Assistant Wheelchair Practitioner

Gloucestershire Health and Care NHS Foundation Trust; Cheltenham; On-site; GBP 12,000 - 18,000; Part time

Benefits offered by this job

Free car parking

27 days leave plus bank holidays (in 1

Training and development opportunities

NHS pension

Job summary

Gloucestershire Health and Care NHS Foundation Trust is recruiting an Assistant Wheelchair Practitioner on a part-time basis (22.5 hours per week). The role involves carrying a caseload of wheelchair and accessory assessments, coordinating handovers with the therapy and rehab engineering teams, and using hand and power tools where needed.

Ideal candidates will hold a UK driving licence and be comfortable working across clinics, home, and educational settings.

Qualifications

• GCSE or equivalent English and Maths.
• City & Guilds, NVQ III or apprenticeship in Social Care (or clinical equivalent).
• Current UK driving licence.

Responsibilities

• Carry your own caseload of low and medium needs wheelchair and accessory assessments; hand over equipment assessed by therapy and rehab engineering.
• Be practical and able to use hand tools and some power tools to adjust equipment.
• Work across clinics, home and educational settings countywide; engage with all age groups.

Skills

Hand tools

Power tools

Communication

Driving license

Wheelchair service experience

Education

GCSE English & Maths

City & Guilds / NVQ III in Social Care

Tools

Wheelchair servicing tools

Job description

We love what we do and we think you will, too!

At Gloucestershire Health and Care NHS Foundation Trust (GHC), we provide joined-up mental health, physical health and learning disability services to people of all ages across Gloucestershire. We run community hospitals and provide care and support in people’s own homes and in a range of other locations across the county .

We are on a mission to enable people to live the best life they can and we have a vision to work together to provide outstanding care . We put people at the heart of our services, focusing on personalised care by asking ‘what matters to you ’.

We’re passionate about making sure that everyone can contribute to achieving our mission and w e are continually working to support healthy and happy high-quality team s in all areas of the Trust .

Our application process aims to understand each candidates knowledge, skills and experience. We have found that candidates that use AI to generate their answers can lack specificity and fail to address key criteria outlined in the job description.

It is really important to personalise your application to convey your individual skills, knowledge, and experiences effectively and for us to understand why you are applying for this role with GHC. We discourage over reliance on AI-generated applications as it will lessen your chances of success in securing an interview with us .

Job overview

This vacancy is part time. The hours are 22.5 hours a week.

Gloucestershire Wheelchair Assessment Service is looking for an Assistant Wheelchair Practitioner to join our team. If you are keen to develop your technical skills and are interested in wheeled mobility equipment you may be just what we're looking for! If you’re successful we will provide you with the structured support and training you need to flourish.

We are a multi-disciplinary team providing a countywide service. We’re also in the unique position where we cover clients of any age. We’ve worked hard over the last couple of years to develop and innovate to ensure we provide a prompt, efficient and effective service for our clients, while also developing a friendly, kind and supportive team culture. We complete holistic assessments with our clients considering their mobility needs as part of the bigger picture of how they want to live their life and working with them to achieve their mobility goals.

If you’re proactive, keen to achieve the best with your patients and looking for a new opportunity this could be just the role for you.

There will be a practical element to the interview, therefore all interviews will be held face to face at the Independent Living Centre, Cheltenham.

The qualification, training & experience requirements for the role are underlined in the Job Description/Person Specification.

Main duties of the job

You will carry your own caseload which will be a mixture of low and medium needs wheelchair and accessory assessments. You will also be responsible for handing over equipment assessed for by the therapy and rehab engineering team. You will need to be practical and happy to use a range of hand tools and some power tools to do this.

The service is provided in a range of settings including clinics, home and educational environments and is county wide. We are an all age, all disability service so offer the unique opportunity to work with children and adults.

Our philosophy is to keep the patient at the heart of everything we do. We look for people who are willing to go the extra mile and are committed to being part of a team that delivers an excellent caring service to our patients. This is a countywide role and therefore the successful applicant must hold a full UK driving license and have access to a car for work purposes, as well as be happy to drive the wheelchair service vans.

