Physiotherapist

Countess Of Chester Hospital Nhs Foundation Trust; Ellesmere Port; On-site; GBP 28,000 - 36,000; Part time

Job summary

Countess Of Chester Hospital NHS Foundation Trust is hiring a part-time physiotherapist (30 hours per week) to deliver Urgent Community Response and Virtual Ward services within the Hospital at Home framework. The role focuses on frailty and preventing hospital admissions, based at Custom House, Ellesmere Port, with shifts 8am–8pm across seven days.

You will join a holistic team including GPs, ACPs, nurses and pharmacists, contributing to rapid 2-hour responses and in-home therapy assessments

Qualifications

• HCPC registration is required.
• Commitment to ongoing professional development and reflective practice.

Responsibilities

• Provide a 2-hour response for patients in health crisis and ongoing assessments for those on virtual wards.
• Perform autonomous specialist physiotherapy assessments and develop individualised home-based treatment plans.
• Collaborate with Hospital at Home Team, Community Respiratory Team, Community Care Teams, Northwest Ambulance Service and GP to support patients at home.
• Work flexibly to allocate appropriate caseloads for Therapy Assistants.
• Demonstrate enthusiasm, flexibility and innovation as part of a multi-disciplinary team.

Education

Degree in physiotherapy

HCPC Registration

Job description

Job summary

Working Part time: 30 hours per week

We are excited to advertise a therapy vacancy delivering Urgent Community Response (UCR) and Virtual Ward services for a Physiotherapist. This service is provided within the Hospital at Home Service, is an exciting place to work, with many training opportunities available. The successful candidate will have a specialist interest in frailty and hospital admission avoidance to enable the appropriate management of individuals in the community. This is a 7-day service and operates from 08:00-20:00, with a base at Custom House, in Ellesmere Port. The successful applicant will be required to work shifts across 7 days, 8am to 8pm.

You will be a member of a holistic team which consists of GP's, Advanced Clinical Practitioners, Registered Nurses, Therapists, Therapy Assistants, Pharmacists and Clerical Support.

The service provides a 2-hour response to patients who are experiencing a health crisis, with the aim to support their treatment in their own home rather than requiring a hospital admission. The successful applicant will also provide therapy assessment and treatment for patients on the virtual wards, to enable optimisation of their physical function.

The successful candidate will be enthusiastic, flexible and innovative, and enjoy working as part of a dynamic and pro-active team.

We are committed to providing an excellent service to our patients.

Main duties of the job

Provide a 2-hour response for patients entering a health crisis and provide ongoing assessments and treatment plans for individuals on the virtual wards.

Work as an autonomous practitioner to perform a specialist therapeutic assessment of patients with diverse presentations. Use clinical reasoning to provide a diagnosis, deliver and adapt an individualised treatment programme within the patient's own home.

Work in collaboration with the Hospital at Home Team, Community Respiratory Team, Community Care Teams, Northwest Ambulance Service, Social Services, Millbrook and the patient's registered GP, to support the patient at home.

Work flexibly in response to service needs, ensuring allocation of an appropriate caseload for the Therapy Assistants.

About us

The Trust's services are provided from three locations: - The Countess of Chester Hospital: providing 473 general and acute beds. - Ellesmere Port Hospital: providing 60 beds as a rehabilitation, intermediate and outpatient facility. - Tarporley War Memorial Hospital: a base for community services which serve the local rural population. The Countess of Chester Hospital NHS Foundation Trust employs 5,964 staff (headcount) to provide care and treatment to a population of over 400,000 people living in Chester and West Cheshire which includes Ellesmere Port and Neston as well as the Deeside area of Flintshire. The Trust works collaboratively within the wider Cheshire and Merseyside Integrated Care System. Due to its location on the border with North Wales, the Trust also works closely with the Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board. The Trust treats patients from England and some parts of Wales. During 2024/2025, there were approximately 643,000 patient attendances (inpatient, A&E, outpatient and diagnostic) ranging from a simple outpatient appointment to major cancer surgery

Job responsibilities

See Job Description for further details.

Recruitment selection processes are based on competence (see Person specification) and values. An applicant guide to help and support you through your recruitment journey can be accessed at the bottom of this page.

If you have a disability that meets the definition set out in the Equality Act 2010, and you can show that you meet the essential criteria described in the person specification for an available position, please answer YES to the question: Do you wish to be considered under the Guaranteed Interview Scheme?

Please inform the team if you have any special support needs to be considered as part of the interview and selection processes.

The trust offers a Guaranteed Interview Scheme to any armed forces community applicants who meet the essential criteria for the post.

If a DBS is required for your role, you are encouraged to enrol for the DBS Update Service. A small annual fee applies which is payable to the DBS Service. Please note applicants will be required to pay for their DBS check. Costs will be deducted from their salary over the first three months of employment.

New entrants to the NHS will commence on the minimum of the scale stated above.

Applicants requiring sponsorship may wish to determine the likelihood of obtaining sponsorship for this position by assessing themselves against the criteria on the gov.uk website - Apply through our website.

The Trust will not sponsor where the starting salary does not meet immigration rules

Applicants are advised to apply early as if a large number of applications are received for this post, we reserve the right to close the vacancy prior to the advertised date.

Good luck with your application.

Qualifications

Essential

• Degree in physiotherapy
• HCPC Registration

Desirable

• Membership of professional body

Knowledge and Experience

Essential

• Evidence of a range of clinical placement areas at student level
• Evidence of CPD and reflective practice
• Evidence of audit and/or research work

Desirable

• Knowledge of current best practice in specialist PT area

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.

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. For further information visit the UK Visas and Immigration website (Opens in a new tab).

From 6 April 2017, skilled worker applicants, applying for entry clearance into the UK, have had to present a criminal record certificate from each country they have resided continuously or cumulatively for 12 months or more in the past 10 years. Adult dependants (over 18 years old) are also subject to this requirement. Guidance can be found here Criminal records checks for overseas applicants (Opens in a new tab).

Applicants must have current UK professional registration. For further information please see NHS Careers website (opens in a new window).