Job summary
As a Band 7 Pelvic Health Physiotherapist you will be responsible for supporting your Clinical Lead (Band 8a) and fellow Pelvic Health Team members in ensuring that our service users' needs are met. As an autonomous practitioner working within a centre of excellence you will be responsible for the delivery of high-quality care with a person-centred approach to promote independence and well-being to all in your care.
Please note this role has been advertised as a Permanent 1.0 WTE.
Main duties of the job
We are looking for a Band 7 Pelvic Health Physiotherapist to support an enthusiastic, experienced and well-established pelvic health team. The successful candidate will be expected to:
- Assess and treat patients with pelvic floor dysfunction and obstetric conditions.
- Work across site at Beckenham Beacon Health Centre Outpatients Department
- Work closely with and be an active member of the world renowned Urogynaecology Team at King's College Hospital
About us
King's College Hospital NHS Foundation Trust is one of the UK's largest and busiest teaching Trusts with a turnover of c£1 billion, 1.5 million patient contacts a year and more than 15,000 staff based across South East London. The Trust provides a full range of local and specialist services across its five sites. The trust-wide strategy of Strong Roots, Global Reach is our Vision to be BOLD, Brilliant people, Outstanding care, Leaders in Research, Innovation and Education, Diversity, Equality and Inclusion at the heart of everything we do. By being person-centred, digitally-enabled, and focused on sustainability, we aim to take Team King's to another level.
We are at a pivotal point in our history and we require individuals who are ready to join a highly professional team and make a real, lasting difference to our patients and our people.
King's is committed to delivering Sustainable Healthcare for All via our Green Plan. In line with national Greener NHS ambitions, we have set net zero carbon targets of 2040 for our NHS Carbon Footprint and 2045 for our NHS Carbon Footprint Plus. Everyone's contribution is required in order to meet the goals set out in our Green Plan and we encourage all staff to work responsibly, minimising their contributions to the Trust's carbon emissions, waste and pollution wherever possible.
Job description
Job responsibilities
Patient Care
- Organise and manage specialist outpatient physiotherapy clinics for referred women and men, mainly with urogynaecological problems, pre- and post- gynaecological surgery, colorectal problems and perineal trauma. Assisting to develop and evaluate the physiotherapy pelvic health service.
- Be responsible for the efficient, effective and safe management of patients referred to the pelvic health physiotherapy clinic in accordance with research findings and evidence based practice.
- Be professionally and legally accountable for all aspects of own work, including the management of patients in your care. To ensure a high standard of clinical practice for patients under your management and to support more junior staff to do likewise.
- Receive referrals and independently assess and treat own caseload of patients, ensuring evaluation and progression of treatment programmes to a high standard, and in line with National and Trust clinical guidelines, protocols and pathways where they exist.
- Have clinical responsibility for a designated caseload of patients, including those with highly complex and diverse conditions, and prioritise that work efficiently taking into account clinical and service priorities, using highly specialist knowledge to underpin decisions e.g. management of male and female urinary incontinence, management of male and female functional bowel issues, post-natal perineal trauma and rehabilitation after gynaecological and urology surgery.
- Needs specialist knowledge of relevant investigations and procedures, used within urogynaecology, e.g. urinalyses and urodynamic investigations, to inform patient clinical management.
- Manage clinical risk within own clinical caseload. To have up to date knowledge of indications, contraindications and precautions for any treatment and assessment skills, modalities and techniques selected and applied throughout an individual course of treatment.
- Formulate and deliver an individual physiotherapy treatment programme based on highly specialist knowledge of current practice, evidence-based practice and treatment options, using highly specialist clinical assessment and reasoning skills.
- Have highly specialist knowledge and skill of a range of treatment skills such as manual physiotherapy techniques, biofeedback, male and female internal pelvic floor assessment, male and female anorectal assessment, progressive pelvic floor retraining, neuromuscular electrical stimulation, and patient advice and education. To provide physiotherapy to patients individually, or as a group.
- Ensure effective discharge planning within the team, liaising with other members of the MDT as appropriate, including referrers.
- Assess for, provide and or refer for individual patient equipment as required, such as neuromuscular electrical stimulation home units, biofeedback devices, continence products, pelvic floor trainers and transanal irrigation. To issue such equipment with due regard to safety of the equipment, and in line with legal, national and local guidelines.
- Advise, guide and teach less experienced physiotherapists or health professional visitors to the department in the assessment and management of patients and other aspects of clinical care, including record keeping.
