Acute Medicine Physiotherapy Associate Practitioner

Frimley Health NHS Foundation Trust; Slough; On-site; GBP 26,000 - 34,000; Full time

Job summary

Frimley Health NHS Foundation Trust is seeking a motivated Associate Practitioner to join the Physiotherapy team in the Emergency Department and Acute Medical Units. This patient-facing role supports assessment, treatment and early rehabilitation for acute medical conditions while aiding patient flow and timely discharge from the acute trust.

You will work across an independent caseload and with physiotherapists, educating patients and families on self-management and safety.

Qualifications

• GCSE or equivalent qualification in English and Mathematics.
• Experience as band 3 physiotherapy assistant within the NHS.
• Experience in an acute setting working on medical wards.
• Leading and delivering exercise programmes in a hospital setting.
• Working within a team.

Responsibilities

• Implement standards and policies relevant to the speciality with minimal supervision.
• Manage a clinical caseload following guidelines and document in notes.
• Motivate patients to exercise and address barriers to compliance.
• Deliver exercise programmes and report concerns to supervising physiotherapist.
• Adhere to Trust policies and procedures and ensure safe practice.
• Undertake weekend and extended day working as needed.

Skills

Interpersonal skills

Organisational skills

IT skills

Critical appraisal

Education

GCSE English & Maths

Job description

Job Overview

We are looking for a motivated and compassionate Associate Practitioner to join our Physiotherapy team, working within the Emergency Department and Acute Medical Units. This is a patient‑facing role supporting assessment, treatment and early rehabilitation for people presenting with acute medical conditions. The post holder will work closely with the multidisciplinary team to support patient flow, admission avoidance where appropriate, and timely discharge from the acute trust.

Job Overview

We are looking for a motivated and compassionate Associate Practitioner to join our Physiotherapy team, working within the Emergency Department and Acute Medical Units. This is a patient‑facing role supporting assessment, treatment and early rehabilitation for people presenting with acute medical conditions. The post holder will work closely with the multidisciplinary team to support patient flow, admission avoidance where appropriate, and timely discharge from the acute trust.

The successful post holder will support the physiotherapy team to deliver safe, effective and timely care within fast‑paced acute settings.

You will work across an independent caseload as well as alongside physiotherapists. You will regularly work with patients who may be medically unstable, require close monitoring, or are being rapidly assessed for admission or discharge.

You will play a key role in educating patients and their families on self‑management strategies, safety awareness and onward rehabilitation needs, supporting effective transitions of care from ED and AMU settings.

As a department, we will provide a kind, supportive and knowledgeable team to aid your professional development through regular supervision and in‑service training. You will also be encouraged to contribute to service development initiatives and quality improvement work, alongside participating in educational opportunities with patients, colleagues and the wider multidisciplinary team.

Main duties of the job

• Be responsible, unsupervised, for implementing the standards and policies relevant to the speciality.
• Within specific guidelines and following training to be solely responsible and accountable for a clinical case load working within codes of practice and professional guidelines. This includes patient documentation in both professional and medical notes.
• Motivating patients to exercise and address barriers to compliance
• To be responsible for performing given tasks and reporting any concerns to the Band 7 Physiotherapist or appropriate member
• To be aware of and adhere to Trust and local policies and procedures.
• To provide programmes (exercise prescription) of activity
• To be aware of safe practise and the need for onward referral, particularly when carrying out exercise testing and exercise programmes.
• To demonstrate a physical ability to carry out physiotherapy interventions and therapeutic handling without direct supervision. There is a frequent requirement to exert moderate physical effort for several short periods during the day.
• To be responsible for the safe use of physiotherapy equipment, adhering to the Trust medical device policy. This includes competency and accuracy to use equipment by you, other healthcare professionals, carers and patients.
• To undertake weekend working and may include 7 day working patterns and extended days dependent on service need.

Working for our organisation

Frimley Health NHS Foundation Trust is committed to being an inclusive and disability confident employer and has been awarded the Gold for the Armed Forces Employment Recognition Scheme. We provide first class development opportunities for all staff and have a wide range of professional, management and leadership, and clinical skills training available.

Here at Frimley Health NHS Foundation Trust, we know how important it is to have a healthy work life balance; this benefits not only individuals but the patients we care for too.

We encourage applications from people who wish to work on a flexible basis, recognising that flexibility may mean a range of different working patterns and hours, we do our utmost to work with our staff to meet their needs and the needs of our service and its users.

Frimley Health Trust benefits on Vimeo

Detailed Job Description And Main Responsibilities

For further information regarding the detailed job description and main responsibilities, please refer to the attached job description and person specification documents.

Person specification

Qualifications

Essential criteria

• GCSE or equivalent qualification in English and Mathematics.

Desirable criteria

• CSP associate member.

Experience

Essential criteria

• Experience as band 3 physiotherapy assistant within the NHS.
• Experience in an acute setting working on medical wards.
• Leading and delivering exercise programmes in a hospital setting.
• Working within a team.

Desirable criteria

• Experience in an acute setting working with neuro patients.
• Undertaking exercise prescription for people with long term conditions.
• Evaluating outcomes of exercises.

Skills & Knowledge

Essential criteria

• Interpersonal skills to include concise and effective verbal and written communication.
• Organisational skills, ability to prioritise and manage day.
• IT skills.
• Ability to critically appraise own performance.

Desirable criteria

• Negotiation skills, able to overcome barriers to exercise.

Frimley Health NHS Foundation Trust (FHFT) is proud of its strong reputation, record of achievement and ambition for the future. We serve a population of over 900,000 people across Berkshire, Hampshire, Surrey and South Buckinghamshire, and remain committed to improving the health and wellbeing of our communities.

Our new organisational strategy – FHFT 2030 – sets out our ambition to be the best place to receive care and the best place to work in the NHS. Underpinned by our Trust values – Committed to Excellence, Working Together, Facing the Future, and being a modern, compassionate, Healthcare Organisation – we are creating a culture where our people can thrive and patients always come first.

We continue to invest heavily in our services and facilities. This includes the development of a new hospital at Frimley Park, major expansion of diagnostics and inpatient capacity, and the continued transformation of services across our sites. We have already delivered a brand-new £100m state‑of‑the‑art Heatherwood Hospital, a £49m Emergency Assessment Centre at Wexham Park, and a £10m upgrade to maternity services.

We are also committed to sustainability and the NHS Net Zero ambition. Our new hospital and estate developments are being designed to be environmentally responsible, energy efficient, and future‑proofed, featuring on‑site renewables energy and intelligent energy systems. Through our green plan, we are embedding sustainable practices across all areas of care and operations, ensuring we reduce our environmental impact while improving population health and wellbeing. Our staff are key to helps us deliver on our ambition and to ensure sustainability is a core component of care delivery and our operations.

Alongside estates’ investments, we are embedding a strong focus on digital innovation and quality improvement. Our electronic patient record (Epic), launched in 2024, is already enabling safer, more connected, and more effective care for patients, while giving staff the tools they need to do their best work. Our electronic patient record also supports safe and effective digitised care pathways, savings time and carbon, whilst delivering excellent quality of care.

Everything we do is guided by our values, shaping how we care for patients, support colleagues, and build a sustainable future for healthcare together.