Working for our organisation

We have a skilled and dedicated workforce of over 5000 colleagues working in a diverse range of services over 55 sites and within people’s homes. We strive to enable a welcoming workplace culture that builds and celebrates civility, inclusivity and diversity, while providing a sense of belonging and trust.

Annual staff surveys, regular Pulse surveys and other engagement opportunities provide our people with lots of opportunity to tell us about their experiences of working with us. In the latest staff survey, 61% of colleagues gave us their views. It was great to hear that:

• 72% of colleagues would recommend the Trust as a place to work, ranking us 1st for Provider Trusts in the South West region on this question.
• 76% would recommend the standard of care provided in our services if a friend or relative needed treatment, also ranking us 1st in the South West region.
• 81% said that care of patients and service users is the Trust’s priority, compared with an average in comparable NHS Trusts in England of 64%.

This high-level overview shows we are in a healthy position, with higher scores than average for comparable organisations, alongside a great response rate, indicating good staff engagement. However, we also know we have plenty of room for improvement in many areas. To that end, we continue to prioritise and invest in our commitment to genuinely becoming a Great Place to Work with consistent top-quartile performance in the annual staff survey and Pulse surveys.

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

Please refer to the Additional Information attachment before submitting your application.

We provide a Multi-professional preceptorship programme that is aligned to the National Preceptorship Framework for Nursing and have been awarded the Interim quality mark from NHS England. Our programme is provided to all Newly Qualified; Nurses, Nursing Associates, Internationally Educated Practitioners, Allied Health Professionals and Return to Practice Practitioners. In addition to the programme we also offer all preceptees the opportunity of enrolling and completing the level 7 (Masters) 15 credit validated module “Preceptorship for Healthcare” (AP7026).

Newly qualified Social Workers are offered the Assessed and Supported Year in Employment programme (ASYE) which is similar to a preceptorship programme.

• Ability to use hand tools to make adjustments to equipment
• Ability to communicate effectively with patients, carers, relatives and colleagues

Experience

• Competent in use of Microsoft Office
• Experience of using electronic patient record keeping systems
• Experience of working with wheelchair users
• Current valid UK driving licence

Qualifications

• GCSE or equivalent English and Maths
• City & Guilds, NVQ III or completed apprenticeship in Social Care (or clinical equivalent)
• Engineering/technical skills at “A Level” or equivalent.

When joining us, as well as becoming part of a team that makes a difference, we also offer:

• Free car parking at many of our sites
• 27 days leave plus bank holidays, increasing up to 33 days with long service
• A broad range of training and development opportunities, including apprenticeships up to Level 7 qualification.
• A multi-professional preceptorship programme for all Newly Qualified; Nurses, Nursing Associates, Internationally Educated Practitioners, Allied Health Professionals and Return to Practice Practitioners.
• Generous NHS pension and enhanced pay when if you work unsocial hours
• Flexible, family friendly and agile working opportunities
• Recognition and long service awards
• Fast Track physiotherapy
• Access to discounts and salary sacrifice schemes; including Cycle to Work, Car scheme and discounts on travel, leisure and retailers.

Applicants are advised to apply early as if a large number of applications are received for this post, we reserve the right to close the vacancy prior to the advertised date.

If you are aged 16-30, you may be eligible for financial and pastoral support from the King’s Trust, with who we are in partnership with to support your first 6 months in role. We will pass on your details to the King’s Trust who will be in touch with you if you are eligible. If you would rather not be contacted, please let us know.

For more information please see the attached 'Additional Information for Applicants' document.

Good luck with your application.

Employer certification / accreditation badges

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.

Name Sarah Bailey Job title Clinical Lead Therapist Email address [e-mail] Telephone number 03004217170 Additional information

We encourage contact by phone or email from interested candidates who are looking to find out more about this exciting role. We also welcome visits to our to our team at our base in Cheltenham.