Children's Physiotherapist

Job Summary

We have an exciting opportunity for a highly skilled enthusiastic clinician who enjoys working within an integrated multidisciplinary team, providing expert care for children and young people. This post has arisen due to current staff gaining research funding and the individual would work alongside 2 other senior band 7 Physiotherapists to provide the service to the North of England.

The North of England Paediatric Primary Ciliary Dyskinesia (PCD) Management service is based at the Leeds Childrens Hospital, working in partnership with Bradford Teaching Hospitals. It provides highly specialised care to children and young people with PCD across the North of England. As a highly specialised service, the PCD multidisciplinary team works closely with MDTs across the North to provide annual reviews, guidance, and support. The role includes providing annual and routine clinical reviews and individualised support virtually and through home and school visits. As a highly specialist physiotherapist, the post holder will use advanced clinical skill and expertise to carry out respiratory assessment of patients within the PCD service.

Main Duties of the Job

The post holder will work as part of the paediatric physiotherapy team alongside another Band 7 in PCD and the respiratory team providing highly specialist input to the respiratory service Primary Ciliary Dyskinesia (PCD) service. Based at The Childrens Hospital in Leeds General Infirmary, the post holder will provide highly specialist in-patient and out-patient respiratory physiotherapy assessment, treatment and long-term management of children and adolescents with respiratory conditions in particular patients with PCD. They will work as a key member of the specialist PCD multi-disciplinary team providing planning, coordination, delivery and evaluation of this service for children and adolescents with PCD in the North of England.

Key Relationships Will Be With

• the wider MDT at the Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust including the paediatric respiratory physiotherapy team, specialist nurses, nursing staff, medical staff, dietitians, occupational therapists, psychologists, speech and language therapists, play therapists, community services, social services and education services.
• The adult PCD physiotherapist and MDT
• Physiotherapists and MDTs at other hospitals in the North of England
• Other National PCD centres around the country.

The post holder will be part of the paediatric respiratory team and will contribute to the paediatric on call service at Leeds.

About Us

The childrens physiotherapy team is a team of approximately 40 physiotherapists and physiotherapy assistants who work across Leeds Childrens Hospital. They have a wide scope of experience and enjoy developing and teaching new members of the team.

Leeds Teaching Hospitals is committed to our process of redeploying 'at risk' members of our existing workforce to new roles. As such, all our job adverts are subject to this policy and we reserve the right to close, delay or remove adverts while this process is completed. If you do experience a delay in the shortlisting stage of the recruitment cycle, please bear with us while this process is completed, and contact the named contact if you have any questions.

Date Posted: 17 April 2025

Pay Scheme: Agenda for change

Band: Band 7

Salary: £46,148 to £52,809 a year

Contract: Fixed term

Duration: 12 months

Working Pattern: Part-time

Reference Number: C9298-CHI-0366

Job Locations: St. James's University Hospital, Beckett Street, Leeds, LS9 7TF

Job Description

Job Purpose

To perform the advanced physiotherapeutic assessment, diagnosis and treatment of patients within this specialist field who may have complex physical and psychological conditions and/or chronic presentation. He/She will play a key role in the development, implementation and evaluation of specialist physiotherapy programmes and packages of care.

As an experienced physiotherapist the jobholder will assist in co-ordinating the activities of the team ensuring efficient and effective service provision. He/she will be required to ensure effective communication is maintained at all times, whilst providing training, supervision and clinical expertise to qualified and unqualified staff and students.

As a lead clinician in this speciality, the jobholder will act as a role model to the physiotherapy team, promoting quality evidence-based practice, developing the physiotherapy team and contributing to the effective management of the team in the absence of the Clinical Physiotherapy Manager.

Qualifications

Knowledge, Skills and Experience Required

• Degree or equivalent
• Attendance on relevant post graduate courses

Experience

• Extensive post graduate experience at a senior level in paediatrics
• Clinical audit and standard setting
• Working with a wide range of professionals including medical, nursing, therapy and management colleagues

Skills

• Ability to communicate effectively both verbally and in writing within a uni and multi professional team
• Ability to prioritise, organise and allocate workload.
• Ability to teach, supervise and assess qualified, unqualified staff and students
• Time management skills
• Clinical leadership
• Sound knowledge of clinical speciality acquired through in depth experience and/or academic study to post graduate level or equivalent.
• Working knowledge of current professional issues and those influencing the NHS.
• Standards of professional practice.