- Ensure effective professional links with other healthcare professionals and provide highly specialist advice to physiotherapy colleagues and other members of the MDT regarding pelvic health physiotherapy, including advice and recommendations to referrers.
- Flexible approach to working required, and may be required to undertake evening commitments and in the future weekend commitments as required. This includes cover of statutory and public holidays.
Communication
- Communicate effectively with patients and carers to progress rehabilitation and treatment programmes.
- Motivate and persuade others (including staff and patients) through highly specialist communication skills, with the benefit of verbal, nonverbal skills, using written and electronic information.
- Demonstrate an ability to clearly communicate complex and sensitive information to patients, carers and other staff where there may be barriers to communication or may include information about long-term/permanent disabilities ensuring confidentiality at all times.
- Respond appropriately to the patients level of communication and understanding, facilitating the best possible communication outcomes. For example, patients may be deaf, blind, or unable to communicate in English.
- Provide and receive information from patients, carers and other professionals regarding a patients condition and treatment progress. This may include the sharing and receiving of complex and/or sensitive information.
- Facilitate patients attitudinal changes towards their condition, encouraging health/function promoting behaviour
- Develop and maintain close working relationships with physiotherapy colleagues and other members of the multidisciplinary team. To provide highly specialist advice, teaching and training to other members of the MDT as appropriate, both internal and external to the Trust.
- Ensure that discharge information is communicated to referrers in a timely and appropriate manner.
- Ensure effective communication within team e.g. ensuring open lines of communication with other members of the urogynaecological team, colorectal team and physiotherapy team.
- Develop best practice at Kings through liaison with other regional specialists and other relevant groups e.g. POGP. To effectively liaise and network with colleagues in other Trusts for the benefit of patients and the service.
- Diffuse potentially hostile and antagonistic situations with staff, patients and relatives, using highly developed negotiation and interpersonal skills
- Resolve written and verbal complaints and to be well versed with the Trusts formal complaints procedure within specialist area, in conjunction with the physiotherapy management team.
Information Management
- Maintain comprehensive, accurate and timely patient notes and records in accordance with department policy, and to ensure safekeeping and confidentiality of those records.
- Keep comprehensive records of activity in accordance with local and national requirements, using departmental IT software systems as required.
- Prioritise referrals received within the pelvic health physiotherapy service, using highly specialist knowledge and protocols / guidelines to underpin decisions.
- Book appointments for patients in the absence of reception support.
- Write physiotherapy reports in line with local, trust and national guidelines e.g. legal reports.
- Identify appropriate outcome measures and service impact measures which accurately evaluate patient response and service development needs.
- Use computer skills to support role, including EPR, PIMs, DOCMAN, Microsoft office and e-mail.
Human Resource Management
- Have an active role in effective team working in the pelvic health service, leading, assisting and supporting other team members.
- To performance manage, supervise or advise other physiotherapy staff who may become involved in pelvic health services.
- Participate in the Kings College Hospital Appraisal process as an appraiser and appraisee, and fulfil its requirements.
- Deputise for the Clinical Lead Physiotherapist in her/his absence.
Physical Resources
- Be responsible for Health and Safety requirements within own clinical area.
- Ensure that the treatment and working areas are kept safe and tidy, and to ensure that any faulty or unsafe equipment is taken out of service and reported for repair.
Service Development
- Demonstrate a sound knowledge of Clinical Governance and have an active role in clinical effectiveness and audit programmes in order to develop and improve services, taking the lead role as required e.g. development or introduction of Clinical Guidelines.
- Liaison with the Clinical Lead, evaluate current practices in own work based on evidence based projects, audits and the use of recognised outcome measures, and to make recommendations for change, including initiating and implementing change.
Training, Education and Research
- Undertake in-service and post graduate education in order to develop self professionally and improve patient care.
- Keep abreast of new developments generally within physiotherapy, and within the area of pelvic health particularly. To incorporate into current practice and disseminate to other members of staff following discussion with the Clinical Lead Physiotherapist.
- Contribute to the physiotherapy in-service training programme for staff and students.
- Where opportunities arise, to act as a Clinical Educator, providing training and development for students on clinical placement, including written reports, and providing teaching sessions in HEIs as appropriate.
- Provide education programmes for visitors and members of other disciplines.
- Be responsible for maintaining own competency to practice through CPD activities, and maintain a portfolio that reflects personal development.
- Be involved in audit, research and practice evaluation as the opportunity arises, including taking a lead role.
Please see attached document for full job description and main responsibilities of the role.
