Specialist Acute Rotational Physiotherapist

Job overview

• To perform advanced physiotherapeutic assessment of patients with diverse presentations and complex physical conditions, to provide a diagnosis and develop and deliver an individualised treatment programme.
• To hold responsibility for own caseload and be responsible for a defined area of the service or a particular patient type, working without direct supervision.  Supervision takes the form of regular formal training and clinical reasoning sessions, peer review, case conferences and reflective practice. Access to advice and support from a senior physiotherapist is available as required.
• To undertake all aspects of clinical duties as an autonomous practitioner.
• To supervise, educate and assess the performance of physiotherapy students as appropriate. This would be to a graduate standard and involve working with universities to ensure the standard practice and teaching meets the standards set by the degree level qualification.

Main duties of the job

The rotations are:

Medical/surgical: here you will gain specialist experience in respiratory management of a wide variety of patients, developing skills in ITU and critical care and you may have opportunity to treat paediatrics and respiratory out-patients.

Orthopaedics: Here you will assess and treat many orthopaedic conditions including patients who have been repatriated from the major trauma centre. You will also gain familiarity with a wide range of specialist orthotic equipment. There may also be opportunities to treat paediatric orthopaedics and manage patients on our discharge ready ward.

Acute Medical Unit: Here you will develop your assessment and decision-making skills in our short stay admission unit and gain experience in cardiology and exposure to front door services.

Frailty team: Where you will gain experience working in our frailty unit and rapid access clinics, developing close links with the rapid response, falls team and other community services.

The Stroke unit: You will work alongside our specialist neuro team to assess and rehabilitate patients transferred from the local HSAU and develop specialist neuro knowledge and handling skills. We work closely with the ESD team and rehabilitation unit.

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

• The rotation includes:

• Acute Older Adults team
• Acute Older Adults team

• To undertake evidence-based audit projects to develop and enhance personal and team’s clinical practice within each rotation.  Make suggestions to clinical lead/manager of service for changes to practice by the team.  Will assist in the implementation of specific changes to practice or contribute to service protocols.
• Medicine and surgery*:   ITU, critical care, medical wards, Respiratory Outpatients and Paediatric respiratory care
• Orthopaedics, and discharge ready ward
• Frailty team
• The Stroke Unit
• Acute Medical Unit

*This rotation may have a requirement for flexible working to provide respiratory care until 6pm on a rostered basis

• There may be a requirement in the future for a working pattern 5 days out of 7, on a rostered basis which will include some weekend working

PRINCIPAL DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

Clinical

• To be professionally and legally accountable for all aspects of your own clinical practice,

• To undertake a comprehensive assessment of patients including those with diverse or complex presentations/multi pathologies; use advanced clinical reasoning skills and physical assessment techniques to provide an accurate diagnosis.

• To formulate and deliver an individual physiotherapy treatment programme based on a sound knowledge of evidence-based practice and treatment options using clinical assessment, reasoning skills and knowledge of treatment skills.

• To take delegated responsibility from the other senior physiotherapists for managing patients with particular conditions and be responsible for providing specialist physiotherapy assessment and treatment plans for patients with these conditions within each rotation.

• To formulate soundly reasoned physiotherapy prognoses and recommend best course of intervention, developing negotiated goals leading to comprehensive discharge plans.  Where appropriate develop these goals with the multidisciplinary team.

• Assess patient understanding of treatment proposals, gain valid informed consent and have the capacity to work within a legal framework with patients who lack capacity to consent to treatment.

• Evaluate patient progress, reassess and alter treatment programmes if required.

• To assess and manage clinical risk within own patient caseload.

• When working on the emergency duty on-call rota, provide advice to medical and nursing staff and other members of the multi-disciplinary team regarding patients respiratory and chest functions/condition.

• To actively participate in the out of hours evening and weekend          emergency on-call rota having been assessed as competent.  On these occasions being the only member of the physiotherapy team on duty, although advice can be accessed by telephone
• When working on the emergency duty rota, undertake the assessment treatment of acutely ill patients with respiratory problems, who may have a complex presentation and maintain associated records as an autonomous practitioner.