Detailed job description and main responsibilities

Communication

·      To adapt communication skills to encourage patients to undertake their treatment programme, including patients with communication difficulties e.g. Dementia, learning difficulties, visual and hearing impairments and non-English speaking patients.

·    To assess capacity to give consent, gain informed consent and have the ability to work within a legal framework with patients who lack capacity to consent to treatment such as patients who have dementia, dysphasia, dysarthria, cognitive and perceptual problems, learning difficulties or who are acutely confused or who are sedated and ventilated.

· To persuade, motivate, reassure, empathise, explain and encourage patients in undertaking their treatment programme, ensure understanding of their condition and communicate effectively with patients and carers to maximise rehabilitation potential.

·      To clearly communicate sensitive information to staff, patients and carers. This may include explaining prognoses about long-term disabilities, where an educational and counselling role is required.

·      To be able to diffuse potentially hostile and antagonistic situations with staff, patients, and relatives using negotiation and interpersonal skills.

· To maintain accurate, comprehensive, and up-to-date documentation, in line with legal and departmental requirements, and communicate assessment and treatment results to the appropriate disciplines in the form of reports and letters.

·      To communicate effectively and work collaboratively with medical, nursing and therapy colleagues to ensure delivery of a co-ordinated multidisciplinary service. This may include attending case conferences, ward rounds and discharge planning meetings.

·  Ensure timely communication with the team leader on all professional matters.

Service Delivery and Improvement

·   To plan and undertake the measurement and evaluation of practice and performance through clinical audit and studies with guidance from the Team Leader.

·      To support more junior staff within the department to undertake clinical audit.

·     To demonstrate a sound understanding of Clinical Governance and Risk Management and apply to work situation.

·  To assist Band 7 and Band 8a Staff in the proposal and implementation of Trust Policy and Service Developments within the physiotherapy department.

·  To be responsible for the equipment used in carrying out Physiotherapy duties, and to adhere to departmental equipment policy and Care Quality Commission (CQC) standards. To ensure the safe use of equipment and reporting of faults by self and others including patients, carers and other health professionals

·     To comply with and ensure implementation of all trust policies and procedures and the Health and Safety at Work Act, including adherence to Universal Precautions and Infection Control measures.

People Management and Development

·  To assist the team leader in the day-to-day supervision and coordination of the junior and assistant physiotherapy staff.

·  To supervise less experienced staff and formulate Individual Development Plans and undertake regular appraisals with Junior and assistant staff.

·   To supervise undergraduate physiotherapy students on clinical placements within the department

·  To lead interdisciplinary projects to develop the service, with assistance and guidance of more senior members of staff.

·      To flexibly plan and prioritise own time to ensure that patient care, training, supervision, and meetings are undertaken with occasional guidance from Band 7 and Band 8a staff.

·     To use good prioritising and time management skills to meet the unpredictable and conflicting needs of the service.

·    To participate in departmental meetings including staff, unit and grade meetings as required and to participate in multi-disciplinary team meetings as required.

·      To report all complaints, incidents and accidents to the immediate senior member of staff as soon as possible and document according to trust policy.

·     To be responsible for the operational management of the clinical team in the absence of the team leader.

·      To be responsible for maintenance of an accurate and evaluative record keeping system using POMR (Problem Orientated Medical Records) format to demonstrate evaluation, analysis and clinical reasoning in the provision of patient care.

· To maintain the Chartered Society of Physiotherapy and departments standards for documentation.

·   To record statistical information related to own activity and highlight variances in consultation with senior staff.

·    Use computer databases to provide accurate reports containing statistics and clinical information as requested by Band 7 and Band 8a Staff.

Patient Care Delivery

·         To be professionally and legally responsible and accountable, as an autonomous practitioner, for all aspects of your own work including the management of patients in your care.

·         To ensure high standards of clinical care within the designated area, and adhere to Trust, Chartered Society of Physiotherapy and Departmental standards of care.

·         To be competent in the comprehensive assessment of a wide range of patients, including those with a complex presentation, using advanced theoretical knowledge of anatomy, physiology and pathology, often in situations where conflicting evidence is present.

·         To interpret and analyse clinical and non-clinical facts, which may be conflicting, using underpinning theoretical knowledge and experience to suggest a diagnoses, identify main problems and form prognoses in a wide range of complex and complicated conditions. 5. To formulate and develop individual patient management, treatment, and discharge plans, using clinical reasoning, current evidence and a wide range of treatment skills.

·         To seek Senior guidance with highly complex or challenging patient cases.

·         To demonstrate well developed dexterity, co-ordination and palpatory skills for the assessment, therapeutic handling and manual treatment of patients e.g. specific soft tissue mobilisation, facilitation of movement and massage.

·         To continually re-assess patients to progress treatments effectively and advise patients and carers on the appropriate time to return to work, sports and other activities.

·         To demonstrate a sound understanding of Clinical Governance and Risk Management and ensure its effective application to the work situation, guided by the Physiotherapy Team leads and Physiotherapy Management as needed.

·         Always maintain patient confidentiality and dignity and support peoples’ equality, diversity and rights.

·         To use theoretical and practical knowledge to refer to other health disciplines as appropriate, e.g. for assessment or further treatment or specialist consultant opinions.

·         To work a rostered 7-day service when implemented

·       To be an active member of the evening and weekend Respiratory on-call service and / or orthopaedic service.

· To maintain professionalism in public, ward and rehabilitation areas.

•      To advise the team leader of any problems within the service to  ensure quality and effectiveness of care for their patients. 

·    To undertake any other duties as may be deemed necessary by Physiotherapy managers in the provision of the physiotherapy service.

·       To be on call Competent and take part in the respiratory weekend rota.