Physiotherapist jobs in United Kingdom

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Lewisham and Greenwich NHS Trust (LGT) is a community‑focused provider of local and acute care, delivering high‑quality services to over one million people living across the London boroughs of Lewisham, Greenwich and Bexley. We provide whole‑life care and are here to support our communities to live healthier lives as well as taking care of them when they need us the most.

Employing almost 7,500 colleagues, affectionately known as Team LGT, we provide services at Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Woolwich, University Hospital Lewisham, and at over a dozen community settings in Lewisham. We also provide some services at Queen Mary’s Hospital in Sidcup.

We have recently launched our new vision and values to mark the LGT10 - the tenth anniversary of our Trust forming in 2013. Our trust vision is to be exceptional in the quality of our patient care; our support for colleagues; and in the difference we make through our partnerships and in our communities.

To achieve this we value Respect, Compassion, and Inclusion; Being accountable over staying comfortable; Listening over always knowing best; and Succeeding together over achieving alone. You can read more about our visions and values here

Our hospitals and community sites provide a wide range of inpatient and outpatient services, as well as emergency and planned care. The Trust is rated as "good" or "outstanding" in over three‑quarters of the services inspected by the Care Quality Commission.

Every year our work includes performing 10,000 procedures in our theatres; bringing seven and a half thousand new lives into the world; carrying out 570,000 visits to patients in their homes or communities and providing emergency care for more than 300,000 patients arriving in our busy Urgent and Emergency Departments.

LGT is a centre for the education and training of medical students enrolled with King's College London's GKT School of Medical Education. We are a training centre for nurses, midwives and allied health professionals. We are pioneering new roles that will support the changing needs of our patients and are one of the largest employers of physician associates in the country.

We are committed to working with our partners to deliver the best outcomes for our local communities. This means playing an active role in the South East London Integrated Care System (ICS), and in formal partnerships including the South East London Acute Provider Collaborative, provider partnerships with our local mental health trusts and borough‑based boards of the IC…

We are seeking a dynamic and talented senior physiotherapist to work across our extensive variety of inpatient and outpatient specialty services. This exciting opportunity will allow the successful candidate to gain experience and develop advanced clinical and leadership skills. In this role, you would have the opportunity to experience the diversity of working across three vibrant London Boroughs - Lewisham, Greenwich and Bexley.

Rotations are of 8‑month duration and include:

• Specialist Respiratory: Critical Care (ICU & HDU), Cystic Fibrosis, AVUs including NIV management, Surgery, Tracheostomy, Pulmonary Rehab, Respiratory Outpatients, Respiratory Medicine
• Specialist Paediatrics: NICU, Cystic Fibrosis In and Outpatients, Rheumatology, MSK Outpatients and Hydrotherapy, Trauma and Orthopaedics, Baby Clinic, Haematology, Neuro‑developmental, Acute Respiratory
• Specialist Neurology: Neurology inpatients and outpatients, Acute Stroke, Community Stroke Rehab
• Specialist Rehabilitation: Trauma and Orthopaedics, Oncology and Haematology, Amputee Prosthetic Rehab, Community Services
• Specialist Emergency Department Discharge Team: ED, Resus, Short Stay and Acute Medical Unit, Same Day Emergency Care, Frailty, Ambulatory Care
• Specialist Older Adult Services: Frailty, Geriatric Medicine
• Specialist Musculoskeletal Services: Hydrotherapy, Paediatrics, Fracture Clinic, GP practices, Staff Service, Classes

We offer a robust training and mentorship program with supervision and clinical based teaching forming the foundation for your learning. The breadth of clinical services will allow you to specialise or diversify according to your interests. We support staff to attend courses and further education to allow progression towards a chosen clinical specialty, as well as senior leadership skills. This is supported both with access to paid study leave and course funding. All senior therapists are encouraged to take an active role in trust wide quality improvement, audit and service development.

As a band 6 physiotherapist you will play a key role in the clinical provision of services to a varied patient caseload. Therapies are considered an integral part of the multi‑disciplinary team at Lewisham and Greenwich Trust and enjoy close MDT working.

The physiotherapy department within Lewisham and Greenwich NHS Trust is highly regarded as an inclusive and supportive team. If you are a motivated Physiotherapist looking to progress as a Band 6 Physiotherapist do not miss this opportunity to work within a dynamic, friendly and innovative department with all the benefits of being a large London Trust.

If you take a cross site role it is anticipated across a two‑year period you would complete two rotations at University Hospital Lewisham or in the community and one rotation at Queen Elizabeth Site.