Job description
Job responsibilities
Patient Care
- Organise and manage specialist outpatient physiotherapy clinics for referred women and men, mainly with urogynaecological problems, pre- and post- gynaecological surgery, colorectal problems and perineal trauma. Assisting to develop and evaluate the physiotherapy pelvic health service.
- Be responsible for the efficient, effective and safe management of patients referred to the pelvic health physiotherapy clinic in accordance with research findings and evidence based practice.
- Be professionally and legally accountable for all aspects of own work, including the management of patients in your care. To ensure a high standard of clinical practice for patients under your management and to support more junior staff to do likewise.
- Receive referrals and independently assess and treat own caseload of patients, ensuring evaluation and progression of treatment programmes to a high standard, and in line with National and Trust clinical guidelines, protocols and pathways where they exist.
- Have clinical responsibility for a designated caseload of patients, including those with highly complex and diverse conditions, and prioritise that work efficiently taking into account clinical and service priorities, using highly specialist knowledge to underpin decisions e.g. management of male and female urinary incontinence, management of male and female functional bowel issues, post-natal perineal trauma and rehabilitation after gynaecological and urology surgery.
- Needs specialist knowledge of relevant investigations and procedures, used within urogynaecology, e.g. urinalyses and urodynamic investigations, to inform patient clinical management.
- Manage clinical risk within own clinical caseload. To have up to date knowledge of indications, contraindications and precautions for any treatment and assessment skills, modalities and techniques selected and applied throughout an individual course of treatment.
- Formulate and deliver an individual physiotherapy treatment programme based on highly specialist knowledge of current practice, evidence-based practice and treatment options, using highly specialist clinical assessment and reasoning skills.
- Have highly specialist knowledge and skill of a range of treatment skills such as manual physiotherapy techniques, biofeedback, male and female internal pelvic floor assessment, male and female anorectal assessment, progressive pelvic floor retraining, neuromuscular electrical stimulation, and patient advice and education. To provide physiotherapy to patients individually, or as a group.
- Ensure effective discharge planning within the team, liaising with other members of the MDT as appropriate, including referrers.
- Assess for, provide and or refer for individual patient equipment as required, such as neuromuscular electrical stimulation home units, biofeedback devices, continence products, pelvic floor trainers and transanal irrigation. To issue such equipment with due regard to safety of the equipment, and in line with legal, national and local guidelines.
- Advise, guide and teach less experienced physiotherapists or health professional visitors to the department in the assessment and management of patients and other aspects of clinical care, including record keeping.
- Ensure effective professional links with other healthcare professionals and provide highly specialist advice to physiotherapy colleagues and other members of the MDT regarding pelvic health physiotherapy, including advice and recommendations to referrers.
- Flexible approach to working required, and may be required to undertake evening commitments and in the future weekend commitments as required. This includes cover of statutory and public holidays.
Communication
- Communicate effectively with patients and carers to progress rehabilitation and treatment programmes.
- Motivate and persuade others (including staff and patients) through highly specialist communication skills, with the benefit of verbal, nonverbal skills, using written and electronic information.
- Demonstrate an ability to clearly communicate complex and sensitive information to patients, carers and other staff where there may be barriers to communication or may include information about long-term/permanent disabilities ensuring confidentiality at all times.
- Respond appropriately to the patients level of communication and understanding, facilitating the best possible communication outcomes. For example, patients may be deaf, blind, or unable to communicate in English.
- Provide and receive information from patients, carers and other professionals regarding a patients condition and treatment progress. This may include the sharing and receiving of complex and/or sensitive information.
- Facilitate patients attitudinal changes towards their condition, encouraging health/function promoting behaviour
- Develop and maintain close working relationships with physiotherapy colleagues and other members of the multidisciplinary team. To provide highly specialist advice, teaching and training to other members of the MDT as appropriate, both internal and external to the Trust.
- Ensure that discharge information is communicated to referrers in a timely and appropriate manner.
- Ensure effective communication within team e.g. ensuring open lines of communication with other members of the urogynaecological team, colorectal team and physiotherapy team.
- Develop best practice at Kings through liaison with other regional specialists and other relevant groups e.g. POGP. To effectively liaise and network with colleagues in other Trusts for the benefit of patients and the service.
- Diffuse potentially hostile and antagonistic situations with staff, patients and relatives, using highly developed negotiation and interpersonal skills
- Resolve written and verbal complaints and to be well versed with the Trusts formal complaints procedure within specialist area, in conjunction with the physiotherapy management team.
