Job summary
- Main area
- Home Ventilation
- Grade
- NHS AfC: Band 7
- Contract
- Permanent
- Hours
- Part time - 22.8 hours per week
- Job ref
- 216-LT-DC7907518
- Employer
- University Hospitals Plymouth NHS Trust
- Employer type
- NHS
- Site
- Derriford Hospital Plymouth
- Town
- Plymouth
- Salary
- £49,387 - £56,515 Per Annum Pro Rata
- Salary period
- Yearly
- Closing
- 10/08/2026 23:59
Employer heading
Highly Specialist Physiotherapist
NHS AfC: Band 7
Job overview
Plymouth home mechanical ventilation team provide a service across the South West Peninsula. It currently provides a home ventilation service for over 500 patients living in Devon and Cornwall. The service also provides a specialist service to patients with long term tracheostomy both at home and within the hospital environment. In addition it provides an oxygen assessment and review service to patients within the Derriford Footprint.
As a senior and highly specialist practitioner within this team the post holder will provide expert leadership and clinical advice to staff of all grades and professions, patients and their carers.
In addition the post holder will lead the weak cough service provided by the team.
***Preference will be given to internal Trust staff, as well as ‘Priority’ and 'At Risk' status including NHS At Risk staff throughout Devon who are able to display recent relevant experience as dictated by the Person Specification.***
Main duties of the job
- Within the context of a multidisciplinary team, using higher levels of decision making and clinical judgement to be an autonomous expert practitioner for adults and transitioning young people with chronic ventilatory, oxygen or cough failure or those likely to develop these conditions.
- To support and advise other subspecialist services within respiratory medicine where adults and transitioning young people require home mechanical ventilation, cough augmentation or home oxygen therapy.
- To act as an expert clinical resource, and facilitator to educate and train medical, nursing and allied health professionals as required.
- To support the development of the long term domiciliary ventilation service according to need, undertaking audit and research projects and develop policies and procedures as required.
- To lead the weak cough service provided by the home ventilation team.
Working for our organisation
We are a people business – where every member of staff matters and can make a difference. Patients are at the heart of everything we do. Joining University Hospitals Plymouth NHS Trust means becoming part of a team of dedicated staff, who are committed to leading the way through innovation, clinical excellence and great customer care. The Trust has great opportunities for career development in a highly progressive working environment. We offer all of this in a vibrant, modern city with a historic reputation for adventure. PLEASE NOTE THAT ALL COMMUNICATION WILL BE ELECTRONIC, PLEASE CHECK YOUR EMAIL ACCOUNT REGULARLY. If you have any issues with applying online and need additional support including reasonable adjustments with the application process please contact the recruitment manager for this post who will put you in touch with the recruitment team. We recognise that work life balance is important for our colleagues and so we invite requests from applicants around less than full time/flexible working for our advertised roles. Please contact the recruiting manager to discuss this prior to your application submission. We commit to giving this full consideration in each case. We encourage people from diverse backgrounds to apply for our roles, as diversity strengthens our teams. It is sometimes necessary to close vacancies before the closing date. If you have not heard from us within 4 weeks of the closing date, please assume that you have not been shortlisted.
Detailed job description and main responsibilities
- Work autonomously to manage own patient caseload, this includes undertaking non-medical clinics, domiciliary visits and outreaching into other hospitals.
- Autonomously undertakes comprehensive assessments of respiratory needs of new and established patients with ventilatory, oxygen and cough failure including the need for airway clearance techniques.
- Communicate highly sensitive, complex and emotive information to patients and relatives independently, without a doctor present, with empathy and reassurance. This will including issues such as diagnosis, disease progression and end of life, or explaining treatment options and aiding decision making.
- Completion of treatment escalation plans and allow a natural death forms.
- Autonomously order, undertake and interpret inpatient and outpatient investigations including those specific to patients accessing this service. These include phlebotomy, X-rays, radial artery puncture and blood gas analysis, capnography and oximetry. Change management autonomously depending on results. This will include prescribing medicines.
- Initiate drug therapy/medication and other changes in patient management including commencing and discontinuing long term ventilation and in accordance with present legislation supply and prescribe medicines independently as a non-medical prescriber.
- Autonomously initiate non-invasive ventilation. augmented cough techniques and oxygen therapy for patients who need these treatments as inpatients, outpatients or in the domiciliary settings.
- Autonomously develop and implement management and treatment plans for patients throughout their disease trajectory wherever they may be: inpatient, outpatient, at home, whilst outreaching into other hospitals.
- Develop specialised programmes of care and provide highly specialised advice including written and oral information to other professionals including senior medical staff, patients, their relatives and cares.
- Management of withdrawal of ventilation including end of life care.
For further information please see attached job description
Person specification
Essential and Desirable
Essential criteria
- Appropriate demonstrable experience within a home ventilation team
- Knowledge of neuromuscular disease and other respiratory conditions which can cause respiratory or cough failure.
- Proven ability to manage own patient caseload
- Proven ability to apply specialist knowledge within a variety of healthcare settings
- Advanced communication skills
- Established Teaching skills Research and audit skills and an understanding of their application to improve quality of services
- Counselling skills
- Innovator with proven ability to problem solve
- Demonstrable experience in applying research findings to practice
- Palliative and bereavement care education/training
- Management and leadership
Desirable criteria
- Budget management
- Demonstrable experience of line management
Questions
Essential criteria
- Appropriate Batchelor Degree and Registration with HCPC.
- Level 7 module(s) in a relevant area
- Non-Medical Prescriber (if profession legal able to prescribe)
Desirable criteria
- Post Registration teaching/mentorship
- Post Registration home ventilation or other relevant course
- MSc
Presentation
Essential criteria
- Committed to service development
Desirable criteria
- Post Registration teaching/mentorship
Employer certification / accreditation badges
Applicant requirements
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.
Documents to download
Further details / informal visits contact
- Name
- Jonathan Palmer
- Job title
- Consultant Nurse
- Email address
- [email protected]
- Telephone number
- 07884324389
- Additional information
Please feel to contact for an informal discussion or visit.
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