Detailed job description and main responsibilities

Communication

1.    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.

2.    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, learning difficulties or who are acutely confused or who are sedated and ventilated.

3. 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.

4.    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.

5. To be able to diffuse potentially hostile and antagonistic situations with staff, patients, and relatives using negotiation and interpersonal skills.
6. 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.
7. 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.
8. Ensure timely communication with the team leader on all professional matters.

Service delivery and improvement

1. To assist Band 8a and Team lead in the proposal and implementation of Trust Policy and Service Developments within the Integrated Therapy Rehabilitation team.

People management and development

1. To assist the team leader in the day to day supervision and coordination of the junior and assistant therapy staff.

2. To supervise less experienced staff and formulate Individual Development Plans and undertake regular appraisals with Junior and assistant staff using the Knowledge skills framework.

3. To supervise undergraduate physiotherapy students on clinical placements within the department.

Patient care delivery

1.     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.

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

3.   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.

Learning and development

·         Attend mandatory training updates as required.

·     Undertake training as necessary in line with the development of the post and as agreed with the line manager as part of the personal development process.

·  Achieve and demonstrate agreed standards of personal and professional development within agreed timescales.

·       Identify own learning needs and jointly plan training requirements with your line manager

·     Participate in the Trust’s appraisal process to discuss how your role will help deliver the best possible care to our patients and help to deliver any changes in service.

This job description is an outline of the role and responsibilities. From time to time due to the needs of the service, we may ask you to flexibly undertake other duties that are consistent with your role and banding, including project work, internal job rotation and absence cover.

The job description and person specification may be reviewed on an ongoing basis in accordance with the changing needs of the department and the organisation.

Research and Development

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

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

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

Education and Experience

1. To maintain own professional development by keeping abreast of any developments and attending relevant post-graduate clinical and non-clinical training, and incorporate into practice.
2. To attend mandatory and statutory training according to Trust policies.
3. To be an active member of the departmental professional development programmes by attending in-service training sessions, delivering training sessions and by attending external courses and undertaking reflective practice.
4. To participate in the staff appraisal scheme and Individual Development Plan (IDP), as both an appraise and appraiser.

Training

1. To provide specialist advice to physiotherapy colleagues working within other clinical areas.
2. To provide specialist advice, teaching and training to patients, carers and members of the multidisciplinary team regarding the physiotherapy management of patients.
3. To provide training to junior staff, assistants and undergraduate students. 

Vision and values

Our vision is to deliver Excellent Care Everywhere.

All our efforts to do this are underpinned by our values:

• We are compassionate: we communicate and act kindly
• We are inclusive: our teams work collaboratively
• We are respectful: we behave professionally

Our vision and values are extremely important to us and we expect everyone who works at University Hospitals Sussex in any capacity to share and uphold them.

Our strategic ambitions

We have five important ambitions that will help us deliver Excellent Care Everywhere. These are:

1.    Providing excellent care for our patients – fast, fair, high-quality care

2.    Providing excellent care for our people – supporting all our colleagues to be their best

3.    Providing excellent care for our communities – helping local people live well and thrive

4.    Providing excellent care for our future – being ready for the word ahead.

5.    Providing excellent care together – becoming one UHSussex, united for success

Safeguarding children and vulnerable adults

UHSussex is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and adults and to protecting them from the risks of harm. The Trust recognises its responsibility to ensure that safe working conditions and systems are in place for staff working with children, looked after children, adults, and families in their care. Staff are required to comply with Trust policies on Safeguarding and to undertake the appropriate level of mandatory in-service training in this area. 

Equality, diversity and inclusion

Inclusion and respect are core values at UHSussex, and we are committed to diversity and equality.  This means treating colleagues and patients with professionalism, ensuring everyone feels welcome and included, valuing different backgrounds and experiences, and challenging inequalities.   

Having all our staff feel safe, supported, included and valued will lead to better care and outcomes for our patients – helping us deliver Excellent Care Everywhere.

All staff have a duty to report any behaviours which contravene this to their managers.

Weekend Service

UHSFT is a large multisite acute hospital trust providing inpatient and emergency care 365 days a year. As such many of our services are provided across or preparing to move to a seven day rostered working pattern. As this post includes responsibility for the provision of inpatient care this post will be for a seven day a week working contract. The post currently supports the Rehabilitation service which currently operates Monday- Friday.