Therapy Assistant Practitioner

Dorset Healthcare University Nhs Foundation Trust; Wimborne Minster; On-site; GBP 26,000 - 33,000; Full time

Job summary

Dorset HealthCare University NHS Foundation Trust is seeking a Therapy Assistant Practitioner to join the Musculoskeletal Outpatient Physiotherapy Departments at Wimborne and St Leonards Hospitals. You will assess patients after fracture or surgery and monitor progress toward rehabilitation goals under indirect supervision of a physiotherapist.

You will also see patients delegated by the Physiotherapy team and run classes for the same, contributing to an engaging community rehabilitation pathway.

Qualifications

• Completion of or working towards the Therapy Assistant Practitioner apprenticeship (NVQ 3) or equivalent knowledge/experience.
• Completion of or willingness to complete the Care Certificate.
• Experience as an Assistant at an advancing level.

Responsibilities

• Autonomous assessments of mobility, equipment and function after triage.
• Monitoring and follow-up through clinical assessment and interventions under supervision.
• Ability to run groups and classes for patients as delegated by the Physiotherapy team.

Skills

Therapy Assistant Apprenticeship

Care Certificate

Clinical reasoning

Communication in English

Education

NVQ 3 / Therapy Assistant Practitioner apprenticeship

Job description

Dorset HealthCare University NHS Foundation Trust

Therapy Assistant Practitioner

The closing date is 09 November 2026

We are looking for a Therapy Assistant Practitioner to join our Musculoskeletal Outpatient Physiotherapy Departments at Wimborne and St Leonards Hospitals

The Therapy Assistant Practitioner role will be required to carry out assessments of patients following fracture or surgery, identify any areas of concern, follow guidelines for rehabilitation and monitor progress against set goals, under the indirect supervision of a registered physiotherapist.

Also to see some patients delegated by the Physiotherapy team and run classes for the same.

Please note visa sponsorship for this role is unfortunately not available. Ensure you hold valid right to work in the UK and will not require sponsorship if successful.

Main duties of the job

Completing autonomous assessments of mobility, equipment and function of patients following triage from a registered clinician.

Providing monitoring and follow-up through clinical assessment and interventions, seeking supervision from the registered clinician.

About us

At Dorset HealthCare we're on a mission to empower people to make the most of their lives through our outstanding, joined-up healthcare services. We're a dynamic, forward-looking Trust, running 12 community hospitals, specialist inpatient facilities and a wide range of integrated community and mental health services for a population of almost 800,000 people.

We do things differently here - it's one of the reasons the CQC rated us 'outstanding' in 2019. It's also why 95% of patients across our services say they have a good or very good experience of our services and 89% of staff feel they can really make a difference. Whether you're looking to work with us in one of our bustling market towns, vibrant urban locations, thriving seaside spots, or among the rolling hills of Dorset, there are lots of ways you can make a difference in our communities.

Our 7,000-strong workforce is at the heart of what we do and our success is a testament to our brilliant people. We're all about building a workplace for the future, we believe in equal opportunities and we celebrate diversity. We're an inclusive workplace, where everyone is welcome, everyone can be authentic, and we are all encouraged to be the best version of ourselves.

Working with us you'll be part of a strong team, challenge yourself, build a career, and teach us what we don't know. And you'll be working towards our vision to be better every day through excellence, compassion and expertise in all we do.

Job responsibilities

For the main duties and responsibilities for this role please read the attached job description and person specification. When completing your application please ensure your supporting statement reflects the criteria set out in these documents by showing how your experience and skills apply to this post.

We understand that AI can be a useful tool when completing your application. However, we are seeing an increasing over-reliance of AI tools, which can negatively affect your application as it reduces a candidates individuality, and makes it difficult for us to gain a clear and authentic understanding of your experience, skills, and in turn your suitability for the role.All submissions must be truthful and if you do use AI, it should only be used to enhance your application and not create your supporting statement in its entirety. Your supporting statement should be in your own words and must accurately reflect your personal experience and achievements. Where we have concerns that AI has been used to generate content that misrepresents your experience and suitability for the role, we may withdraw your application.

As part of our vision to have a skilled, diverse and caring workforce, Dorset HealthCare offers support for people getting into work. We offer an employability service to support individuals with application writing, interview skills and other employment support. If you would like or know of anyone who would value this support, please do contact [e-mail]

Person Specification

KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS AND TRAINING

• Completion of or working towards the Therapy Assistant Practitioner apprenticeship (NVQ 3) OR demonstrable equivalent knowledge, skills and experience
• Completion of or willingness to complete the Care Certificate
• Experience of working as an Assistant at an advancing level
• Knowledge of the physiology and function of the human body and how this informs clinical reasoning

JOB SPECIFIC EXPERIENCE

• Recent previous experience within a comparable role
• Experience of providing holistic assessment and implementing programmes of care
• Evidence of promoting and understanding the impact of effective health promotion
• Experience of undertaking physiological measurements as part of an assessment and making appropriate changes to the care plan
• Experience of undertaking defined clinical or therapeutic interventions appropriately delegated by a Registered Practitioner
• Experience and knowledge of running groups and classes

ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS

• Subject to the provisions of the Equality Act, able to travel using own vehicle on Trust business.
• Demonstrable skills in written and spoken English to a standard which enables the post holder to carry out the full range of duties and responsibilities of the role effectively.

PERSONAL QUALITIES AND ATTRIBUTES

• Experience of communicating effectively at different levels of the organisation and with staff, patient/service users, visitors or external organisations both verbally and in writing in the exchange of complex, sensitive or contentious information which may require the use of negotiating and/or persuasive skills.
• Experience of analysing and assessing situations and to interpret potentially conflicting situations and determine appropriate action, where there is a range of options and judgement is required.
• Experience of overcoming barriers to understanding where there are physical or mental disabilities.
• Experience of using electronic patient / service user record systems
• Experience of allocating work to and supporting the development of others

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.

Employer name

Dorset HealthCare University NHS Foundation Trust