Clinical Lead Therapist (Medical Rehabilitation)

NHS; City Of London; On-site; GBP 40,000 - 55,000; Full time

Job summary

A prominent NHS trust is hiring an experienced therapist to lead a busy team at Chelsea and Westminster Hospital. This role requires operational management, clinical expertise, and the ability to supervise junior staff. The ideal candidate should have significant post-registration experience and contribute to strategic service development. The trust is committed to outstanding patient care and offers a supportive environment for professional growth.

Benefits

Access to wellbeing resources

Professional development courses

Qualifications

• Significant post registration experience as a Band 7/8a in relevant clinical area.
• Experience in a range of areas.
• Operational management skills.

Responsibilities

• Lead the therapy services expert clinician for acute care and downstream ward areas.
• Supervise and manage junior staff within a dedicated clinical area.
• Contribute to strategic planning and service development.

Skills

Advanced clinical reasoning skills

Ability to motivate a team

High resilience

Education

UK professional registration

Job description

Job Summary

We are looking for an experienced and energetic therapist (OT/PT) to lead a busy OT/PT therapy team covering general medicine, older adults, and frailty, plus outlier wards within our Chelsea and Westminster Hospital (Chelsea Site), with some cross site working. You will also be required to work clinically and within the MDT, take ownership of work streams for patient flow, students, apprenticeships and staff development and work alongside our community partners to refine pathways and drive improvements that are of benefit to service users.

Reporting directly to the EIC Divisional Therapy Lead you will be an integral part of the wider senior management team, and will assume joint responsibility with other clinical leads for the effective operational and clinical management of services across both acute sites. This will involve management of rotas across a 7 day service, staff recruitment, embedding of best practice, disciplinary and sickness management and the promotion of the AHP workforce.

You will be supported to develop both clinically and managerially through internal and external courses, and will be part of a supportive and well established senior team committed to providing outstanding care. You will have access to a package of wellbeing and lifestyle resources. If you feel you have what it takes to help us on our journey to being an outstanding organisation then we would love to hear from you.

Main duties of the job

• To be the therapy services expert clinician for the downstream ward areas and to be responsible for the day to day operational management Medical Rehabilitation and Frailty team.
• To be responsible for the supervision, teaching and day to day line management of more junior staff within a dedicated clinical area including structured appraisals, formal meetings and informal support in regarding clinical issues.
• To include regular managerial and clinical problem-solving and supervision of band 7 clinicians.
• To be responsible, with the other Inpatient Therapy Clinical Leads, for leadership in maintaining and improving all aspects of clinical governance, evidence based practice and quality assurance inpatient therapy services.
• Contributes to strategic planning and service development and deputise for other Therapy Clinical Leads when required and initiate and manage clinical service development initiatives, implementing and sustaining change where necessary.
• To educate the multi-disciplinary team, therapists in the Trust on elements of therapy in your designated clinical area, and raise the profile of the therapy service in your designated clinical area within the service and Trust.
• To lead on the student, preceptorship and apprenticeship work streams within the trust.

About us

Chelsea and Westminster Hospital NHS Foundation Trust is one of England's top-performing and safest trusts. We operate two main acute hospital sites—Chelsea and Westminster Hospital and West Middlesex University Hospital—along with award-winning clinics across North West London.

Our nearly 7,500 staff care for a diverse population of 1.5 million, providing full clinical services, including maternity, A&E, and children's services, plus specialist HIV and sexual health clinics. The Care Quality Commission rates us 'Good' in safety, effectiveness, care, and responsiveness, and 'Outstanding' in leadership and resource use.

We continually invest in our facilities, including a £30m expansion of critical care at Chelsea and Westminster and an £80m Ambulatory Diagnostic Centre at West Middlesex.

We are committed to equal opportunities and believe that diversity drives innovation and excellence. As part of our dedication to equity, we actively welcome applications from individuals from the global majority, veterans and underrepresented communities. We value the unique perspectives and experiences that diverse teams bring and are committed to creating an environment where all voices are heard, respected, and empowered to succeed.

If you haven't heard from us within three weeks of the closing date, your application was likely unsuccessful. Employment is subject to a six-month probationary period.

Some roles may require weekend shifts at multiple sites.

Key Responsibilities

• To be the therapy services expert clinician for the acute care and downstream ward areas.
• To be responsible for the day to day operational management Medical Rehabilitation and Frailty team.
• To be responsible for the supervision, teaching and day to day line management of more junior staff within a dedicated clinical area.
• To provide structured appraisals, formal meetings and informal support to manage and supervise the senior staff regarding clinical issues.
• To include regular managerial and clinical problem‑solving and supervision of band 7 clinicians within dedicated teams.
• To be responsible, with the other Inpatient Therapy Clinical Leads, for leadership in maintaining and improving all aspects of clinical governance, evidence based practice and quality assurance inpatient therapy services.
• Contributes to strategic planning and service development of the Inpatient Therapy Service and deputises for other Inpatient Therapy Clinical Leads when required.
• To work alongside the Inpatient Therapy Clinical Leads to initiate and manage clinical service development initiatives, implementing and sustaining change where necessary.
• To utilise expert clinical reasoning and specialist skills to assess, plan, implement and evaluate interventions in your dedicated clinical area and to provide specialist support and advice to other therapy staff whilst maintaining a caseload as an autonomous practitioner which includes highly complex patients.
• To utilise evidence based principles and current best practice guidelines and ensure that all members of your team do likewise.
• To participate in CPD and other developmental activities and encourage all members of your team to do likewise.
• Have the opportunity to participate in, facilitate or lead research projects within therapies and designated clinical areas.
• To educate the multi-disciplinary team, therapists in the Trust and therapists nationally (as appropriate) on elements of therapy in your designated clinical area, and raise the profile of the therapy service in your designated clinical area within the service and Trust.
• To lead on the student, preceptorship and apprenticeship work streams within the trust, and to act as a central point of reference for stake holders both internal and external to the trust.
• To ensure that the therapy service in the designated clinical area is responsive to user requirements within the available resources and in accordance with directorate and departmental plans.
• To be responsible for the supervision and teaching of students and more junior therapy staff, and to take an active role in multi-disciplinary teaching sessions within the orthopaedic unit.

Person Specification – Experience Essential

• Significant post registration experience as a Band 7/8a in relevant clinical area.
• Post registration experience in a range of areas.
• Experience of team management in an NHS healthcare setting at band 7 / 8 level.
• Evidence of supervision of more junior staff.
• Leadership and participation of teaching/in-service programmes.
• Operational management skills.
• Evidence of managing and supervising other professions.

Desirable

• Liaising with external stakeholders and influencing decision making of senior leaders.
• Experience of contribution to business planning.

Skills and Knowledge – Essential

• Ability to work as an autonomous practitioner where no support or advice may be available.
• Advanced clinical reasoning skills and awareness of current developments in relevant clinical area / national picture.

Personal Qualities – Essential

• To be able to motivate a team and work well within a team setting.
• High level of resilience and ability to cope with difficult conversations / situations.
• Ability to build close working relationships with all members of the MDT.

Disclosure and Barring Service Check

This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (Exceptions Order) 1975 and as such it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service (formerly known as CRB) to check for any previous criminal convictions.

Certificate of Sponsorship

Applications from job seekers who require current Skilled worker sponsorship to work in the UK are welcome and will be considered alongside all other applications.

UK Registration

Applicants must have current UK professional registration.

Employer details

Chelsea and Westminster Hospital NHS Foundation Trust

369 Fulham Road

London

SW10 9NH

Employer's website

https://www.chelwest.nhs.uk/