Highly Specialist Physiotherapist - Neonatal Care

Job summary

Supported by the West Midlands Neonatal Delivery Network, The Shrewsbury and Telford NHS Trust (SaTH) is delighted to have been awarded new funding for permanent therapy roles in Neonatal care here at the Princess Royal Hospital, Telford.

The successful candidate will lead Physiotherapy delivery in neonatal care, working alongside newly recruited Occupational Therapists, Speech and Language Therapists and Dietitians, as well as the well-established nursing and doctor neonatal team all specialising in neonates.

With the release of 'Guidance for Good Practice for Physiotherapist working in Neonatal Care' published in 2020, the Neonatal Critical Care Review (2019), The British Association of Perinatal Medicine (BAPM) Service and Quality Standards for Provision of Neonatal Care in the UK (2022) much of your practice will be driven by these guidelines. Working in this highly rewarding specialist clinical area, you will also be responsible for the development and support of your band 6 Physiotherapist colleague also specialising in neonates. Such support will include helping them to develop their skills and practice and ensuring competencies are achieved in a timely way. Together with your other band 7 AHP leads you will be responsible for developing the service, building strong relationships with stakeholders in order to achieve best possible care.

Main duties of the job

Working with infants preterm, high-risk infants and those receiving palliative care, physiotherapists provide intervention to support both the infant and their parent/caregiver to develop successful functional physiological and practical strategies to develop parent and child relationships and preventative disability strategies.

Successful candidates will be required to establish a service achieving the following best practice criteria:

• Leads a culture of assessments and treatment planning which manage risk of harm through competent examination and intervention procedures.
• Oversees and encourages continues professional development of junior therapists and evidence based practice within Neonatal specialism
• Assessment of movement patterns and postural dysfunction
• Encouragement of age appropriate postural and movement activities
• Management of orthopaedic conditions eg. Obstetric Brachial Plexus Palsy and Positional and Congenital foot deformities
• Management of Neonatal respiratory presentations
• Developmentally supportive care
• Pain management
• Skin-to-skin care
• Infant feeding
• Parent engagement
• Identifying developmental concerns
• Maintains and grows a wider peer support network with involvement in the Neonatal Network AHP strategy

It is imperative that this new service works collaboratively with the existing paediatric services within Shropshire Community Health Trust, creating a seamless pathway for neonates and their families throughout their developmental journey.

About us

As SaTH continues its improvement journey, the development of this post is incredibly exciting and will make a real difference to the experience mothers, babies and their wider families have at such a special though often challenging moment in their lives.

The successful candidate will have the benefit of working in a rewarding and unique specialist area, but you will also be a part of a much wider therapy team. As an employee within SaTH's Therapy Centre, you will have access to a wide range of professional support, including Professional lead for Physiotherapy. On joining the team you will become an integral member of SaTH's Therapy Centre, shaping and developing services for the benefit of patients, their families as well as colleagues.

The Therapy Centre at SaTH consists of over 300 employees, including clinical and non-clinical support staff, apprentices, consultant therapists and Heads of Profession for Occupational Therapy, Physiotherapy, Speech and Language Therapy and Dietetics, all working together to achieve the same vision: To provide excellent care for the communities we serve.

The Therapy Centre at SaTH are hopeful that approval of a business case will soon mean further growth of acute paediatric therapy services. When this happens, the successful candidate will have the opportunity to increase their hours and become a part of this wider acute neonatal and paediatric therapy service, leading the development and integration across the pathway.

Employer details

Employer name

The Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital NHS Trust

Address

The Princess Royal Hospital

Apley Castle

Telford

TF1 6TF

Employer's website

http://www.sath.nhs.uk/ (Opens in a new tab)

---

Employer details

Employer name

The Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital NHS Trust

Address

The Princess Royal Hospital

Apley Castle

Telford

TF1 6TF

Employer's website

http://www.sath.nhs.uk/ (Opens in a new tab)

---