261949 (MG) Advanced Physiotherapy Practitioner

NHS Lothian; Livingston; On-site; GBP 43,000 - 52,000; Full time

Job summary

NHS Lothian is seeking an experienced Band 7 Advanced Physiotherapy Practitioner to lead the community respiratory pathway from St John's Hospital. You will provide advanced clinical decisions, specialist assessment, and rehabilitation for patients with complex respiratory needs, working with a multidisciplinary team to keep people well and at home where possible.

You will mentor physiotherapy staff, support education, and contribute to service improvements, with a focus on early intervention

Qualifications

• Registered physiotherapist with experience in respiratory and community care.
• Strong clinical reasoning and decision-making for complex cases.
• Ability to lead service development and mentor junior staff.

Responsibilities

• Lead and develop the community respiratory physiotherapy pathway.
• Provide specialist assessment, treatment, rehabilitation and advanced clinical decision-making.
• Collaborate with Pulmonary Rehabilitation Team, Hospital at Home, and community services to deliver integrated care.
• Promote Home First principles, early intervention and safe discharge planning.
• Support education, supervision and development of staff and students.

Skills

Physiotherapist

Rehabilitation

Clinical reasoning

Leadership

Education

Bachelor of Physiotherapy

Job description

NHS Scotland is committed to encouraging equality and diversity among our workforce and eliminating unlawful discrimination. The aim is for our workforce to be truly representative and for each employee to feel respected and able to give their best. To this end, NHS Scotland welcomes applications from all sections of society.

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An exciting opportunity has arisen for an experienced, motivated, and forward-thinking Physiotherapist to join our Community Respiratory Team based at St John's Hospital as a Band 7 Advanced Physiotherapy Practitioner (APP).

This role offers a unique opportunity to lead and develop the physiotherapy pathway for patients with respiratory conditions being managed within the community, supporting appropriate admission avoidance pathway and enabling patients to receive high-quality care closer to home. Working within a highly skilled multidisciplinary team, you will provide specialist assessment, treatment, rehabilitation, and advanced clinical decision-making for individuals with complex respiratory needs.

The successful candidate will work closely with key partners including the Pulmonary Rehabilitation Team, Hospital at Home (H@H), community services, and acute care colleagues to deliver seamless, integrated care pathways. You will play a pivotal role in promoting Home First principles, supporting early intervention, rehabilitation, recovery, and safe discharge planning, while maximising patient independence and quality of life.

As an Advanced Physiotherapy Practitioner, you will have the opportunity to influence service development and lead improvements in clinical practice. You will be instrumental in supporting the education, supervision, and development of physiotherapy staff, students, and the wider multidisciplinary team through mentorship, teaching, leadership, and the promotion of evidence-based practice.

We are a forward-thinking and high-performing Health and Social Care Partnership committed to excellence, innovation, and delivering safe, compassionate, person-centred care across West Lothian. Patient safety and experience are at the heart of everything we do, ensuring that people receive the right care, in the right place, from the right professional, at the right time to achieve the best possible outcomes.

This is an excellent opportunity for an ambitious clinician seeking to shape a developing service, drive innovation in community respiratory care, and make a meaningful difference to the lives of patients and their families.

Applications are welcomed from motivated clinicians with strong clinical reasoning, a passion for rehabilitation, and a commitment to service improvement and integrated working.

To work in the United Kingdom, there is a legal requirement for an individual to demonstrate that they have the relevant permission to work in the country. This permission is, without exception, granted by the UK Visa and Immigrations Service. Further information on what NHS Scotland Boards are required to do to check this as well as what your responsibilities include can be found in the further information for this vacancy.

We will fully support disabled candidates, and candidates with long-term conditions or who are neurodivergent by making reasonable adjustments to our recruitment policy and practices.

This post requires the post holder to have a PVG Scheme membership/record. If the post holder is not a current PVG member for the required regulatory group (i.e. child and/or adult) then an application will need to be made to Disclosure Scotland and deemed satisfactory before they can begin in post.