Learning Disability Senior Physiotherapist

NELFT NHS FOUNDATION TRUST; Greater London; On-site; GBP 40,000 - 50,000; Full time

Job summary

A healthcare trust is seeking a dedicated physiotherapist to support adults with learning disabilities and complex needs. In this role, you will provide specialized physiotherapy interventions and work within an integrated team of health professionals. Your responsibilities include developing care plans, ensuring risk management and delivering high-quality service. The position is based in Greater London, offering a supportive environment focused on patient independence and quality of life.

Benefits

Health and wellbeing support

Flexible working opportunities

Comprehensive induction program

Qualifications

• Registered practitioner accountable for unsupervised actions.
• Experienced in providing care for learning disabilities and complex needs.
• Ability to work autonomously within a multi-disciplinary team.

Responsibilities

• Deliver specialized physiotherapy interventions for adults with learning disabilities.
• Develop and implement individualized care plans.
• Ensure effective risk management at team level.

Skills

Physiotherapy interventions

Clinical reasoning

Manual handling skills

Patient assessment

Teamwork

Education

Degree in Physiotherapy

Tools

Assessment techniques

Specialist equipment for physiotherapy

Job description

The expectation of this post holder will be to support their team, department and organisation to achieve the Trust's Values in their day to day work.

The post holder will achieve this by providing a high standard of physiotherapy to adults with learning disabilities (LD), complex needs and challenging behaviour in a Community Learning Disability Team. The post holder will support their peers, team leader and Locality Manager in ensuring that a high-quality service is delivered, supporting self‑management, promoting independence and minimising risk. They will work as part of an integrated team member made up of health professionals and social workers, providing consultation and training where required.

Core Responsibilities

1. To provide a range of specialised physiotherapy interventions for learning disability service users (18 years of age and above) with complex needs within London Borough of Waltham Forest.
2. To work as part of the Community Learning Disability Team delivering high quality physiotherapy care as part of a multi professional service/team within the community.
3. To work with service users, carers, family members, health professionals and other stake holders to maintain best possible care for improving quality of life for individual clients with very complex needs.
4. To provide intensive intervention where appropriate to prevent hospital admissions and maintain service users within their home/community settings.
5. To be responsible for organising and prioritising own and others workload in the day‑to‑day allocation of work.
6. To deputise when required in the line manager's absence and delegate work appropriately to other colleagues.
7. To have organisational knowledge relating to Trust protocols and procedures and adhere to them, particularly moving and handling.
8. To ensure effective risk management at team level by accident/incident reporting, assessing, and controlling risk and ensuring residual risks are added to the Trust register.

Extended Responsibilities

1. To act as an autonomous, registered practitioner who is legally and professionally accountable for own unsupervised actions guided by the professional code of conduct and Trust guidelines and protocols.
2. To assess and develop physiotherapy related care plans by applying clinical reasoning to meet the complex needs of patients with a variety of conditions thus being legally responsible and accountable for service delivery to clients/patients.
3. To perform a comprehensive assessment of service users including those with multiple pathologies using clinical reasoning skills and assessment techniques to formulate a treatment plan based on clinical findings of their condition, working without direct supervision as an autonomous practitioner including monitoring progress and modify treatment plans when necessary.
4. This includes chronic, acute and palliative care within own competencies, recognising own limitations and seeking advice when necessary. This will include continuously evaluating and acting on short and long term outcomes whilst ensuring a consistent approach to the service users overall management.
5. To have a good level of dexterity and precision when using manual physiotherapy skills (e.g. chest physiotherapy, joint and soft tissue mobilisation).
6. Responsible for assessment and treatment of own caseload including assessing service user understanding of suggested physiotherapy treatment, gaining informed consent, have the capacity to work within a legal framework with service users who are unable to consent to treatment in goal setting and planning based on the best available evidence.
7. To offer evidence based complex postural specialist assessments (e.g. Oxford 24-7 Assessment and Management of Physical Disability) that include specialist seating, standing, lying assessments and recommendations using robust clinical reasoning and evidence for selection of equipment, processing funding applications through CCG or social services and conducting reviews.
8. To offer specialist assessments for mobility, management of falls and provision of specialist equipment through funding applications to ICB or social services.
9. To be responsible for caseload's equipment identification, research, management that includes assembling, installing, fitment, reviews, arranging repairs, servicing and maintaining internal audit.
10. Responsible for developing and implementing specialist individualised care plans and demonstrating/advising health professionals and other agencies e.g. families and care staff in a variety of settings including hydrotherapy setting, acute hospitals, rehabilitation settings, health clinics, day services, residential homes, private homes, colleges, leisure centres, etc.
11. To fully involve and provide patients and relatives/carers with information and education ensuring they have meaningful choices that promote dignity, independence and quality of life especially when planning and prioritisation of treatment/care plans.
12. To input into the postural management service by repositioning clients, by using strategies to improve long term physical management to minimise deterioration and prescription of appropriate positioning aids.
13. To identify and address issues and treat clients with problems resulting from the multifactorial complications as detailed above and subsequently with any further complications caused by the ageing process. This may be further complicated by the higher likelihood of LD clients suffering from early onset dementia as compared with the general population.
14. Caring for clients who are terminally ill or who have life limiting conditions on a daily basis, e.g. degenerative conditions, dystrophies, cancer, respiratory and / or cardiac conditions.
15. To be aware of a client's baseline medical status as much as possible, particularly one with complex needs, in order to help identify / assess improvement or deterioration which the client may be unable to communicate and which carers may not recognise – carers awareness should be raised wherever possible. This is particularly important for LD clients who are more likely to suffer from undiagnosed conditions and premature death.
16. To review clients and provide physiotherapy treatment to minimise hospital admissions / readmissions particularly with regard to proactive / prophylactic chest physiotherapy and pressure sore prevention including changes of position.
17. To be skilled in the therapeutic handling / positioning on an on‑going basis of heavy, spastic or paralysed limbs. This may involve the need to address the challenge of severe spinal deformities which can impose additional physical management risks to the client and therapist. The therapist may have to work in restrictive / hazardous environments and with clients with unpredictable movements and challenging behaviour.
18. To attend the acute setting and either educate / train generic physiotherapists (and other health professionals) and motivate the client to comply with treatment and where this in not achievable, the LD physiotherapist may provide treatment within that setting as appropriate.
19. To provide advice and support for clients on other LD team physiotherapists' caseloads in absence of colleagues with appropriate support.
20. To take the lead in organising and running hydrotherapy sessions, individual and group exercise and general fitness programmes and rebound therapy sessions for clients with LD.
21. To support clinical lead in hand over of transition cases from children's services or out of borough placements.
22. To assess level of risk involved in assessment and treatment to ensure safety of clients / carers and other staff including self. This involves formal risk assessments, care plans, reviews and risk reporting procedures.
23. The post holder will be required to travel to various sites within the borough of Waltham Forest and at times outside the borough in providing necessary physiotherapy interventions and the clinician will be required to manage the caseload and travel times.

