Physiotherapist or Occupational Therapist

Job responsibilities

JOB SUMMARY

To provide Specialist assessment, treatment and on-going management to a wide range of patients with a palliative diagnosis. Working within a multi-disciplinary team (MDT) to see patients in various settings e.g. Community, Community Care Unit outpatients, and within our Inpatients beds.

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SAFEGUARDING RESPONSIBILITIES

To demonstrate a commitment to keeping adults and young people safe

To report any disclosure made to you to the appropriate person

To report any safeguarding concerns in the workplace to the appropriate person

To maintain an awareness of the Hospices policies in relation to safeguarding

CLINICAL RESPONSIBILITIES

To be responsible for the accurate assessment and appropriate treatment of patients across all Hospice services and sites in the Great Yarmouth and Waveney area.

To maintain high standards of practice and correct medical ethics, behaving in a professional manner at all times, in accordance with CSP and HCPC standards.

To ensure patient records are up to date and that they are comprehensive, timely, accurate and appropriate.

To identify patients goals that are appropriate to their needs and wishes.

To work with the multi-disciplinary team, patients and their carers, and other healthcare professionals to manage patient care which is responsive to patient choice and need.

To liaise with GPs, consultants and other relevant professionals where appropriate.

To be proactive in providing palliative rehabilitation in various settings - out-patient clinics in Community Care Units, inpatients and community visits.

To monitor the safety of equipment within the Hospice, removing and reporting any that is defective.

To be responsible for stock control of therapeutic items or equipment required for treatment, ensuring that orders are placed with the purchasing service in a timely manner.

To be actively involved in group work such as exercise classes and symptom support groups.

To keep clinical knowledge up-to-date, observing best practice, and to be pro-active in developing the service to meet patient and carer needs.

To work with other providers as appropriate, to jointly support patients and their families.

To have a good understanding of safeguarding principles and be able to apply these within everyday practice and intervention/within your role.

MANAGEMENT RESPONSIBILITIES

To provide instruction and supervision to junior staff, support staff, volunteers and professional students, as appropriate.

To collect and provide statistical information as required by the Hospice.

To prioritise the workload to meet the changing needs of the service and allow time for administration.

To attend relevant meetings, providing effective communication to ensure continuity of patient care.

To participate in the development of clinical standards and clinical audit, working within the Clinical Governance framework at the Hospice.

In conjunction with the Therapy Team Leader, to plan and evaluate therapy services, implementing changes as appropriate, and actively participating in service development projects. This includes taking the lead with service development projects where appropriate.

To support the Therapy Team Leader with the development of appropriate therapy services to support community patients e.g. breathlessness groups, exercise groups.

To support the team to prioritise the workload and referrals to meet the changing needs of the service and allow time for administration.

PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT

To devise with the Therapy Team Leader a personal development plan in line with the Hospice objectives and personal needs.

To maintain and increase clinical skills

To record Continuous Professional Development and maintain Professional Registration

To participate in supervision necessary to role.

PERSONNEL RESPONSIBILTIES

To recognise indications of staff stress, feeding back to the line manager as appropriate, and to facilitate support of other staff.

To participate in the recruitment of staff as requested.

To supervise and participate in the induction of new staff and students, as appropriate.

To take on a mentor role to new staff, as required.

As requested, to participate in professional placements and lay person visits to the Hospice.

To recognise the value of volunteer contribution and play an active part in their support and development where appropriate.

EDUCATIONAL RESPONSIBILITIES

To maintain awareness of research and relevant findings, and in conjunction with the multi-disciplinary team, work towards this being applied to practice.

To give feedback from attended education programmes/study days to the multidisciplinary team, actively participating in In-Service Training within the team.

To provide education to wider Hospice professionals and teams, as appropriate.

ORGANISATIONAL RESPONSIBILITIES

To work within the policies and guidelines of the Hospice and act within professional guidelines at all times.

To uphold the Hospice and individual team values at all times.

To ensure effective use of resources.

To support the promotion of Hospice Services

To play an active part in the development and maintenance of good relationships with all who have business with the Hospice.

To respect at all times the confidentiality of information covering patients, staff and volunteers.

To promote the Hospice philosophy of care towards patients, relatives and visitors.

Because of the special nature of the Hospice and its work, the post holder may on occasion be asked to undertake other duties, or work in other areas to help maintain our high standard of care.

This job description is not necessarily exhaustive and may be subject to review BY THE LINE MANAGER in conjunction with the post holder.

Experience

Essential

• Evidence of continuing professional development CPD portfolio.
• Demonstrable knowledge and experience of working with patients with a range of conditions, within different settings relevant to Palliative Rehabilitation and care, e.g. Respiratory, Neurology, Orthopaedics, Community, Oncology, Musculoskeletal, Surgical.
• Experience of working within a Multi-Disciplinary Team.
• Knowledgeable of current influences affecting palliative care provision.
• Have a good understanding of safeguarding principles and be able to apply these within everyday practice and intervention/within your role.

Desirable

• Post-registration clinical experience specific to working in palliative care rehabilitation.

Specific Skills

Essential

• Ability to deal with complex, sensitive matters requiring advanced communication skills.
• Excellent organizational skills and time management.
• Ability to manage a complex caseload across multiple clinical settings Inpatients, Community Care Unit outpatients, and Community and balance this with non-clinical responsibilities.
• Able to assess, plan, deliver treatment, and evaluate patients care needs that may be complex and subject to change.
• Able to work flexibly and use a high standard of prioritisation skills to meet service demand.
• Excellent clinical decision making in supporting discharge planning.
• Able to work alone and as part of a team.
• Confident and capable of formally presenting information to a range of professional people and patients/families/carers.
• Able to supervise the work of others e.g. junior members of staff, volunteers and students.
• Able to organise, prioritise, delegate and escalate appropriately.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills.
• Good IT skills with ability to use SystmOne, MS Teams, MS Outlook, Power Point, and the keenness to develop further skills.
• Able to contribute to service development.
• Driver with own vehicle and business insurance.

Qualifications

Essential

• Registered Physiotherapist / Occupational Therapist and a member of the HCPC.
• Demonstrable interest and knowledge of palliative care and rehabilitation.
• Minimum of 18 months post qualification experience.

Desirable

• Member of the Chartered Society of Physiotherapists / Royal College of Occupational Therapists.
• Membership of appropriate special interest group.
• Qualification in acupuncture.

Personal Qualities

Essential

• Proactive and committed and to personal and team development and support.
• Approachable, consistent and confident.
• Excellent interpersonal skills.
• Works professionally at all times.
• Able to work under pressure and remain calm in stressful situations.
• Flexible and resilient to change, due to rapidly changing caseload and multiple locations.
• Demonstrates personal qualities in line with the Hospice Core Values.

Disclosure and Barring Service Check

This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (Exceptions Order) 1975 and as such it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service (formerly known as CRB) to check for any previous criminal convictions.

UK Registration

Applicants must have current UK professional registration. For further information please see NHS Careers website (opens in a new window).