Therapies Assistant Practitioner, Prehabilitation

Job overview

We are seeking a Band 3 Therapy Assistant to join the Prehabilitation Team at Ashford and St Peter’s NHS Foundation Trust.

Our prehabilitation service delivers a patient-centred, needs-led programme within community settings across north-west surrey, supporting individuals to actively prepare—rather than passively wait—for their upcoming surgery or treatment. The programme focuses on engaging, educating, and empowering patients to become medically, physically, and psychologically fit for surgery. Sessions include structured, targeted exercise circuits as well as brief educational components delivered through our “bite-size surgery school.”

We are looking for an enthusiastic and motivated individual with experience as a physiotherapy assistant or in exercise delivery to support and weekly exercise classes. The successful candidate will demonstrate strong communication skills, the ability to work effectively as part of a team, and the confidence to motivate and encourage patients.

You will work under the guidance of experienced senior staff within the Physiotherapy Department and will receive regular supervision and development opportunities.

Please note that Sponsorship is not available for this role

Main duties of the job

Clinical Duties

• Deliver and support group exercise classes for prehabilitation cohorts across community gym sites.
• Complete one-to-one assessments with patients at the start and end of their programme, including basic functional measures and exercise readiness screening.
• Supervise patients throughout exercise sessions, ensuring safe and effective technique and adapting exercises where required.
• Monitor patient wellbeing, identify any concerns, and escalate appropriately to senior staff.

Non-Clinical Duties

• Maintain cleanliness and organisation of equipment and exercise areas in line with infection control procedures.
• Complete accurate and timely clinical documentation, including session notes, discharge summaries, and onward referrals.
• Support data collection for service audits, outcomes monitoring, and programme evaluation.
• Complete administrative tasks such as patient bookings, data entry, maintaining attendance records and communicating with patients.

You must have a valid UK driving licence and have access to a car for commuting between work sites as required. Please state this in your personal statement.

For further information, please contact Joe Spragg (lead physiotherapist for prehabilitation) joe.spragg1@nhs.net

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

The duties and responsibilities below are a summary of the post. For the full detailed list, please refer to the attached job description.

• Deliver and support structured group exercise classes for prehabilitation cohorts in community gym settings.
• Complete one-to-one assessments at the start and end of each programme, including functional measures and exercise readiness screening.
• Recognise and promptly report any changes in a patient’s presentation, wellbeing, or risk to senior staff.
• Advise patients on safe use of exercise and mobility equipment used within sessions.
• Supervise patients throughout classes to ensure safe technique, effective participation, and appropriate exercise progression.
• Support patients and carers with concerns or questions relating to exercise, activity levels, or preparation for surgery.
• Contribute to brief patient education (“bite-size surgery school”) and promote healthy lifestyle choices that support surgical readiness.

Communication & Teamworking

• Build rapport with patients and carers, using empathy, sensitivity and motivational communication to encourage engagement and confidence.
• Communicate clearly with individuals who have barriers to understanding, such as sensory impairments, low health literacy or anxiety.
• Participate in relevant team meetings, MDT discussions, and handovers as required.
• Maintain accurate, timely and legible clinical documentation in line with Trust and therapy service standards.
• Provide appropriate signposting to other services (e.g., gym referrals, smoking cessation, activity groups, weight management) when relevant.

Managerial & Organisational Duties

• Ensure equipment used in classes is clean, safe and well-maintained; arrange replacement or reporting of faulty items.
• Assist with scheduling patients, attendance monitoring, and general session organisation to ensure smooth cohort flow.

Administrative, Information & Reporting

• Part of this role will include administrative support, duties include but are not limited to: scheduling patient bookings, outcoming appointments, data entry for audit and service improvement.
• Complete high-quality session notes, discharge summaries, outcome measures and onward referrals.
• Collect and record data accurately, including patient outcomes and attendance, for audit and service evaluation.
• Maintain required departmental statistics and contribute to reporting as needed.

Education, Training & Professional Development

• Participate in regular supervision and the appraisal process as an appraisee.
• Complete mandatory training and service-specific competencies to support safe and effective practice.
• Contribute to training sessions for patients or staff where appropriate, under guidance of senior clinicians.

Quality Improvement & Service Development

• Contribute to audits, service evaluations, and quality improvement projects led by the prehabilitation or MDT teams.

General Responsibilities

• Work in accordance with Trust policies, including safeguarding, confidentiality, data protection and health & safety.
• Promote a safe working environment within community gym settings.
• Undertake any reasonable duties that fall within the scope and capabilities of a Band 3 Therapy Assistant role.

Applicant requirements

This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (Exceptions) Order 1975 (Amendment) (England and Wales) Order 2020 and it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service.