Wheelchair Therapist

Gloucestershire Health and Care NHS Foundation Trust

The closing date is 04 May 2025

Job summary

Gloucestershire Wheelchair Assessment Service is looking for a therapist to join our team who is keen to develop their skills around wheeled mobility equipment and postural management to join our award winning team. If you're successful we will provide you with the structured support and training you need to flourish. The Wheelchair Service are the proud recipients of this years Working Together award, as part of the Better Care Awards.

We are a multi-disciplinary team providing a countywide service. We're also in the unique position where we cover clients of any age. We've worked hard over the last couple of years to develop and innovate to ensure we provide a prompt, efficient and effective service for our clients, while also developing a friendly, kind and supportive team culture. We complete holistic assessments with our clients considering their mobility needs as part of the bigger picture of how they want to live their life and working with them to achieve their mobility goals.

If you're proactive, keen to achieve the best with your patients and looking for a new opportunity this could be just the role for you.

Main duties of the job

You will carry your own caseload which will be a mixture of wheelchair and posture management assessments, working with service users eligible as medium/high/specialist need for the provision of wheeled mobility equipment (including pressure care cushions). The service is provided in a range of settings including clinics, home and educational environments and is county wide. We are an all age, all disability service so offer the unique opportunity to work with children and adults.

Our philosophy is to keep the patient at the heart of everything we do. We look for people who are willing to go the extra mile and are committed to being part of a team that delivers an excellent caring service to our patients. This is a countywide role and therefore the successful applicant must hold a full UK driving license and have access to a car for work purposes.

If you meet most but not all of the essential criteria and are keen to develop we could offer a Band 5 to 6 development role. If joining as band 5 we will work with you to meet all the objectives needed to progress you to the B6 role. You will be gradually introduced to a broader spectrum of cases in line with working towards the National Wheelchair Managers Forum Competency Framework. Our team will support you on throughout your journey to becoming a B6 Wheelchair Therapist within our team.

The qualification, training & experience requirements for the role are underlined in the Job Description/Person Specification.

About us

We have a skilled and dedicated workforce of over 5000 colleagues working in a diverse range of services over 55 sites and within people's homes. We strive to enable a welcoming workplace culture that builds and celebrates civility, inclusivity and diversity, while providing a sense of belonging and trust.

Annual staff surveys, regular Pulse surveys and other engagement opportunities provide our people with lots of opportunity to tell us about their experiences of working with us. In the latest staff survey, 61% of colleagues gave us their views. It was great to hear that:

  • 72% of colleagues would recommend the Trust as a place to work, ranking us 1st for Provider Trusts in the South West region on this question.
  • 76% would recommend the standard of care provided in our services if a friend or relative needed treatment, also ranking us 1st in the South West region.
  • 81% said that care of patients and service users is the Trust's priority, compared with an average in comparable NHS Trusts in England of 64%.

This high-level overview shows we are in a healthy position, with higher scores than average for comparable organisations, alongside a great response rate, indicating good staff engagement. However, we also know we have plenty of room for improvement in many areas. To that end, we continue to prioritise and invest in our commitment to genuinely becoming a Great Place to Work with consistent top-quartile performance in the annual staff survey and Pulse surveys.

Date posted

23 April 2025

Pay scheme

Agenda for change

Band

Band 6

Salary

£37,338 to £44,962 a year per annum (pro rata)

Contract

Permanent

Working pattern

Part-time

Reference number

327-25-315

Job locations

Independent Living Centre

Village Road Cheltenham GL51 0BY

Countywide

GL51 0BY


Job description

Job responsibilities

  • To work as an Occupational Therapist/Physiotherapist within the current WheelchairService providing person centred and holistic assessments of clients mobility,postural and pressure care needs.
  • To clinically triage, assess, prescribe, arrange supply and evaluate the specialist mobility equipment provided to clients who are referred to the Wheelchair Service, thereby meeting their identified health and wellbeing objectives.
  • To provide supervision and support as required to B5 Wheelchair Technician, B4 Assistant practitioners & B3 Technical Instructors

Job description

Job responsibilities

  • To work as an Occupational Therapist/Physiotherapist within the current WheelchairService providing person centred and holistic assessments of clients mobility,postural and pressure care needs.
  • To clinically triage, assess, prescribe, arrange supply and evaluate the specialist mobility equipment provided to clients who are referred to the Wheelchair Service, thereby meeting their identified health and wellbeing objectives.
  • To provide supervision and support as required to B5 Wheelchair Technician, B4 Assistant practitioners & B3 Technical Instructors

Person Specification

Skills and Knowledge

Essential

  • Ability to work effectively as a member of a multidisciplinary healthcare team.
  • Strong communication skills, written and oral with individuals and groups

Desirable

  • Experience of postural care and prevention of pressure sores

Qualifications

Essential

  • Degree or diploma in Occupational Therapy or Physiotherapy

Experience

Essential

  • Post qualification experience as an Occupational Therapist or Physiotherapist
  • Experience of working with wheelchair users

Essential

Essential

  • Registered with HCPC
  • Current valid UK driving licence
Person Specification

Skills and Knowledge

Essential

  • Ability to work effectively as a member of a multidisciplinary healthcare team.
  • Strong communication skills, written and oral with individuals and groups

Desirable

  • Experience of postural care and prevention of pressure sores

Qualifications

Essential

  • Degree or diploma in Occupational Therapy or Physiotherapy

Experience

Essential

  • Post qualification experience as an Occupational Therapist or Physiotherapist
  • Experience of working with wheelchair users

Essential

Essential

  • Registered with HCPC
  • Current valid UK driving licence

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.

Certificate of Sponsorship

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.

Certificate of Sponsorship

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

Gloucestershire Health and Care NHS Foundation Trust

Address

Independent Living Centre

Village Road Cheltenham GL51 0BY

Countywide

GL51 0BY


Employer's website

https://www.ghc.nhs.uk/who-we-are/jobs/ (Opens in a new tab)


Employer details

Employer name

Gloucestershire Health and Care NHS Foundation Trust

Address

Independent Living Centre

Village Road Cheltenham GL51 0BY

Countywide

GL51 0BY


Employer's website

https://www.ghc.nhs.uk/who-we-are/jobs/ (Opens in a new tab)


For questions about the job, contact:

Clinical Lead Therapist, Wheelchair Service

Sarah Griffiths

sarah.griffiths@ghc.nhs.uk

07500993797

Date posted

23 April 2025

Pay scheme

Agenda for change

Band

Band 6

Salary

£37,338 to £44,962 a year per annum (pro rata)

Contract

Permanent

Working pattern

Part-time

Reference number

327-25-315

Job locations

Independent Living Centre

Village Road Cheltenham GL51 0BY

Countywide

GL51 0BY


Supporting documents

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