Specialist Physiotherapist

at  Whittington Health NHS Trust

Camden Learning Disabilities Service is a multidisciplinary team integrated with Adult Social Care Physiotherapists, Occupational Therapists, Speech and Language Therapists, Clinical Psychologists, Psychiatrists, Community Nurses and therapy assistants. The remit of the team is to provide person centred intervention for service users, which promotes independence, prevents unnecessary hospital admission, and reduces health inequalities. Intervention can take place in the service users own home or place of residence, or day services.
The successful applicant will provide specialist physiotherapy to Adults with Learning Disabilities in Camden. This includes completing assessments and creating treatment plans for a range of conditions as outlined in the Standards of Practice (ACPPLD). This role includes being the point of contact for physiotherapy at Alexandra College, our local college supporting young adults in education with learning disabilities.
Provide specialist physiotherapy for adults with a learning disability where access to generic physiotherapy treatment is not appropriate for them working to the Standards of Practice (ACPPLD).
To be the main point of contact for physiotherapy with within the Alexandra College, attending fortnightly meetings, liaising with AC staff and the rest of the physiotherapy team, ensuring that reports and annual reviews are completed on time.
To hold a clinical caseload for clients including some clients from Alexandra College who have may complex needs.
To manage cases transitioning both into the college and out of the college.
Use Physiotherapy skills to treat complex muscular-skeletal physical problems which often occur in combination with other cognitive and/or sensory disabilities.
Be an active member of the multi-disciplinary team and contribute appropriately to all service requirements and developments
Whittington Health serves a richly diverse population and works hard to ensure that all our services are fair and equally accessible to everyone. Nowhere is this more obvious than in the way we look after our staff. We aim to employ a workforce which is as representative as possible of this population, so we are open to the value of differences in age, disability, gender, marital status, pregnancy and maternity, race, sexual orientation, and religion or belief. The Trust believes that as a public sector organisation we have an obligation to have recruitment, training, promotion and other formal employment policies and procedures that are sensitive to these differences. We think that by doing so, we are better able to treat our patients as well as being a better place to work.
Camden Learning Disabilities Service is a multidisciplinary team integrated with Adult Social Care Physiotherapists, Occupational Therapists, Speech and Language Therapists, Clinical Psychologists, Psychiatrists, Community Nurses and therapy assistants. The remit of the team is to provide person centred intervention for service users, which promotes independence, prevents unnecessary hospital admission, and reduces health inequalities. Intervention can take place in the service users own home or place of residence, or day services.
The successful applicant will provide specialist physiotherapy to Adults with Learning Disabilities in Camden. This includes completing assessments and creating treatment plans for a range of conditions as outlined in the Standards of Practice (ACPPLD). This role includes being the point of contact for physiotherapy at Alexandra College, our local college supporting young adults in education with learning disabilities.