Personal Attributes

• Professional and patient focused.
• Flexible, adaptable, capable of lateral thinking
• Excellent interpersonal skills
• Ability to work independently or as part of a team.

Core Values

• Committed to delivering high quality evidence-based physiotherapy treatment
• Committed to the clinical area, valuing the contribution of all team members and encouraging a positive and creative working environment.
• Committed to own development and the development of the physiotherapy service and profession.
• Committed to maintaining high standards of physiotherapy clinical practice and interpreting their application as appropriate.

Core Behaviours and Skills

• Established clinical expertise.
• Teaching skills with the ability to use various media.
• Communication skills
• Time management skills.
• Team player
• Professional
• Understanding of the process of change
• Research conscious

Core Knowledge and Understanding

An understanding of the organisational structure and working practices of this organisation with regard to the provision of high quality physiotherapy services to this specialist area. To have a working knowledge of and be guided by broad professional / clinical policies and standards e.g. those set by the Chartered Society of Physiotherapy, the Health Professions Council and the National Institute for Clinical Excellence.

Principal Duties & Areas of Responsibility

Clinical

To be professional and legally responsible and accountable for all aspects of your own work relating to the assessment and treatment of patients in your care undertaking clinical duties as an autonomous practitioner. To undertake the comprehensive assessment and treatment of patients including those with diverse/complex /multi pathological presentation. This will necessitate the use of advanced investigative and analytical skills to formulate an accurate diagnosis and treatment plan from a range of options.

Using advanced investigative and analytical skills to formulate individualised management and treatment plans including the development of complex discharge plans. To accept clinical responsibility for a designated caseload of patients within this specialist field and to organise this effectively and efficiently with regard to clinical priorities and use of time. To demonstrate dexterity, co-ordination and palpatory skills in the assessment and manual treatment of patients. To develop and deliver the physiotherapy element of the rehabilitation programme, and on occasion to deliver some elements normally undertaken by nursing or occupational therapy colleagues. To be an active member of the out of hours service. The working pattern will require flexibility including seven day working to ensure safe and effective service provision.

Use a range of verbal and non-verbal communication tools to communicate effectively with patients to progress treatment and rehabilitation programmes. This will include patients who may have difficulties in understanding, communicating or have challenging behaviour. Ability to work in a stressful environment imparting complex information regarding poor rehabilitation prognosis on a daily basis. Ability to deal effectively with emotional and/or aggressive patients and/or carers on a daily basis. This will necessitate the use of developed communication skills e.g. the ability to negotiate, motivate and reassure.

Assess patient understanding of treatment proposals, gain valid informed consent and have the knowledge to work within a legal framework with patients who lack capacity to consent to treatment. To ensure a high standard of clinical care for the patients under your management and support more junior staff to do likewise. Formulate and deliver specialised physiotherapy treatment programmes based on a sound knowledge of evidence based practice and treatment options using clinical assessment, reasoning skills and knowledge of treatment options e.g. manual physiotherapy techniques, patient education, exercise classes, electrotherapy techniques and other alternative options.

To represent the physiotherapy service and/or individual patients at multi-disciplinary team meetings, to ensure the delivery of a coordinated multidisciplinary service and integration of physiotherapy treatment. This will include discussion of patient care, patient progress and involvement in discharge planning. In the absence of the clinical service manager, to represent the trust externally (locally, regionally and nationally) regarding physiotherapy services provided to this group of patients.

Education and Training

To provide spontaneous and planned specialist advice, teaching and instruction to relatives, carers and other professionals, to promote understanding of the aims of physiotherapy, and to ensure a consistent approach to patient care. To effectively communicate complex clinical information with patients and carers to maximise rehabilitation potential and to ensure understanding of their condition. To be an active member of the in-service training programme. You will be responsible for the provision of specialist teaching to peers and juniors on a range of subjects through the delivery of in-service training sessions, tutorials, individual training sessions, external courses and peer review. To co-ordinate and deliver core training within the speciality to qualified and unqualified physiotherapy staff and students.