Information Management
- Maintain comprehensive, accurate and timely patient notes and records in accordance with department policy, and to ensure safekeeping and confidentiality of those records.
- Keep comprehensive records of activity in accordance with local and national requirements, using departmental IT software systems as required.
- Prioritise referrals received within the pelvic health physiotherapy service, using highly specialist knowledge and protocols / guidelines to underpin decisions.
- Book appointments for patients in the absence of reception support.
- Write physiotherapy reports in line with local, trust and national guidelines e.g. legal reports.
- Identify appropriate outcome measures and service impact measures which accurately evaluate patient response and service development needs.
- Use computer skills to support role, including EPR, PIMs, DOCMAN, Microsoft office and e-mail.
Human Resource Management
- Have an active role in effective team working in the pelvic health service, leading, assisting and supporting other team members.
- To performance manage, supervise or advise other physiotherapy staff who may become involved in pelvic health services.
- Participate in the Kings College Hospital Appraisal process as an appraiser and appraisee, and fulfil its requirements.
- Deputise for the Clinical Lead Physiotherapist in her/his absence.
Physical Resources
- Be responsible for Health and Safety requirements within own clinical area.
- Ensure that the treatment and working areas are kept safe and tidy, and to ensure that any faulty or unsafe equipment is taken out of service and reported for repair.
Service Development
- Demonstrate a sound knowledge of Clinical Governance and have an active role in clinical effectiveness and audit programmes in order to develop and improve services, taking the lead role as required e.g. development or introduction of Clinical Guidelines.
- Liaison with the Clinical Lead, evaluate current practices in own work based on evidence based projects, audits and the use of recognised outcome measures, and to make recommendations for change, including initiating and implementing change.
Training, Education and Research
- Undertake in-service and post graduate education in order to develop self professionally and improve patient care.
- Keep abreast of new developments generally within physiotherapy, and within the area of pelvic health particularly. To incorporate into current practice and disseminate to other members of staff following discussion with the Clinical Lead Physiotherapist.
- Contribute to the physiotherapy in-service training programme for staff and students.
- Where opportunities arise, to act as a Clinical Educator, providing training and development for students on clinical placement, including written reports, and providing teaching sessions in HEIs as appropriate.
- Provide education programmes for visitors and members of other disciplines.
- Be responsible for maintaining own competency to practice through CPD activities, and maintain a portfolio that reflects personal development.
- Be involved in audit, research and practice evaluation as the opportunity arises, including taking a lead role.
Please see attached document for full job description and main responsibilities of the role.
Person Specification
Application
Essential
- BSc Physiotherapy
- Pelvic health experience at band 6 level or above
- NHS experience
- Experience with internal examinations
- HCPC registered
Desirable
Person Specification
Application
Essential
- BSc Physiotherapy
- Pelvic health experience at band 6 level or above
- NHS experience
- Experience with internal examinations
- HCPC registered
Desirable
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.
Applications from job seekers who require current Skilled worker sponsorship to work in the UK are welcome and will be considered alongside all other applications. For further information visit the UK Visas and Immigration website (Opens in a new tab).
From 6 April 2017, skilled worker applicants, applying for entry clearance into the UK, have had to present a criminal record certificate from each country they have resided continuously or cumulatively for 12 months or more in the past 10 years. Adult dependants (over 18 years old) are also subject to this requirement. Guidance can be found here Criminal records checks for overseas applicants (Opens in a new tab).
UK Registration
Applicants must have current UK professional registration. For further information please see
NHS Careers website (opens in a new window).
Additional information
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.
Applications from job seekers who require current Skilled worker sponsorship to work in the UK are welcome and will be considered alongside all other applications. For further information visit the UK Visas and Immigration website (Opens in a new tab).
From 6 April 2017, skilled worker applicants, applying for entry clearance into the UK, have had to present a criminal record certificate from each country they have resided continuously or cumulatively for 12 months or more in the past 10 years. Adult dependants (over 18 years old) are also subject to this requirement. Guidance can be found here Criminal records checks for overseas applicants (Opens in a new tab).
UK Registration
Applicants must have current UK professional registration. For further information please see
NHS Careers website (opens in a new window).
Employer details
Employer name
King's College Hospital NHS Foundation Trust
Address
King's COLLEGE HOSPITAL NHS Foundation Trust Hospital
Denamark HIll
London
SE5 9RS
Employer's website
https://www.kch.nhs.uk/ (Opens in a new tab)