As such the high cost area supplement (HCAS) you receive will depend on your rotation site and therefore your salary will vary in accordance with this. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MVS-EjGWloM https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RimWWRzVS5Y

Our people are our greatest asset. When we feel supported and happy at work, this positivity reaches those very people we are here for, the patients. Engaged employees perform at their best and our Equality, Diversity & Inclusion (EDI) initiatives contribute to cultivate a culture of engagement. We have four staff networks, a corporate EDI Team and a suite of programmes and events which aim to insert the 5 aspirations:

1. Improving representation at senior levels of staff with disabilities, from black, Asian, and ethnic minorities background, identify as LGBTQ+ and women, through improved recruitment and leadership development
2. Widening access (anchor institution) and employability
3. Improving the experience of staff with disability
4. Improving the EDI literacy and confidence of trust staff through training and development
5. Making equalities mainstream

The Specialist Physiotherapist is an experienced clinician who independently manages a full specialised clinical caseload. They are responsible for supervising designated members of staff within the specialist team.

The post holder rotates through speciality pathways on an 8‑monthly basis and works under supervision of an allocated Team Lead for the Clinical Area. Rotations span the University Hospital Lewisham, the Queen Elizabeth Hospital, Greenwich and Lewisham Community Services.

The rotations associated with this post may change in response to future service demands and the postholder may be required to work at any of the sites within the Trust.

7‑day working for Therapies is under development within the Trust and it is anticipated that the postholder will be required to work at weekends on a roster basis during some of the above rotations.

Clinical Governance and clinical support will be provided to rotational staff by the Band 7 Physiotherapy Team Lead. In conjunction with the Team Lead, the post holder participates in a rolling programme of education, clinical evaluation, audit and research across the speciality.

Band 5 Physiotherapists, Team Lead Physiotherapists, Physiotherapy Inpatient Site Lead, Physiotherapy Outpatient Site Lead, Heads of Therapies, Therapy Support Workers, Medical Consultants, Occupational Therapists, Speech and Language Therapists, Dietitians, All Physiotherapy Staff Trustwide, Nursing Staff, Referring Hospitals, Social Services, Community Services, GPs, Voluntary Services, Academic Institutions, Specialists external to L&G.

1. To undertake all aspects of clinical duties and to carry a significant caseload of patients as an autonomous practitioner, including those with complex presentations
2. To work at an advanced level and to be professionally and legally accountable for a specialised patient caseload and to decide priorities for own work area, balancing other patient related and professional demands
3. To be professionally and legally responsible and accountable for all aspects of own work, and the work of staff under the postholder's supervision. This will include the management of clinical risk, clinical governance, knowledge of indications and precautions of chosen techniques in line with National and Trust clinical guidelines and protocols where they exist.
4. To assess patients' capacity, gain valid informed consent to treatment and where such capacity is lacking/absent to work within a legal framework in the management of the patient
5. To undertake the comprehensive assessment and accurate diagnosis of patients, including those with complex presentation, using investigative, palpatory, analytical and clinical reasoning skills
6. To undertake physical treatment techniques utilising highly developed manual skills
7. To be responsible for the safe and competent use of the inpatient/outpatient gym, electrotherapy and manual handling equipment, as well as other aids and appliances by patients in your working area, ensuring that any Band 5 Physiotherapists and Assistants obtain competency prior to use.
8. To formulate individualised clinical management programmes, utilising a wide range of treatment skills and options to plan a specialised programme of care
9. To use recognised outcome measures to evaluate the effect of physiotherapy interventions and ensure that treatment programmes are progressing appropriately.
10. To provide spontaneous and planned advice, teaching and instruction to relatives, carers, other disciplines and agencies. To promote understanding of the aims of physiotherapy and to ensure continuation of the treatment programme.
11. To participate in and where indicated, initiate multidisciplinary/multi‑agency team meetings and case conferences to ensure the co‑ordination of patient care. This may include the review of patient progress and discharge planning
12. To maintain good working links and liaise with GP's and all relevant others involved with each patient's care, ensuring consultation, feedback and discharge communication.
13. To ensure accurate, comprehensive and up to date clinical records are maintained in accordance with Trust guidance and professionally agreed criteria
14. To identify and employ suitable verbal and non‑verbal communication skills with patients where there may be barriers to understanding or the inability to accept diagnosis. To facilitate the best possible communication outcome in every situation and use appropriate services e.g. interpreters
15. To ensure that individual practice and that of the local pathway team is user focused and patient views are incorporated into treatment planning
16. To employ appropriate skills such as persuasion, motivation and negotiation to gain co‑operation in the continuation of the agreed treatment programme
17. To communicate with empathy, patient information which may be of a complex and sensitive nature including details of prognosis or disability that may be unwelcome
18. To receive complex patient related information from patients, relatives, carers and other professionals to effectively plan and develop individual case management
19. To communicate and advise regarding complex patient related information effectively to ensure collaborative working within the physiotherapy service and with other professionals across health and other agencies to ensure the delivery of a co‑ordinated multidisciplinary service
20. To be integral in discharge planning including liaison with referring hospitals or community staff to which patients are discharged, providing timely discharge reports
21. To produce comprehensive patient related reports for other disciplines or agencies relating to assessment findings and/or treatment outcomes
22. To undertake the measurement and evaluation of own work through audit, outcome measurement, the application of evidence based practice and research where appropriate. To identify and initiate audit projects to review current clinical practice within the pathway
23. To facilitate the implementation and evaluation of physiotherapy clinical outcomes within a designated pathway and monitor adherence with professional and national standards
24. To work to Trust and Chartered Society of Physiotherapy clinical guidelines and have a good working knowledge of relevant national standards to which quality of practice should be monitored
25. To raise physiotherapy staff awareness of current clinical developments and the implications these may have on clinical practice
26. To be accessible and provide specialist clinical advice to colleagues in particular for complex case management
27. Once considered competent, to participate in the on‑call, week‑end, bank holiday and extended working rotas where clinically appropriate and in the absence of Band 7 staff to be responsible for any Band 5 physiotherapists in the team
28. To fully participate in whatever pattern of working is required by the service in the future
29. To work in GP outreach clinics as necessary, with telephone support from a senior physiotherapist if required.

