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Job summary

Main area
Community Specialist Palliative Care
Grade
Band 7
Contract
Permanent
Hours
Part time - 26.5 hours per week (worked over 4 days ideally may be flexibility for discussion or shorter hrs over 5 days)
Job ref
844-7282208
Employer
Wirral Community Health and Care NHS Foundation Trust
Employer type
NHS
Site
Wirral Hospice St John's, 2nd Floor
Town
Higher Bebington
Salary
£46,148 - £52,809 pa pro rata
Salary period
Yearly
Closing
10/07/2025 23:59

Employer heading

Wirral Community Health and Care NHS Foundation Trust logo

Highly Specialist Physiotherapist in Palliative Care

Band 7

Wirral Community Health & Care NHS Foundation Trust's common purpose:

We will support you and your community to live well.

Our values:

Compassion
Supportive and caring, listening to others.

Open
Communicating openly, honestly and sharing ideas.

Trust
Trusted to deliver, feeling valued and safe.

Wirral Community Health & Care NHS Foundation Trust provides high quality community health and care services which are responsive to the needs of our local population. Services are delivered by our dedicated and innovative multi disciplinary professionals and supported by equally committed staff behind the scenes. We strive to continue developing and improving our services by working with and listening to our populations, partners, commissioners and staff.

WCHC offers you a great opportunity to be a part of a talented, passionate and committed team delivering excellent community based services across Cheshire and Merseyside.

 

Job overview

We are looking for a motivated and experienced Highly Specialist Physiotherapist to join our dynamic Community Specialist Palliative Care Team, which includes Occupational Therapy, Dietetics, and Clinical Nurse Specialists. This is a fantastic opportunity to be part of a forward-thinking, compassionate team delivering outstanding care to patients across the Wirral.

In this pivotal role, you will provide expert physiotherapy assessment, intervention, and care planning for patients with advanced, life-limiting conditions—supporting them to remain in their preferred place of care, typically in their own homes. Our specialist palliative care approach ensures that patient needs, goals, and preferences are always central.

What we’re looking for:

  • An experienced Physiotherapist, ideally with specialist skills or strong interest in palliative care.

  • A confident communicator with excellent organisational and leadership skills.

  • A collaborative, compassionate team player who thrives in a multidisciplinary setting.

  • Someone who can balance complex caseloads and competing priorities with professionalism and empathy.

  • A physiotherapist deeply aligned with the values and purpose of Wirral Community Health and Care NHS Foundation Trust.

If you’re ready to bring your expertise and passion to a team that values innovation, compassion, and excellence in care, we’d love to hear from you.

Join us—and help us deliver the right care, in the right place, every time.

Main duties of the job

We are looking for a highly motivated individual with a minimum of 5 years previous experience of working as an autonomous practitioner in the community/palliative/specialist palliative care setting. The right candidate needs to be organised and able to prioritise and be proficient in their role, so they can manage their own caseload of patients. Ability to be involved in training of other staff. In addition, to having excellent communication and interpersonal skills as well as excellent leadership skills, the ability to be proactive and able to motivate others.

In the role the successful candidate will be responsible and be professionally accountable for all aspects of clinical work for patients and referring onwards as needed to other Health / Social Care Professionals, care workers and/or departmental specialists by following agreed pathways.

 

 

Working for our organisation

Wirral Community Health and Care NHS Foundation Trust has been rated as Good by CQC (Dec 2023) with some outstanding areas.

As an aspiring outstanding Trust we have numerous policies and procedures in place which provide standard organisational ways of working, in line with organisational objectives, relevant legislation and requirements. Policies allow for continuity and consistency within the Trust. Employees must abide by and adhere to all Wirral Community NHS Trust’s policies, at all times.

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

Please see job description for full list of roles and responsibilities

Clinical Duties

The post holder will provide high standards of competent and effective clinical care with evidence based, measurable outcomes and can deliver this care as an autonomous practitioner.

•    To be responsible for the assessment, planning, implementation and evaluation of Highly Specialist physiotherapy rehab intervention to patients who are palliative, living with life limiting diseases.

•    To be able to demonstrate clinical reasoning at a Highly Specialist level including differential diagnosis of complex presentations.

•    Be involved in daily management of complex palliative patients and planning own workload/visit allocation

•    Provide care in a range of settings within Wirral to include community, patient homes, nursing and residential homes and possibly day care centre and third sector organisations.

•    Active involvement in the development and provision of structured and specialised on-going Rehabilitation programmes with patients, relatives and carers and nursing and residential home staff.

•    Liaise at a Highly Specialist level with Consultants, G.P.’s, Nurses, other Health / Social Care Professionals, Nursing Home and hospital staff to discuss, plan and implement multi-disciplinary care plans for individual patients with a complex range of needs.

•    To be aware of evidence- based practice, local and national guidelines and to support the development and implementation as local policy and practice to demonstrate this knowledge in the management of complex cases.

•    Make appropriate, timely secondary referrals to other Health / Social care Professionals, services and agencies to meet the individual needs of the complex patient.

•    To have individual responsibility and be professionally accountable for all aspects of clinical work for patients, delegating as necessary and referring onwards as needed to other Health / Social Care Professionals, care workers and/or departmental specialists by following agreed pathways.

•    Provide education advice to patients, relatives and carers and other professionals as necessary.

