Detailed job description and main responsibilities

MAIN DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

Clinical

• Assessment and treatment of patients, identifying specialist therapy need and developing, implementing and evaluating programmes of care.
• Responsible for facilitating early hospital discharge and will be able to conduct a thorough holistic assessment of clients, obtaining consent in accordance with professional guidelines and local team procedures.
• Recommend appropriate interventions to promote independence and safety, utilising effective clinical reasoning skills and evidence-based practice.
• Determine the medical stability of patients referred and those currently on the caseload and promote the mental, physical and emotional health of a given population.
• Maintain effective multidisciplinary communication with other members of the team and the wider clinical network to ensure that client’s needs are met.
• Provide specialist Physiotherapy advice and support to client, carers and relatives based on clinical evidence and reasoning.
• Ensure safe, appropriate and effective provision, installation and demonstration of equipment.
• Participate in MDT meetings and complex family conferences.
• Ensure management of clinical risk with complex patients.
• Ability to identify when and how to terminate involvement or refer onwards to appropriate teams/services and complete input in a timely, seamless manner.
• Offer support, advice, guidance and training to patients, families and carers and be aware of and utilise appropriate resources and agencies.
• Co-ordinate services by liaising and collaborating with nurses, social care, voluntary agencies, statutory agencies, primary and secondary care.
• Make independent evidence based clinical decisions to influence practice.
• Manage and supervise the work of the generic support worker team within an effective environment, including performance management.
• Knowledge and awareness of HR policies and ability to manage staff by utilising these policies
• Ensure the safe use of prescribed equipment for manual handling.
• Take an innovative approach to service delivery to enable new initiatives to be introduced.
• Support safeguarding compliance.
• Complete individual plans of care for clients who require input from integrated community services, bed-based or home-based rehabilitation input.
• Be part of the weekend therapy cover for the rapid response team on a rota basis.

Care Co-ordination and Leadership

• To be responsible and accountable for the patients on the LIFE therapy team caseload. To coordinate and prioritise the management of care for the individuals on the caseload.
• To support integrated care for patients requiring case management, providing and initiating the collection baseline data to positively change patient outcomes.
• Able to carry out concise comprehensive patient assessments; to plan, delegate to junior colleagues, deliver and evaluate care for patients with long term conditions.
• To be highly visible and accessible to patients, families and carers and seen as being in charge of their care.
• To identify participate and initiate areas of change; participate in audit and service evaluation.
• To influence colleagues to effect changes in service delivery to improve patient care within constraints of job role.
• To develop and mentor students and colleagues.
• To refer directly on to other services or professionals as appropriate for example district nursing, palliative care and consultants in acute services.

Education, Training and Development

• To ensure own professional development and clinical skills through attending courses, conferences, workshops and being aware of national and local policies, to develop an extensive knowledge of chronic disease processes and management.
• To share the knowledge and skills of case management and new ways of working with long term conditions with, patients, carers, colleagues and other professionals.
• To actively participate in changes to service delivery
• To utilise knowledge of clinical governance and risk management to provide safe and effective services to patients.
• To reflect on one’s own practice by participating in reflective practice and learning sets to support the wider development of case management and best practice.

Communication

• To listen and empathise with the needs and wishes of patient and their carers, to support individual rights and choice.
• To ensure that the needs of patients and carers are addressed by utilising statutory and voluntary services.
• To address issues or blocks in communication that affect service delivery / patient care and work with colleagues and patients to overcome these.
• To case manage and co-ordinate care to proactively prevent hospital admission and facilitate hospital discharge.
• To keep accurate contemporaneous written and / or electronic documentation care plans and reports.

GENERAL

• To work in accordance with the Trust’s Here for You standards to consistently demonstrate the behaviours required to fulfil the promises we have made to the people of Croydon. These promises, developed with our patients, carers and staff help us deliver the pledges in the NHS Constitution and our own corporate objectives.
• To ensure that Croydon Healthcare Services Trust’s policies and procedures are adhered to.
• To have responsibility for the Health, Safety and Welfare of self and others and to comply at all times with the requirements of the Health and Safety Regulations and the Trust’s Health and Safety policies and procedures. 
• To ensure confidentiality at all times, only releasing confidential information obtained during the course of employment to those acting in an official capacity in accordance with the provisions of the Data Protection Act and its amendments.
• To work in accordance with the Trust’s policies to eliminate unlawful discrimination and promote equality and diversity in the workplace. To positively promote at all times equality of opportunity in service delivery and employment in accordance with Trust policies, regardless of age, disability, race, nationality, ethnic or national origin, gender, religion, belief, sexual orientation or domestic circumstances.
• To adhere to the Trust Infection Control Policy, procedures and guidelines, and in particular practice strict hand hygiene at all times while carrying out clinical duties, in line with the responsibilities placed on employees by the Health Act 2006: Code of Practice for the prevention and control of healthcare associated infections (HCAIs). The prevention and control of HCAIs must be embedded into everyday clinical practice and applied consistently.
• All clinical staff holds responsibility for ensuring they have sound knowledge of standard infection control precautions and that no omission on their part or within the sphere of their responsibility is detrimental to the interests or safety of their patients, visitors and colleagues. Clinical staff must keep their infection control knowledge and skills up to date by attending the Trust’s mandatory infection control training, a record of which will be kept and information provided to line managers as required.      
• To comply with the Trust’s Safe Guarding Children and Vulnerable Adults policies, procedures and protocols. All individual members of staff (paid or unpaid) have a duty to safeguard and promote the welfare of children, young people and vulnerable adults This will require you to:
• Ensure you are familiar with and comply with the London Child Protection Procedures and protocols for promoting and safeguarding the welfare of children and young people.
• Ensure you are familiar and comply with the Croydon Multi Agency Safeguarding Vulnerable Adults Pan London Procedures.
• Ensure you are familiar and comply with local protocols and systems for information sharing.
• Know the appropriate contact numbers and required reporting lines.
• Participate in required training and supervision.
• Comply with required professional boundaries and codes of conduct