Clinical Specialist Physiotherapist

Job overview

Due to maternity leave, there is an exciting opportunity to join the paediatric outpatients orthopaedic service.  We are advertising a fixed-term post for a Band 8a physiotherapist with extensive experience in paediatric orthopaedics. This role is predominantly in outpatients and the post holder will work across physiotherapy-led paediatric orthopaedic triage, hip dysplasia clinics and Ponseti clinics and also work as part of the multidisciplinary team in the skeletal dysplasia service.

Applicants will have previous experience in all these areas as well as in supporting and training both postgraduate and undergraduate physiotherapists. They will have excellent communication skills and an ability to be flexible and work as part of an interdisciplinary team. There will also be leadership responsibilities across the outpatient paediatric physiotherapy team alongside other clinical specialists. There will be opportunities to further develop the services, including research and audit strategy for physiotherapy in this clinical area.

For further information please contact Tessa Burnett Clinical Lead Physiotherapist ([email protected]), Hazel Bartley ([email protected]) or call 02071884660.

Main duties of the job

• 1.     To work as part of the MDT in the skeletal dysplasia service providing specialist physiotherapy advice to patients, carers and to therapists both inside and outside the organisation 2.     To work with an extended scope of practice to provide a specialist assessment and treatment service for patients with paediatric musculoskeletal conditions. The service receives referrals from local GPs and works closely with Trust Orthopaedic and Radiology consultants. 3.     To work as part of the team providing treatment to children with congenital foot deformities including Ponseti serial casting. 4.     To jointly co-ordinate and be responsible for the baby hip clinic including requesting of investigations and conservative management of DDH. 5.     To provide specialist advice and education to the paediatric physiotherapy department at Evelina Children’s Hospital at Guy’s and St Thomas’.

Key Relationships

• Clinical Lead Paediatric Physiotherapist
• Paediatric Orthopaedic Surgeons
• Paediatric consultants in metabolic bone disorders
• MDT in metabolic bone disorders: OT, CNS, radiology, genetics
• Clinical Specialist Physiotherapists in orthopaedic service
• Paedaitricians
• Physiotherapists within the trust
• Nursing Staff in OP and wards
• Admin staff for orthopaedics
• Radiology staff

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

Duties and Responsibilities

Professional / Clinical responsibilities

• To be professionally and legally responsible and accountable for all aspects of the practitioner’s professional activities
• Performs an advanced musculoskeletal assessment of patients including those with highly complex presentations and from this formulates a diagnosis and treatment plan which is carried out as an autonomous practitioner.
• To interpret and analyse clinical and non-clinical facts, which may be conflicting to regularly provide specialist advice and second opinion to peers, medical colleagues and other health professionals. This includes the formulation of accurate prognoses, recommendation of best course of intervention, and development of comprehensive discharge plans.
• To request and use the results of specialist investigations (e,g x-rays, ultra-sound scans) to assist the formulation of diagnoses and plan patient management with support from the clinical lead physiotherapist and Consultants.
• To develop advanced theoretical and practical knowledge to refer on to other departments/medical colleagues within or outside the Trust as necessary based on investigation results and expert clinical assessment
• To demonstrate extended scope of practice (ESP)/ advanced practice and  competency in all aspects of the ESP role
• To provide written reports of clinical opinion to medical colleagues as required
• To advise patients, carers and education/schools on the appropriate time to return to sports and other activities
• To co-ordinate patient management which may include advising patients, carers, relatives, other health professionals and medical colleagues
• To provide specialist opinion which contributes to the development of clinical pathways in collaboration with other multidisciplinary team leads
• To manage clinical risk within own caseload at all times and ensure clinical risk is effectively managed across the designated department
• To be aware of the boundaries of own extended practice, and to manage the associated clinical risk effectively at all times
• To demonstrate the highly developed dexterity, co-ordination and palpatory sensory skills necessary for assessment and manual treatment of patients, including complex manual therapy techniques, therapeutic handling and use of specialised physiotherapy equipment

Management and Leadership

• To assist the clinical lead physiotherapist in developing the role of the clinical specialist proposing extension of practice beyond traditional scope as efficiency and effectiveness requires
• To be responsible for the management of clinical risk within the role of extended scope physiotherapy practitioner, implementing national and local guidelines for best practice and proposing changes to these guidelines to the clinical lead physiotherapist to maximise clinical effectiveness and implement any agreed changes
• To provide clinical teaching and staff development of peers, medical colleagues and other health professionals within this clinical area, across the trust and outside the organisation. This may be to large groups and may include GP’s and ESP nurses in wards and clinic areas
• To assist the management team in the recruitment of staff as a clinical specialist panel member