Working for our organisation

NELFT places great importance on new starters being properly welcomed into the Trust. All new starters will join the Trust on the first Monday of each month and undertake a comprehensive induction of up to two weeks, including mandatory training, systems training and the allocation of equipment. As part of the process, new starters will also have the opportunity to meet the executive team, senior managers, and attend several drop‑in sessions focusing on engagement, health and wellbeing, and key processes. The induction will be held at our head office in Rainham, Essex.

High Cost Area Supplement - Outer London

This post also attracts payment for High Cost Area Supplement of 15% of the basic salary (with a minimum of £4,313 to a maximum of £5,436 p.a. pro rata for part time).

Values 2025 - 2030

Working with our colleagues, patients and carers we have co‑produced three new values that we aim to embed within our culture here at NELFT.

• We are kind.
• We are respectful.
• We work together with our communities.

Probationary Period

This post will be subject to a probationary period.

Benefits

• A long‑standing and award‑winning approach to equality and diversity with supportive networks for ethnic minority staff, staff with disabilities or long term/chronic conditions and LGBT staff.
• A commitment to supporting colleagues to achieve a work life balance, through flexible working opportunities and our efforts to support our working parents and carers. This has resulted in us being recognised as a ‘Top 10 Family Friendly Employer’ from the Working Families Charity.
• Proactive health and wellbeing support, including access to our employee assistance programme, staff psychological support, individual wellbeing conversations and a network of health and wellbeing ambassadors.
• Detailed information about our wellbeing and benefits offer can be found in this link.

Supporting our Armed Forces

We recognise the valuable contribution that the Armed Forces community make to our organisation. We have signed the Armed Forces Covenant and achieved Gold Award under the Armed Forces Employer Recognition Scheme. We have supportive policies, guaranteed interview schemes for veterans, reservists and military spouses and give additional leave to our Reservists so that they can attend their annual camp.

About NELFT

Joining #TeamNELFT means you'll become part of a welcoming and supportive working environment. We're CQC rated Good, and we want you to join us on the journey towards an Outstanding rating. NELFT has sites across North East London, Essex, Kent and Medway. We provide community and mental healthcare services to adults and children within these areas. The Trust has award winning equality and diversity initiatives and staff health and wellbeing activities. We invest heavily in your development, because when you are valued and supported, we provide the best care to our patients. We are a Level 3 Disability Confident Leader, have been featured in the Working Families Top 10 Employers benchmark for five consecutive years, and we have achieved a Carers UK Level 1 Accreditation. Along with our staff networks and training opportunities, we work hard to embed a just and compassionate culture here at NELFT.

Find out more about NELFT careers and what makes our Trust a great place to work, in this video

Use of AI: Please see attached document regarding acceptable use of AI during the recruitment process.

Certificates of Sponsorship: Although we are a registered sponsor organisation, we are unable to offer sponsorship for all job roles. Please check your eligibility under the UKVI points‑based system. When calculating the basic salary for sponsorship, HCAS (High-Cost Area Supplement) is not included to ensure fairness and consistency within our Trust.