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Detailed job description and main responsibilities

Duties and Responsibilities include:

Professional/ Clinical

• To be professionally and legally responsible for all aspects of the post- holder’s own work
• To work as an autonomous lone practitioner, case managing clients in the community and co-ordinating their care, seeking support from seniors where appropriate.
• To analyse and interpret complex clinical and social information from a range of sources.

• To participate in referral triage and prioritise referrals based on urgency of need and risk according to service protocols.
• To be competent in using a wide variety of specialised assessment, and treatment approaches with adults with a range of conditions.
• To analyse and interpret complex assessment findings, from both standardised and non-standardised assessments using advanced clinical reasoning skills.
• Assess a client’s understanding of proposed rehabilitation and seek valid informed consent from clients before commencing treatment. Work within a legal framework for clients who lack the capacity to provide informed consent.
• To teach and demonstrate specific therapeutic techniques to clients, carers and therapy assistants to enable them to carry out a physiotherapy programmes.

• Assess clients’ needs for rehabilitative equipment and aids to improve safety and functioning within the home. To advise carers, family members and other agencies in the safe use of the equipment.

• Be able to identify significant health changes that would warrant medical intervention and liaise with the relevant practitioner.

• To evaluate client intervention and progress in a timely manner.
• To adapt care plans accordingly and delegate tasks appropriately to therapy assistants and more junior members of staff, ensuring that they are competent to deliver the tasks given.
• To discharge clients in a timely manner having reviewed the client’s needs and goals, making appropriate onward referrals where necessary.
• To educate clients, carers and family members on the client’s condition, prognosis and physical management encouraging their involvement and actively promoting healthy lifestyles.
• To maintain up-to-date clinical records in accordance with local and professional standards, ensure safekeeping and confidentiality of these records; and also writing comprehensive reports on clients as required. 
• Be able to assess and manage clinical, physical and/or environmental risk. To adhere to incident reporting procedures and to support colleagues to do likewise.
• To act as lead health professional for clients when required. This may include initiating and co-ordinating multi-disciplinary/multi-agency meetings, liaising with clients/families and onward referrals to other professionals/agencies.
• To participate in the weekend rota and community rotations when required.
• To respect an individual’s ethnicity and cultural and religious beliefs.
• Must use lone worker device and adhere to local lone working procedures.
• To plan, organise and prioritise own patient caseload and support less senior members of staff in caseload management when required.

• Actively participate in regular monthly structured supervision with clinical supervisor/line manager. To document the session and act on agreed action points.
• Maintain and develop current knowledge of evidence-based research relevant to physiotherapy practice and rehabilitation.
• Undertake regular review and evaluation of own work through the use and application of evidence-based practice, research and outcome measures.
• Responsible for identifying own training and development needs in line with service needs and Chartered Society of Physiotherapists standards of practice.
• To maintain an advanced level of clinical knowledge through relevant reading, attendance at in-service training, specialist external courses and literature searches and be able to impart knowledge and skills gained to colleagues.
• Actively participate in promotion of the Community Rehabilitation and Falls Service to staff within the Trust and for external organisations.
• Provide physiotherapy services which are consistent with relevant legislation, Chartered Society of Physiotherapists and Trust standards of practice, as well as working within clinical governance and national guidelines e.g. NICE.
• To actively contribute to the development / review of clinical policies and guidelines relevant to the service.

Communication

• To be highly skilled in communicating, using both verbal and non-verbal means, with clients, carers and families who have a range of physical and cognitive disabilities and other associated barriers to understanding.
• To be able to communicate sensitive and highly complex information, to clients, carers, family and other health and social care professionals and organisations.
• To be able to respond calmly and patiently to clients /carers who may be distressed and sometimes aggressive. To offer support, reassurance and advice to diffuse the situation when required.
• To deal with and attempt to resolve verbal complaints and to be well versed with the Trust’s formal complaints procedure.
• To develop and maintain effective communication links and working relationships with all people involved in patient care, student education, research or policy development as appropriate.
• To offer specialist advice and communicate written and verbal information to clients, carers and agencies including other health professionals, social services and voluntary organisations.
• Use good communication and presentation skills in small or large groups of professionals.

Management and Leadership

• Provide and document clinical and professional supervision for band 5 therapists, rehabilitation support workers and therapy assistants.
• To lead the appraisal process for junior members of staff including setting objectives, formulating a personal development plan and identifying training needs.
• To participate in the interviewing and selection of staff as appropriate.
• To devise and participate in individual induction programmes for new members of staff.
• To ensure that all complaints and incidents are reported and managed in line with the Trust complaints procedure policies
• To participate in the monitoring of the quality of therapy/rehabilitation services offered
• To report defects in equipment in a timely manner according to service protocol
• To implement relevant national and local guidance, policies and procedures.  To act as a lead in key areas in line with the Trust priorities and actively engage in service development.
• Actively participate and/or lead in clinical governance activities, clinical audits, quality assurance and evidence-based research as required.
• Maintain links with the department, organisation and wider sector by attending meetings, seminars/case conferences etc. as deemed appropriate.
• Undertake any other duties as directed by the service managers, and be prepared to work at any location within the Trust.

Education and Professional Development

• To continually update clinical practice in accordance with current research, evidence-based guidelines, audit results and government legislation. 

• To actively participate and contribute to the in-service training programme and provide training for more junior members of staff and therapy assistants.
• To provide a high standard of physiotherapy training for students on placement in order to promote professional standards. To co-ordinate and manage individual student placements as allocated and to liaise with university staff as relevant to the student placement.
• To undertake all mandatory and statutory training in line with the Trust policy.
• To actively participate in the performance and development review process and improve knowledge and skills in line with personal development plans.
• To identify and be responsible for own training needs as well as identifying team training needs and supporting development of others.
• To educate referrers, clients and other service users about the services the team offers

Information management

• Complete required activity and performance data regarding all clinical and professional activities and support other staff to complete their statistics to required timescales.
• Update all information on written and electronic records as per local and Trust requirements
• Ensure confidentiality and information governance policies are adhered to for all data gathered and recorded.