• To present service development/research regularly at local and occasionally national level

• To provide specialist clinical opinion, as required, in the development of clinical policy and service development within the physiotherapy department and extended scope clinics in paediatric orthopaedics including spines.
• To work with the management team to ensure the service responds locally to national initiatives (eg NICE, NSF)
• To contribute to cross boundary working and promote the role of the ESP across the organisation, district and nationally in line with the national quality agenda
• To provide specialist clinical opinion, as required, in the development of clinical policy and service development within the physiotherapy department and extended scope clinics in paediatric orthopaedics
• To take an active role in special interest groups relevant to area of paediatric metabolic conditions, musculo-skeletal physiotherapy and extended scope of practice. To assist the clinical lead physiotherapist in cascading information from them and incorporating their priorities into local practice as appropriate
• To maintain service links with external NHS, voluntary and speciality related organisations to ensure seamless inpatient, outpatient and community based care

• To assist the management team in the recruitment of staff as a clinical specialist panel member

• To formulate flexible strategies for clinical education and service development within area of physiotherapy expertise
• To work in collaboration with the clinical lead and management team and external agencies to identify research priorities and develop ongoing quality assurance programme within clinical area
• To use excellent prioritising and time management skills to meet the unpredictable and conflicting needs of the service

• To demonstrate an ability to communicate complex and sensitive information to patients, carers and other staff, where there may be barriers to communication or may include information about long-term / permanent disabilities or chronic pain. This must be done whilst ensuring confidentiality at all times.
• To clearly convey complex knowledge of techniques, biomechanics, anatomy and physiology to patients, carers and staff, where evidence underpinning practice may be conflicting and ensuring sensitivity to the audience’s level of understanding and prior knowledge
• To be able to motivate and persuade others (including staff and patients ) through advanced communication skills, with the benefit of verbal, non-verbal skills, using written and electronic information
• To facilitate patients’ attitudinal change towards their condition thus encouraging health/function promoting behaviour
• To articulate effectively the specialist physiotherapeutic perspective on a patient’s condition with medical colleagues and members of the multidisciplinary team, and negotiate when various patient management options are available.
• To diffuse potentially hostile and antagonistic situations with staff, patients and relatives, using highly developed negotiation and interpersonal skills
• To use a wide variety of adult learning techniques to optimise clinical development
• To represent the physiotherapy department within the Trust and to external agencies regularly, and on a district and national level occasionally
• To resolve written and verbal complaints and to be well versed with the Trusts’ formal complaints procedure within specialist area, in conjunction with clinical lead and physiotherapy management
• To assist the ESP team in promoting the role of the clinical specialist physiotherapist/ESP within the trust, across district and nationally.

• To flexibly manage responsibility for own complex clinical caseload, departmental and external teaching, service development and quality assurance

Information management

• To be responsible for maintenance of accurate written records using electronic health records and use of computerised diary and records and supervision of departmental record keeping; to include comprehensive progress and discharge reports to medical referrers and legal and disability reports

• To identify appropriate outcome measures and service impact measures which accurately evaluate patient response and service development needs
• To maintain accurate statistical information on specialist area using databases as necessary to inform management team and drive audit programme

Education & Professional Development.

• To present service development/research regularly at local and occasionally national level
• To maintain a CPD portfolio reflecting personal professional development and ensure members of the paediatric orthopaedic team have a comprehensive performance plan, in conjunction with the management team

• To use specialist knowledge of current evidence to drive the clinical audit and research programme paediatric orthopaedic physiotherapy and identify sources of funding for research where necessary
• To assist the clinical lead physiotherapist in identifying areas of research need and developing clinical guidance within paediatric metabolic and musculo-skeletal services which may have impact on clinical practice across the trust
• To disseminate the results of research/audit/expert practice at local district, national level
• To contribute to the research environment within the department and offer support and guidance to research teams, MSc projects and external agencies using Trust property and patients
• To provide specialist clinical opinion and participate in  areas of research as a member of the Therapies research group
• To use a wide range of adult learning techniques to optimise clinical development

The post holder is required to follow Trust policies and procedures. See full Job description