All clinical staff are accountable and responsible for their own clinical competence and should limit their actions to those for which they are deemed competent in line with guidance from their professional bodies.

Essential criteria

• Diploma / Degree in Physiotherapy.
• HCPC registration
• Undertaken a range of relevant postgraduate courses
• Undertaken clinical educators training

Desirable criteria

• MCSP
• Member of Special interest Group
• Undertaken appropriate managerial training

Essential criteria

• Wide ranging rotational physiotherapy experience at Band 5 level
• Experience of participating in audit and evidence based projects.
• Evidence of actively participating in in‑service training and MDT groups, and evaluating effectiveness of training
• Experience and ability to work collaboratively within MDT
• Experience in managing limited resources and high workloads

Desirable criteria

• Previous experience at band 6 level
• Research experience.
• Experience of supervision and appraisal of physiotherapy staff and students with ability to give constructive feedback

Essential criteria

• Knowledge of evidenced based practice pertaining to specialist areas of physiotherapy
• Knowledge of key national guidelines and standards pertaining to specialist areas of physiotherapy
• Understanding of clinical governance and its implication for physiotherapy
• Awareness and understanding of NHS structure, current issues and developments
• Understanding of the legal responsibilities of the profession

Essential criteria

• The ability to discuss clinical reasoning in the management of complex cases
• The ability to identify and act upon adverse clinical signs
• Able to communicate complex information to patients, carers other health professionals and team.
• Excellent ability to work effectively in a team environment
• Excellent time management skills with ability to organise, prioritise and delegate.
• Ability to self direct learning, be critical and evaluate own learning needs, demonstrated in a CPD portfolio.
• Able to provide a high standard of clear concise, written and verbal reports in English
• Good teaching and presentation skills
• IT skills, including using hospital data bases, word processing, excel, email and power point
• Ability to manage own stress and work in a stressful and unpredictable environment. To show empathy and fairness to give support to others

Desirable criteria

• IT skills - Ability to create and/or format data and/or complex spreadsheets using computerised systems
• Demonstrates excellent leadership ability and motivational skills

We reserve the right to close the post before the stated closing date, please apply early. We do not contact applicants with the outcome of the shortlisting. If you have been shortlisted, you will receive an invite to an assessment day or interview.

As a local employer and anchor institution we work closely with our community to recruit locally and we welcome applications from the widest variety of people to ensure our workforce are reflective of the local communities which we serve. We encourage all suitable candidates to apply including if you are Black, Asian or other ethnic minorities, live with a disability (visible or not) or are LGBT+. We have a number of active staff networks including Disability, LGBT+, Multicultural Inclusion and Women's staff networks to bring staff together and celebrate diversity across our whole workforce.

Please note, not all roles will meet the criteria for a skilled worker visa.

You must have appropriate UK professional registration.

This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (Exceptions) Order 1975 (Amendment) (England and Wales) Order 2020 and it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service.

• Job Description & Person Spec (PDF, 784.0KB)
• Band 6 senior general rotational JD and Person Spec (PDF, 278.3KB)
• Working at LGT (PDF, 4.2MB)
• Visa and Certificate of Sponsorship Information for Applicants (PDF, 3.8MB)
• Candidate Guidance on the use of AI (PDF, 3.8MB)