Hand Therapy Team Lead / Clinical Specialist

Royal United Hospitals Bath NHS Foundation Trust; Bath; On-site; GBP 40,000 - 50,000; Full time

Job summary

A UK healthcare provider seeks an experienced Hand Therapy Team Lead / Clinical Specialist to oversee the hand therapy service in Bath. This pivotal role requires at least 5 years of experience in Hand Therapy and advanced clinical skills. Responsibilities include managing the therapy team, ensuring high standards of care, and developing educational programs. The ideal candidate is passionate about patient care and leadership. Join a supportive team at a top-rated hospital known for its commitment to both staff and patient wellbeing.

Benefits

Comprehensive staff wellbeing programs

Training and development opportunities

Access to a pool

Qualifications

• Minimum of 5 years Hand Therapy and MSK experience.
• Evidence of relevant CPD.
• Previous experience and understanding of audit.

Responsibilities

• Manage the hand therapy team and day-to-day service operations.
• Ensure standards are met for hand therapy service delivery.
• Oversee the development of IST and student programs.

Skills

Highly specialist knowledge of Hand Therapy management

Advanced clinical reasoning skills

Evidence of extensive splinting skills

High level organisational skills

Education

Degree/diploma in Physiotherapy or Occupational therapy

HCPC registration

Some evidence of study at Masters level

Membership of CSP or RCOT

Job description

Royal United Hospitals Bath NHS Foundation Trust

Hand Therapy Team Lead / Clinical Specialist

The closing date is 20 January 2026

We are seeking an experienced and highly skilled clinician to join our team as the Hand Therapy Team Lead and Clinical Specialist.

This pivotal role combines advanced clinical expertise with leadership responsibilities, ensuring the delivery of exceptional care and the smooth running of our hand therapy service.

As an expert in your specialty, you will have managerial responsibilities to effectively manage the hand therapy team and day to day running of the service, and supporting the Clinical Lead Band 8 / ACP.

You will receive referrals from the locality of Banes, Wiltshire, South Gloucester and North Somerset as well as consultant referrals from the RUH which will involve elective and trauma case management.

Therefore, the role will involve performing highly advanced clinical assessment, management and treatment of the various referrals. Ensuring evidence-based practice is at the forefront of patient management.

This is an exciting opportunity for a motivated clinician who thrives in a leadership role and is passionate about advancing hand therapy services.

Main duties of the job

You will be responsible for:

• The Orthopaedic Fracture and Elective Clinic Physiotherapy staff. Ensuring staff are supported; clinics are covered in absence and annual leave (This will involve managing electronic diaries) to liaise with clinic/orthopaedic staff for all aspects of 'clinic' Hand therapy provision.
• The day to day running of the hand therapy service, ensuring that all patients are given appropriate and effective hand therapy. Ensuring that standards are kept and targets set are met. This may in response to the Hand ACP (clinical specialist), Consultant team or Management team requests.
• Organisation and development of an IST programme for the Hand therapy team and wider physiotherapy service. This will be conducted in conjunction with the Service and Clinical lead/ACP. This may involve delivering training to other teams and services within the Hand therapy area of provision.
• The ongoing development of the Student Physiotherapy programme, liaising with the student co-ordinator/universities and students as required.
• The appraisal of junior staff.
• Developing and undertaking regular analysis of main areas of responsibility. Providing and developing statistical analysis as required. This will include future service development / Audit and analysis of wider Hand therapy provision as required.
• Being the Hand Therapy Health and Safety champion, liaising with the Clinical Governance lead for the Therapies dept.

About us

At the RUH we put people at the heart of what we do, working together as one team to make a difference for our patients, each other, and our community. No matter what your role is, we value everyone's contribution in supporting the exceptional, person-centred care we pride ourselves on.

We are proud to be in the top 20 best hospitals to work for in the country.

We are committed to creating a compassionate and inclusive environment. This can be seen in our growing community of staff networks - celebrating successes and creating opportunities to listen and learn. We value our differences, champion kindness and civility, and truly believe that diversity makes us stronger.

A culture of learning, developing and innovating is the thread that runs throughout our whole organisation. We want to support you to thrive, taking your career to its full potential.

We value staff wellbeing, with a well-established programme of support. We believe in a holistic approach spanning all aspects of living a healthy life, including physical, emotional, spiritual and financial wellbeing. We've even got a pool!

We are committed to supporting you and hope you want to join our team. In the meantime, find out more about living and working the beautiful historic city of Bath, learn about our extensive package of staff benefits, and read about how we're providing healthcare fit for the future with the landmark Dyson Cancer Centre and our passion for research.

Job responsibilities

Please find attached to the vacancy a detailed person specification and job description for further information about this role.

Person Specification

Qualifications and Training

• Minimum of 5 years Hand Therapy and MSK experience.
• Degree/diploma in Physiotherapy or Occupational therapy.
• HCPC registration.
• Evidence of relevant CPD.
• Some evidence of study at Masters level.
• Membership of CSP or RCOT.

Knowledge & Experience

• Highly specialist knowledge and experience of current management of Hand Therapy related conditions (Elbow to Hand).
• Current working knowledge of the NHS, understanding the role of physiotherapy / occupational therapy within the current evolving health environment.
• Previous experience and understanding of audit.
• Previous experience as a clinical specialist (or equivalent) in a hospital environment.
• Experience of research methodology.
• Experience of lecturing / running courses.

Specific Skills

• Advanced level of clinical reasoning skills and manual assessment techniques for the upper limb.
• High level of time management and organisational skills.
• Evidence of extensive splinting skills for a variety of upper limb conditions.

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.

Royal United Hospitals Bath NHS Foundation Trust