Community Physiotherapist

Lewisham & Greenwich NHS Trust; Camden Town; On-site; GBP 30,000 - 40,000; Full time

Job summary

An NHS healthcare provider is seeking an experienced physiotherapist to join their Community Physiotherapy Team in Camden Town. The role involves leading patient care within a multidisciplinary team, assessing and treating complex conditions, and providing training and supervision to junior therapists. Applicants should possess strong communication skills and relevant qualifications, along with the ability to work flexibly in various settings. This rewarding position encourages personal development and offers a supportive work environment.

Benefits

Funding for relevant courses

Supportive appraisal system

Qualifications

• Experience in elderly care and complex multi-pathologies.
• Ability to assess and treat patients in domiciliary settings.
• Knowledge of evidence-based treatment strategies.

Responsibilities

• Lead and manage physiotherapy service for patients in the community.
• Conduct assessments and provide treatment plans.
• Supervise junior staff and provide training.

Skills

Communication skills

Team leadership

Flexibility

Clinical assessment

Education

Relevant physiotherapy qualifications

Job description

You will be part of an MDT leadership team, within the supported discharge Pathway, junior therapists and support workers.
Your caseload will be varied and experience in a variety of settings with areas of elderly care, falls, orthopaedic and MSK Physiotherapy is essential. You will be expected to take on Team leader roles for the management and treatment of patients and development of staff's knowledge and skills.
Good written and verbal communication skills are important to liaise with a wide range of healthcare professions, the patients and their carers. You will need to be flexible, able to work alone and as part of a team and will be required to travel across the borough.
Learning and personal development is encouraged and we have a well-established appraisal system and funding for relevant courses.

YOU NEED NOT apply if you have been unsuccessful in your application for Band 6 + 7 physio roles within LGT in the past year.

Job Overview

We are offering an exciting career opportunity for an experienced physiotherapist to join our Community Physiotherapy Team which forms part of the well‑established and newly expanded multi‑disciplinary Community Therapies. The current post is within the Community Stroke Pathway, which consists of physiotherapy, occupational therapy and support workers with close links to the partners in Adult Social Care. You will join our forward thinking multidisciplinary team to deliver high quality patient care, tailored to meet the patient's needs within the domiciliary setting. You will be assessing and treating patients with a diverse range of conditions and complex multi‑pathologies. You will be working alongside therapies and social services to provide rehab and management for patients coming out of hospital. Please note, this post is based at Honor Oak Health Centre, 20 Turnham Road, SE4 2LA.

Key Result Areas & Performance

• To lead, manage and provide the physiotherapy service patients in the community.
• To contribute to the Discharge pathway and Community Therapy team.
• To promote good communication within the Multidisciplinary Team, with the Acute Trust, CCG/ICS and with the London Borough of Lewisham, to ensure optimal patient care.
• To work to agreed standards and within the resources available.
• To undertake, delegate or supervise the assessment and appropriate physiotherapy management and / or treatment of patients referred to the Community Physiotherapy Teams.
• To be professionally and legally accountable for all aspects of your own work, including the management of patients in your care.
• To undertake a comprehensive and holistic assessment of patients including those with complex presentations / multi‑pathologies (e.g. acutely ill, neurological and elderly patients) and communication difficulties.
• To use manual and other assessment techniques and clinical reasoning skills to provide an accurate diagnosis of patients' conditions and identify their problems.
• To assess patients' understanding of treatment proposals, gain valid informed consent and have the capacity to work within a legal framework with patients who lack the capacity to consent to treatment.
• To commence treatment in the acute setting, as required.
• To use clinical assessment and reasoning skills combined with a knowledge of evidence‑based practice and treatment strategies to provide an effective treatment plan.
• To maximise patients' physical, psychological and social well‑being and reduce disability.
• To evaluate patients' progress, re‑assess and develop treatment programmes as required.
• To be responsible for the safe and competent use of equipment, as well as the use of other aids and appliances by patients in your working area, ensuring that any Band 6 and 5 Physiotherapists and Rehab Support workers attain competency prior to use.
• To be responsible for organising, prioritising and planning your own caseload to meet service needs and patient priorities, adjusting plans as situations arise.
• To monitor and prioritise team's caseload and allocated initial visits as indicated and support other disciplines.

Workforce

• To supervise and delegate to Rehab Support Workers / Therapy Assistants, Band 5 and 6 Physiotherapists, when appropriate.
• To provide training on the use of equipment and management of conditions for carers and other staff when necessary.
• To co‑operate with the other Senior members of the MDT in the organisation of the workload, and to assist the Lead Community Physiotherapist / Therapy Manager departmental managerial matters when required.
• To be responsible for the clinical education of student physiotherapists, teaching them to graduate level on physiotherapeutic skills and knowledge within the core clinical areas.
• To liaise with Schools of Physiotherapy as appropriate in the organisation and provision of clinical education for student physiotherapists.
• To contribute to the education of Rehab Support Workers / enablement workers/ Therapy Assistants and participate in peer support.
• To be responsible for the appraisals of staff in your team, delegating to the Band 6 Physiotherapist when possible.

Partnership – Communications and Relationships

• To liaise with the multi‑disciplinary team regarding discharge planning to support safe, timely and effective discharge from hospital.
• To use a range of verbal and non‑verbal communication skills to communicate effectively with patients during assessment and treatment.
• To use active listening and optimum communication skills to discuss patients' concerns, worries and prognoses with them and their families, for example patients who have progressive, degenerative or terminal illnesses.
• To participate in the induction programme for all new staff where appropriate.
• To maintain an accurate and evaluative record keeping system in accordance with the Trust and departmental policies, and which can be used for audit and legal purposes.
• To ensure that reports and discharge summaries are completed and sent in accordance with departmental policy.
• To provide statistics and other information when required.
• To participate in directorate and multidisciplinary meetings, ward rounds and case conferences / seminars when deemed appropriate, providing a clinical opinion about specific patients.
• To deal with any verbal and telephone complaints from patients, relatives or carers, ensuring necessary documentation.
• To report on any such complaints to the immediate senior as soon as possible.
• To provide 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.

Additional Information

We reserve the right to close the post before the stated closing date, please apply early. We do not contact applicants with the outcome of the shortlisting. If you have been shortlisted, you will receive an invite to an assessment day or interview. As a local employer and anchor institution we work closely with our community to recruit locally and we welcome applications from the widest variety of people to ensure our workforce are reflective of the local communities which we serve. We encourage all suitable candidates to apply including if you are Black, Asian or other ethnic minorities, live with a disability (visible or not) or are LGBT+. We have a number of active staff networks including Disability, LGBT+, Multicultural Inclusion and Women's staff networks to bring staff together and celebrate diversity across our whole workforce.

Please note, not all roles will meet the criteria for a skilled worker visa.