Frailty Therapist

NHS; Weymouth; On-site; GBP 30,000 - 40,000; Full time

Job summary

The NHS is seeking enthusiastic Physiotherapists or Occupational Therapists to join the Weymouth and Portland Frailty Service. This role involves conducting home visits to complex patients, contributing to comprehensive assessments, and working closely with a multi-disciplinary team to enhance patient care. Opportunities for development and flexible working patterns are available.

Qualifications

• Experience in end-of-life care and mental health.
• Therapy competencies including venepuncture (training provided).

Responsibilities

• Conduct home visits to assess patients and develop rehabilitation programs.
• Contribute to the Dorset Care Plan and manage own caseload.
• Attend MDT meetings and maintain detailed notes.

Skills

Excellent communication skills

Clinical observation skills

Therapy skills including rehabilitation

Ability to prioritize workload

Confidence in lone visiting

Tools

SystmOne

Job description

We are looking for an enthusiastic individual to join our well-established Weymouth and Portland Frailty Service and welcome applications from either Physiotherapists or Occupational Therapists. The rate of pay reflects the opportunity for this to be a development post.

We are one of the first sites in Dorset to have started work on developing our Integrated Neighbourhood Team (INT), and the Frailty Service is an integral part of that.

This role involves home visits to frail and often complex patients, who generally live in their own homes across Weymouth and Portland. Some patients will be seen in a clinic setting where the therapist will contribute to a comprehensive geriatric assessment; others may need a detailed holistic assessment with a therapy focus.

The role involves working with patients registered at any of the GP Surgeries in Weymouth and Portland. Clinical support will be provided by the Frailty Team GPs and Therapists already working in the team.

There are already close links with ICRT, and as the INT develops, there will be more opportunities to work even closer. A robust and comprehensive induction will be provided.

Interviews are planned to take place w/c 9th June 2025.

Main duties of the job

The Weymouth & Portland practices have a well-established Frailty team, which has been expanding since April 2015 to provide proactive holistic care for complex frail patients living in care homes or who are housebound. The team also established an Ageing Well Clinic in 2022. This team is led by a General Practitioner and includes Frailty Practitioners who are Nurses, Advanced Clinical Practitioners, Paramedics, Occupational Therapists, and are supported by a Frailty Care Coordinator & Healthcare Assistants. The team focuses on ongoing case finding using risk profiling measures and population health management.

The main aims of the service are to:

• Deliver EHCH (Enhanced Health in Care Homes)
• Provide proactive, routine assessments based on a Comprehensive Geriatric Assessment to patients living in their own homes
• Make timely referrals to the wider multi-professional team to improve overall wellbeing, reduce falls, deterioration, and hospital admissions
• Complete Personalised Care and Support Plans, focusing on what matters most to the patient
• Proactively identify patients who would benefit from a holistic assessment
• Support Ageing Well in the community, aiming to reduce or reverse frailty progression where possible
• Assess patients who have been re-referred with frailty-related decline
• Ensure effective teamwork to see the right patient by the right staff at the right time

About us

Two Harbours Healthcare is a not-for-profit organization led by local General Practices in Weymouth and Portland. Our goal is to work more closely together and with stakeholders to share expertise, resources, and provide services for the NHS.

Job responsibilities

Housebound Patients:

• Be an integral member of the WECS team, including GP(s), Nurse Practitioner, Nurse, HCA, OT, Paramedic, ACPs, Physiotherapist, and Frailty Healthcare Assistants
• Conduct home visits to assess patients, including baseline assessments using an agreed proforma CGA template covering continence, skin, nutritional status, care needs, and unmet needs, following lone working policy
• Develop specialist care or rehabilitation programs to promote independence and wellbeing
• Contribute to the development of Therapy within The Frailty Team and monitor standards of practice
• Refer patients to Frailty Healthcare Assistants for additional assessments (e.g., weight, BP, ECG, phlebotomy)
• Follow up with patients after assessments or re-referrals until issues are addressed
• Make referrals to the wider MDT or third sector as appropriate
• Develop and communicate therapy management plans within the integrated team
• Ensure discharged patients are aware they can re-refer if needed
• Manage own caseload, scheduling reviews appropriately
• Support comprehensive data collection
• Contribute to a Personalised Care and Support Plan using the Dorset Care Plan
• Understand and adhere to the Housebound Visiting Model Specification

Ageing Well Clinic:

• Deliver components of assessments in outpatient/community settings, forming part of a CGA
• Focus on patient goals, using principles of personalised care and support planning
• Understand the Ageing Well Clinic Specification
• Focus on falls, mobility, transfers, and encouraging independence and activity

For all patients:

• Contribute to the Dorset Care Plan
• Utilize clinical skills (e.g., venepuncture, manual BP, weight)
• Develop skills in Advance Care Planning discussions, including resuscitation status (training provided)

Other responsibilities include attending MDT meetings, ensuring regular access to work emails and mobile, interpreting data to identify patients for review, managing workload, and maintaining detailed notes.

Person Specification

Knowledge and skills

• Excellent communication skills with patients with complex needs and their families/caregivers
• Clinical observation skills
• Therapy skills including rehabilitation, goal setting, and equipment provision
• Experience in end-of-life care, mental and physical health
• Ability to prioritize workload
• Knowledge of SystmOne
• Confidence in lone visiting to complex patients
• Therapy competencies, including venepuncture (training can be provided)

Disclosure and Barring Service Check

This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (Exceptions Order) 1975, requiring a DBS check for any previous convictions.

Contract

Permanent

Working pattern

Full-time, Part-time, Job share, Flexible working