoidance/ reduced length of stay - we are all learning together too.
The team provides a 7 day service across both Royal Preston Hospital and Chorley District Hospital within the Acute Assessment units including ED, with further potential to expand and we are excited to offer this post.
The caseload is often complex and you will really need to draw upon your clinical reasoning and problem solving skills in order to support both care delivery and hospital flow.
You will be involved in the implementation of the service, supporting patients who do not require admittance, or further ongoing medical treatment to be discharged safely through holistic and timely assessment and intervention.
Where admission to hospital is required, you will ensure seamless continuity of care to patients who are on the frailty pathway, such as on the elderly medicine ward to assess, treat and start discharge planning to reduce deconditioning and length of stay. A number of patients are admitted due to respiratory illness and therefore respiratory competence or the willingness to work towards this is crucial.
You will be required to complete comprehensive and holistic assessments and interventions with patients, including the Comprehensive Geriatric assessment in order to best meet their needs and maintain patient flow. Being able to problem solve and think outside the box will enable you to support patients to be discharged in a timely and effective manner.
You will also need to understand appropriate discharge pathways and identify community partners who can support patients effectively following their discharge to reduce the occurrence of readmission. Due to the fast-paced nature of the service it is important for you to be proactive and easily adaptable, prioritising your caseload along with the changing demands of the day.
We have 10,000 fantastic people working hard to deliver quality services to our patients. Whatever your role, you help look after 370,000 people in our local area & give specialist care to 1.5 million people across Lancashire & Cumbria.
Working with us gives you the knowledge and sense of pride that every activity you do genuinely does make a difference to support our patients & staff, ensuring we keep thriving & delivering outstanding healthcare right across our local towns.
You’ll have access to varied development opportunities, learn new skills, meet fab people & do things you’d never have done. You’ll learn about working in a hospital, interacting with people from all different roles to build skills & enhance your career path.
You’ll make an impact, be challenged to think differently, be bold & help innovate to keep improving things. Everything we do centres around patient care which means your role is pivotal and something really to be proud of.
We know we are biased, but we really want to convey how fabulous this opportunity is, in which you will be fully supported by the existing therapy team, including the Clinical Lead Physiotherapist and Occupational Therapist.
You will be competent in physiotherapy assessment, intervention, treatment and discharge planning. As you’ll come across a variety of conditions and presentations you will need to be aware of risk assessment and how to find out what the potential risks might be.
We know that communication is a key foundation to success in anything we do. You’ll need to be able to adapt to different situations and levels of ability when communicating with all the people you come across.
The ability to organise and prioritise your own workload and you will need to be adaptable and flexible.
When you’re not treating patients, you’ll have the opportunity to attend in service training both within our team and as part of Core Therapies which is both integrated and profession specific. For example, respiratory on call training led by our Respiratory Specialist Physiotherapists.
The team will be providing a 7 day service between the hours of 8-6 therefore the successful applicant will be working within this shift pattern. This pattern allows for flexibility and options can be explored at interview. The team will cover both sites at RPH and Chorley.
As an organisation we believe in leadership at all levels and you will play an active role in mentoring our trainee therapy assistant practitioners, therapy assistants and students

Please refer the Job description for details