Specialist Physiotherapist

West Suffolk Nhs Foundation Trust; West Stow; On-site; GBP 40,000 - 48,000; Full time

Job summary

West Suffolk NHS Foundation Trust is seeking a Band 6 Specialist Physiotherapist to join the Suffolk Stroke Early Supported Discharge (ESD) Team. The role delivers specialist stroke rehabilitation at patients' homes and in community settings to support early discharge and independence.

You will work within an interdisciplinary team across Suffolk, supervise junior staff and students, contribute to service development and data collection, and travel across the county to visit patients.

Qualifications

• Bachelor of Physiotherapy and HCPC registration required.
• Postgraduate MSc in Physiotherapy is desirable.
• Experience in stroke/neuro rehabilitation preferred.

Responsibilities

• Assess and treat stroke survivors at home and in community settings.
• Deliver evidence-based interventions and outline care plans for assistants.
• Collaborate across the Suffolk Stroke Pathway for smooth transitions from hospital to community.
• Supervise junior staff and students; contribute to service development and data collection.
• Travel across the county to support patients and develop skills.

Skills

Workload management

Teamwork

Communication

Education

Bachelor of Physiotherapy

MSc Physiotherapy

HCPC registration

Job description

Job summary

We have an exciting opportunity for a Band 6 Specialist Physiotherapist to join our Suffolk Stroke Early Supported Discharge (ESD) Team. The Stroke Early Supported Discharge service provides specialist individualised stroke rehabilitation, in order to support stroke patients and their carers' in the first 6 weeks of discharge from hospital to home. We are looking for a Band 6 Specialist Physiotherapist for a full-time, permanent position. We work as an interdisciplinary team, which operates 7 days a week. The interdisciplinary team consists of Physiotherapists, Occupational Therapists, Speech and Language Therapists, Stroke Specialist Nurse, Clinical Neuropsychologist and Rehabilitation Assistants.

Main duties of the job

Working across patients' homes and community settings, you will support stroke survivors to achieve maximum independence and rehabilitation potential through comprehensive assessment, treatment and delivery of evidence-based interventions, whilst outlining rehabilitation care plans for the Rehabilitation Assistants to carry out with supervision. You will work collaboratively across the Suffolk Stroke Pathway to ensure seamless transitions from acute hospital care into community services, manage patients with complex needs, provide supervision and support to junior staff and students, and contribute to service development, quality improvement and data collection across the service. This post would allow you to develop your knowledge and skills in the area of specialist stroke rehabilitation with support from both the Team Leader and the wider inter-disciplinary teams. There will be opportunities for professional development and supervision. The successful candidate will have access to both the Bury St Edmunds and Ipswich offices and will be expected to travel across the whole of the county of Suffolk.

About us

#BeKnown at West Suffolk NHS Foundation Trust. By us. By our patients. By our community

We are a busy, friendly, rural NHS Trust providing high-quality care and compassion to more than a quarter of a million people across west Suffolk. We care for, treat and support people in hospital, at home and in various community settings.

The West Suffolk Hospital in Bury St Edmunds provides acute and secondary care services (emergency department, maternity and neonatal services, day surgery unit, eye treatment centre, Macmillan unit and children's ward). It has 500+ beds and is a partner teaching hospital of the University of Cambridge.

Adult and paediatric community services, provided in collaboration with West Suffolk Alliance partners, include a range of nursing, therapy, specialist, and ongoing temporary care and rehabilitation, some at our Newmarket Community Hospital.

We do our utmost to achieve outstanding clinical outcomes for patients and our values of fairness, inclusivity, respect, safety and team work guide how we work and behave as a team.

With nearly 5,000 staff, from all over the world, we strive to make our organisation a great place to work. Whatever your role or ambition, we want to help you be the best you can be.

We promote a diverse and inclusive community where everyones voice counts and you can #BeKnown for whoever you are.

Join us. What will you #BeKnown for?

Details

Date posted: 29 October 2026

Pay scheme: Agenda for change

Band: Band 6

Salary: £39,959 to £48,117 a year pro rata, per annum

Contract: Permanent

Working pattern: Full-time, Part-time, Flexible working

Reference number: 179-8369650-I

Job locations: Disability Resource Centre, Bury St Edmunds, IP32 7BX, United Kingdom

Job description

Job responsibilities

Please see attached the full job description and person specification attached for the full details of this job role.

Person Specification

Education and Qualifications

Essential

• Bachelor of Physiotherapy
• M.Sc. Physiotherapy
• Health and Care Professions Council registration (HCPC)

Desirable

• Evidence of post registration education.
• Clinical fieldwork Educator's Course.
• Attendance at specialist stroke/neuro courses.
• Member of relevant specialist interest group

Experience and Knowledge

Essential

• Pre- or post-graduate experience working within stroke/neuro.
• Previous experience of working with multi-disciplinary teams.

Desirable

• Experience of working in a community or rehabilitation setting.

Skills and Abilities

Essential

• Ability to organise a workload and to delegate and prioritise
• Knowledge and application of national guidelines for stroke
• Ability to work independently and as part of a team

Desirable

• Knowledge of current stroke specific guidelines and relevant standards and outcome measures as well as recent research
• IT skills

Personal Qualities

Essential

• Good communication and presentation skills, both written and verbal
• To be able to communicate complex and or sensitive information
• Ability to work independently and as part of a team

Desirable

• Experience of supervising rehabilitation assistants

Other

Essential

• Able to work flexibly including contributing to a weekend therapist rota.
• Frequent Travel Essential. You will need to travel, so you must either hold a full, current driving licence and have access to personal transport or meet the mobility requirements of the role through other reasonable and suitable means.

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.

Certificate of Sponsorship

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.

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.

UK Registration

Applicants must have current UK professional registration. For further information please see NHS Careers website.

Employer details

Employer name: West Suffolk NHS Foundation Trust

Address: Disability Resource Centre, Bury St Edmunds, IP32 7BX, United Kingdom

Employer's website: https://www.wsh.nhs.uk

Employer contact details

For questions about the job, contact:

Suffolk ESD Service Lead, Ehab Georgy, [e-mail], 07915903171

privacy notice

West Suffolk NHS Foundation Trust's privacy notice.