Clinical
Provide specialist physiotherapy for adults with a learning disability where access to generic physiotherapy treatment is not appropriate for them working to the Standards of Practice (ACPPLD).
To assess and treat clients in a variety of settings including; inpatient facilities, clients’ homes, residential homes, day centres, education facilities and leisure facilities including swimming pools.
To be the main point of contact for physiotherapy with within the Alexandra College, attending fortnightly meetings, liaising with AC staff and the rest of the physiotherapy team, ensuring that reports and annual reviews are completed on time.
To hold a clinical caseload for clients including some clients from Alexandra College who have may complex needs.
To manage cases transitioning both into the college and out of the college.
Use Physiotherapy skills to treat complex muscular-skeletal physical problems which often occur in combination with other cognitive and/or sensory disabilities.
Use respiratory Physiotherapy skills to assess and establish non-invasive chest management protocols for appropriate clients in conjunction with SLT and Nursing.
Improve mobility for people with physical disabilities through the assessment and provision of specialist equipment.
Work closely with other multi-disciplinary team members, carers and services to enable community inclusion and promote independence.
Be an active member of the multi-disciplinary team and contribute appropriately to all service requirements and developments
To ensure that the service user, and those who may be accessing on the service user’s behalf, have an understanding of treatment proposals and give informed consent to examination and treatment. This will necessitate the use of a range of communication approaches.
To be actively involved in the pathways within CLDS including the Falls Pathway and Complex Physical Health Needs Pathway.
To ensure that all documentation is accurate and meets the standards legally required by the CSP, Camden Council and the Whittington Health Trust.
To ensure that all actions are congruent with the principals and recommendations of ‘Valuing People (2001)’, ‘Valuing people now (2009), ‘Transforming care’ (2012), the Care Act 2014 and other key government led legislation relating to learning disabilities services.
To prioritise factors involved in a service user’s presenting condition through advanced clinical reasoning, based on specialist knowledge of current professional opinion, syndromes and prognoses, and other physical, social, and mental health issues.
To devise and manage a treatment plan, including setting goals individual to a service user’s physical problems.
To ensure that the safety of the service users, self and other staff, is paramount at all times.
To carry out risk assessment of safe access to health promoting activities such as swimming and rebound therapy, including educating support workers to support clients in these activities.
To be familiar with and promote a 24-hour approach to postural management and to recommend appropriate specialist seating or equipment such as sleep systems or standing frames.
To carry out basic wheelchair assessments and make appropriate referrals to the wheelchair service for specialist seating. This includes training in safe management, re-evaluation of prescription and adjustments to meet the changing needs of the client.
To contribute towards specialist assessments such as continuing healthcare and housing applications.
To deliver training sessions for staff at AC, providers and other services as required.
To modify the service user’s treatment plan as appropriate following ongoing rigorous re-assessment and evaluation of progress.
To provide a comprehensive discharge report listing issues/actions/outcomes to the service user, and with their permission to all relevant others.
To be responsible for the assessment of physiotherapy equipment such as walking aids and frames and any other rehabilitative equipment, client devices and other assistive devices used and to teach clients and carers and relevant team members in the safe and appropriate use of this equipment.
To support service users and their carers to attend specialist primary secondary and tertiary care health appointments as well as mainstream services and to advocate on their behalf.
To refer to other Physiotherapy and Clinical Services (e.g. specialist wheelchair, podiatry/orthotics, District Nursing, Continence services) within the trust and other local exercise settings e.g. Prescription for Exercise programmes.
Communication
To use an extensive range of verbal and non-verbal communication skills, including specialist Makaton signing and total communication strategies in a sensitive manner to promote effective communication with service users and their carers.
The use of multi-media formats (video, audio, photography) and associated IT skills to present material in accessible formats.
Professional
To be professional and legally accountable for all work undertaken.
To ensure that the provision of care is based on the current professional opinion, and to be responsible for the development and implementation of service guidelines and protocols pertaining to clinical issues.
To offer advice and support to mainstream physiotherapy services on managing clients with mild to moderate learning disability within their teams.
To actively participate in any relevant meetings and seminars
To supervise physiotherapy students on clinical placement
Management
To support the Band 8a and Band 7 Physiotherapists in the development of physiotherapy services for adults with learning disability.
To support the Band 3 Physiotherapy Technician in their role.
To assist in the prioritisation, management and monitoring of referrals, waiting lists and workload on a day to day basis.
To manage own diary and prioritise competing demands e.g. caseload, training, evaluation/audit/research, supervision, meetings, and service developments; with support from Senior staff as required.
To work across multiple office sites, including 5PS, Alexandra College and Greenwood Day Centre.
To ensure close lines of communication are developed and maintained with other clinical disciplines, management and other agencies involved in the care and support of service users.
To comply with all Camden Council and Whittington Health Trust policies and procedures and the Health and Safety at Work Act, and ensure that all staff are aware of these and do likewise.
Education
To participate actively in the in-service training and post-registration training programmes of the CLDS team, Physiotherapy service and other relevant professional networks.
To maintain and update a Continuing Professional Development Portfolio (CPD) in line with the requirements of HCPC.
To act as professional practice educator for physiotherapy students.
To participate in education programmes for client groups.
To develop a specialist knowledge base, specific to Learning Disability including assessment, clinical reasoning, outcome measures and management skills.
To comply with all mandatory training.
General
To perform such duties that may be considered necessary from time to time appropriate to grade.
To work at other sites within Camden as required