Paediatric Physiotherapist

Job overview

A  Band 6  position has become vacant within the Chelsea & Westminster Hospital Acute Paediatric Physiotherapy Team (Wards and outpatients).

The job involves cross site work between the Chelsea and the West Middlesex site (there is an internal shuttle bus)  and participation on the weekend and out of hours rota.

The Acute team has a High dependency ward on the Chelsea site as well as two further main wards which includes longer term surgical patients which often require significant developmental input as well as a more acute ward. This can have a variety of neurological, respiratory and orthopaedic conditions. There is also a day surgery unit for our orthopaedic patients.

The West Middlesex site has one main acute ward with an attached short stay unit. There is also a day surgery unit.

The outpatient services are on the Chelsea site only and there is a mixture of consultant and GP referrals. We also run clinics alongside our Orthopaedic and A&E colleagues.

The team works closely with our colleagues in the Neonatal team, Community Paediatric Physiotherapy  team and Physiotherapy Orthopaedic Practitioners as well as our medical and nursing colleagues.

Please do get in contact if you are interested in the role and have further questions regarding the position.

Main duties of the job

The post includes participation in the hospital’s respiratory on-call and weekend service for both adults and children.

To be professionally and legally responsible for all aspects of work, including the management of patients in your care.

To be able to carry and prioritise your own designated clinical caseload, working as an autonomous practitioner without direct supervision. To monitor caseloads of other staff when deputising for the Band 7 during short periods of leave.

During each rotation to take responsibility for certain patient conditions or clinical areas, as delegated by the Band 7, and to develop specialised assessment and treatment skills in these areas with support from the Band 7.

Provide sound evidence based clinical advice as required to staff and patients

To determine the patients understanding of the physiotherapy intervention in order to gain valid, informed consent and to be able to work within a legal framework with patients who lack capacity to consent to treatment.

To use a range of verbal and non-verbal communication tools when communicating with patients/carers to maximise the patient’s rehabilitation potential. This will include communication with people with complex communication difficulties such as dysphasia, deafness, dementia, mental health problems, those who have difficulty accepting their diagnosis and young children. To communicate with people who speak English as a second language through the use of an interpreter.

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

• The post holder will be a clearly identifiable senior clinical staff member.
• They will have significant clinical experience, provide sound clinical expertise to their team and more junior staff and coordinate and deliver high quality care.
• They will be a role model for expert clinical care, and lead on specific projects / service developments and management functions as delegated by the Band 7 therapist or Clinical Lead Therapist.
• They will role model the identified Trust values at all times.
• The post holder will work as an autonomous practitioner in providing physiotherapy assessment, treatment and management to their own designated caseload of patients and to maintain up to date physiotherapy records.
• They will evidence based principles and current best practise to assess, plan, implement and evaluate physiotherapy interventions.
• The post holder will provide supervision, teaching and support to more junior staff, therapy assistants and students on placement.