•    The post holder will attend meetings with other Health / Social Care Professionals, their teams and other groups to discuss update and implement new pathways policies and procedures across agencies as necessary.

•    To have appropriate hand eye co-ordination.

•    Maintain high levels of concentration during patient contact time

•        To be competent in the assessment, demonstration and fitting of equipment where necessary to improve clinical outcomes and independence, both within the nursing/residential home or patients own home environment.

•    To have the capability to move and handle and find solutions for patients with complex moving and handling needs of complex neurology, wheelchair users or confined to bed, possibly in confined spaces.

•    Actively participate in MDT meetings and to take delegated responsibility for actions from those meetings including policy, clinical or service development commensurate with the skills of a specialist practitioner.

•    To support the service in its responsibility for the maintenance, security, rotation and ordering of stock.

•    Adhere to department and Trust Standard Operating Procedures, protocols, policies and guidelines.

•    Build and maintain healthy interpersonal relationships with colleagues, patients, GP’s and other health / social care professionals, working effectively as a member of the multidisciplinary team and always promoting the service/department.

•    To actively contribute to the development of the service, and to the identification and implementation of quality improvements and initiatives.

•    Provide supervision and support the development of junior staff through mentorship to staff and students and be responsible for the completion of summative assessment.

•    Carry out treatments, which include kneeling, crouching, bending, lifting, moving weights and equipment, maintaining static / awkward postures for short periods of time, several times a day, daily.

Communication and Administration

•    Excellent communication / interpersonal skills with individuals and groups of patients may be required to provide complex or sensitive information. Be able to communicate clearly with a variety of health and social care professionals. Ability to influence and use assertiveness skills effectively to deal with contentious situations.

•    To accept responsibility for establishing and maintaining healthy interpersonal relationships within the work environment with patients, colleagues G.Ps, Health Visitors, Community Nurses, Nursing Home staff etc and work effectively as a member of the multi-disciplinary team particularly around complex cases.

•    To gain informed consent in accordance with Trust policy.

•    To maintain high quality and accurate records of all patient consultations, telephone consultations and related work carried out at each clinical session.

•    To prepare high quality clinical reports demonstrating objective assessment and measured outcomes

•      To accurately report consultation activity using Trust data capture systems.

•    To attend and actively contribute to departmental meetings.

•    Liaise with and return telephone calls to other members of the team and to write to G.P.'s and hospital consultants regarding patient management and discharge summary.

•    To ensure that all information relating to clients and staff gained through employment with the Trust is kept confidential according to Trust record keeping policy and Caldicott guidelines.

•    Give service presentations and training to GP’s, other healthcare professionals and outside agencies using appropriate aids (power point etc.).

•      Fully conversant with Microsoft and other computer application.

Person specification

QUALIFICATIONS AND PROFESSIONAL TRAINING

Essential criteria
  • Physiotherapy degree or recognised equivalent qualification
  • Registered member of HCPC
  • Evidence of successful completion of specialist short courses at a postgraduate equivalent level with an accompanying portfolio of evidence/experience.
Desirable criteria
  • Registered member of CSP

EXPERIENCE & KNOWLEDGE

Essential criteria
  • Minimum of 5 years qualified with relevant specialist experience
  • Can manage own caseload of complex problems independently
  • Knowledge of current trends in the management of clinical specialist area
  • Experience of supervising / mentoring junior staff / students
  • Experience of training others in specialist area
Desirable criteria
  • Experience of project management

SKILLS & ABILITIES

Essential criteria
  • Excellent communication skills
  • Can use a variety of assessment techniques
  • Can demonstrate continuing professional development
  • Demonstrates specialist clinical skills
  • Competent computer skills and ability to utilise Information Technology
  • Demonstrate analytical and reflection skills
  • Understands and can use the principals of prioritisation
  • Knowledge and experience of clinical governance/audit
  • Able to demonstrate good leadership and the abilities to motivate others.
  • Physical ability to undertake on a repetitive basis sit to stand and mobility rehabilitation for patients with markedly reduced balance.
  • Experience in supporting staff and their development
  • Access to transport for work purposes.

PERSONAL QUALITIES

Essential criteria
  • Demonstrates excellent interpersonal skills, including observation, listening and empathy
  • Can convey ideas and information in a confident and easily understood manner, both written and verbal
  • Adaptable to a varied and frequently changing work environment
  • Able to work in difficult, distracting environments, with challenging clients and where intense levels of concentration are required
  • Demonstrate ability to be a good team member.
  • Developed skills in negotiation and problem solving.
  • Able to relate the values of the organisation to everyday practice.
  • Excellent organisational skills.
  • Ability to motivate and inspire others.

Employer certification / accreditation badges

Apprenticeships logoNo smoking policyAge positiveInvestors in People: GoldHSJ Best places to workArmed Forces Covenant (Silver Award)Mindful employer.  Being positive about mental health.We offer Wagestream - A financial wellbeing benefit which lets you access your pay as you earn it.Disability confident employerStonewall equality policy. Equality and justice for lesbians, gay men, bisexual and trans people.

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.

Application numbers

This vacancy may close early if it receives a high number of applications. Please complete and submit your application in good time to avoid disappointment.

Documents to download

Apply online now

Further details / informal visits contact

Name
Charlotte Botes
Job title
Community Specialist Palliative Care manager
Email address
[email protected]
Telephone number
0151-328-0481
Additional information

Works 08.00-18.00- Monday to Thursday  

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