Senior Upper Limb / Hand Therapist

Job overview

University Hospitals Plymouth NHS Trust have an exciting opportunity for a highly skilled therapist to join the Hand Therapy team at UHP.

The post holder would fulfil a specialist clinical role with a specific focus in upper limb spasticity management, including pre and post-elective surgery and Botox therapy and splinting in both outpatient, inpatient and child development centre settings.

The aim of the role is to lead on and optimise pre and post elective surgery and Botox care for largely paediatric / adolescent patients, with spasticity patients under the care of the plastics service, while working alongside the hand therapy team with a plastic hand therapy trauma caseload.

This will include both paediatric / adolescent and adult inpatients and outpatients who have sustained tendon/nerve injury/repair, tendon transfer and tendon lengthening procedures.

This is a newly funded post with a focus on service development and monitoring including collection and analysis of data and outcome measures. This will be vital to ensuring the success of the post and the development of the service.

***Preference will be given to internal Trust staff, as well as ‘Priority’ and 'At Risk' status including NHS At Risk staff throughout Devon who are able to display recent relevant experience as dictated by the Person Specification.***

Main duties of the job

• Manage a complex caseload of patients with upper limb spasticity under the care of the orthoplastic service, as well as more general orthoplastic hand caseload in both inpatient and outpatient environments.
• Manage paediatric conservative and surgical trauma caseload.
• Independently assess and plan complex packages of therapy care for appropriate patients

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

• Perform clinical duties to an extremely high level including specialist pre and post-op assessment, treatment, dressings and splinting to an advanced level amongst other duties.
• Utilise advanced splinting skills to improve and maintain function.
• Have highly advanced analytical skills, clinical reasoning and use of specialist assessment tools, underpinned by theoretical knowledge and relevant practical experience. Use these skills to provide opinion and clinical rationale on treatment options that may conflict with the opinions of other senior clinicians.
• Utilise skills of specialist therapeutic handling within patient care.
• Assess the holistic needs of patients and ensure a comprehensive treatment plan that encompasses these.
• Integrate, promote and deliver evidence based treatment throughout the pathway of care for spasticity management in the orthoplastic service.
• Seek senior support for appropriate cases and escalate requirements as needed.
• Undertake evidence-based audit and research projects to further own and team’s clinical practice.  Make recommendations to clinical lead/manager of service for changes to practice by the team.  May lead the implementation of specific changes to practice or contribute to service protocols.

For further information please see attached job description