Physiotherapy Practitioner Job Description

1. Job Details

Job Title: Physiotherapy Practitioner

Reports to: Advanced Physiotherapist Practitioner Clinical Co-ordinator

Accountable to: Professional Manager

Unit/Department: Physiotherapy

Location: Bradford Teaching Hospitals Trust - various sites

2. Job Purpose

To assist in the delivery of the physiotherapy service by taking personal responsibility for planning and prioritising own patient workload under the management of a more senior practitioner.

3. Job Dimensions

The post requires the postholder to work as part of a team.

Workloads are variable due to the nature of the rotations undertaken.

The postholder may, on some rotations, have a daily supervisory responsibility for assistant workforce staff and work experience students.

There are no direct budgetary or staff management responsibilities associated with the post.

4. Organisational Chart

• BSc (Hons) Physiotherapy degree or equivalent.
• Registrant of the Health Professions Council.
• To be able to exercise a professional duty of care in a safe environment.
• To undertake career-long, self-directed learning.
• To know the professional and personal scope of practice and be able to make appropriate referrals.
• Must demonstrate effective and appropriate skills in communicating information, advice, instruction and professional opinion to colleagues, patients, clients, users, their relatives and carers.
• Demonstrate competency in respiratory physiotherapy adjuncts in order to become an active member of on-call rota.

6. Primary Duties and Areas of Responsibility

To undertake and record a thorough, sensitive and detailed assessment, using appropriate techniques and equipment.

To be professionally and legally accountable for all aspects of your own work, including the management of patients in your care.

To provide appropriate advice based on the patients medical, social and cultural circumstances.

To formulate and deliver individual physiotherapy treatment programmes, and group exercise/education programmes using clinical assessment and reasoning skills and evidence based information and protocols.

To formulate progress plans with patients enabling them to achieve treatment goals and targets.

To take delegated responsibility from senior specialist clinicians for managing particular patients within each rotation.

Assess patient understanding of treatment proposals, gain valid informed consent and have the capacity to work within a legal framework with patients who lack capacity to consent to treatment.

Need to communicate highly sensitive, complex information.

Use a range of verbal and non-verbal communication methods to progress rehabilitation and treatment programmes. This will include patients who may have difficulties in understanding or communicating. For example, patients may be dysphasic, deaf, blind, have language barriers or be unable to accept a diagnosis, and/or English is not their first language.

To manage clinical risk within own patient caseload.

Work within local and national guidelines and protocols where available and appropriate.

To be responsible for maintaining accurate, comprehensive, contemporaneous patient records in line with CSP standards of practice and local policy.

To be responsible for the safe and competent use of physiotherapy equipment and patient appliances and aids by patients, in compliance with Medical Devices Standards.

To be an active member of the respiratory evening and on-call weekly rota.

When working on the on call rota, undertake the assessment and treatment of acutely ill patients with respiratory problems, and maintain associated records. Support from specialist clinicians to be available (eg telephone support).

To be responsible for maintaining own competency to practice through CPD activities, and maintain a portfolio which reflects personal development.

To participate in Patient and Public involvement initiatives as appropriate and required.

To liaise with outside agencies e.g. social services, voluntary services to communication patient needs.

Leadership / Management

To assist in the supervision, training and development of support staff as appropriate.

Participate in the staff appraisal scheme as an appraisee and be responsible for complying with your agreed personal development programme to meet set knowledge and competencies.

To be responsible for organising and planning own caseload to meet service and patient priorities.

To record and submit clinical and professional activity manually and electronically according to service standards and requirements

Education

To assist and undertake group education sessions as required.

To develop and consolidate current knowledge of evidence-based practice in each rotational area.

Participate in appropriate in-service training programmes, tutorials, individual training sessions.

Research

To use research findings to inform practice through the use of evidence based practice presentations. These must be carried out at the end of every rotation.

Other

To comply with professional codes of practice, departmental and Trust policies, procedures and guidelines including health and safety requirements.

Such other duties at a comparable level of responsibility, as may normally be agreed with the job holder.

Health and Safety/Risk Management

The jobholder must comply at all times with Bradford Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust Health and Safety policies, in particular by following agreed safe working procedures and reporting incidents using the Trust's Risk Incident Reporting System.

Equality and Diversity

The jobholder must co-operate with all policies and procedures designed to ensure equality of employment. Co-workers, patients and visitors must be treated equally irrespective of gender, ethnic origin, age, disability, sexual orientation, religion etc.

Training and Personal Development - Continuous Professional Development

The jobholder must take responsibility in agreement with his/her line manager for his/her own personal development by ensuring that Continuous Professional Development remains a priority. The jobholder will undertake all mandatory training required for the role.

The jobholder is required to maintain a CPD diary/portfolio

Respect for Patient Confidentiality

The jobholder should respect patient confidentiality at all times and not divulge patient information unless sanctioned by the requirements of the role.

7. Communication and Working Relationships

• The jobholder must be able to demonstrate effective communication throughout the care of the patient, client or user.
• The jobholder must be able to contribute effectively to work undertaken as part of multi disciplinary team.
• The jobholder must be able to work, where appropriate in partnership with other professionals.
• The jobholder must demonstrate effective and appropriate skills in communicating information, advice, instruction and professional opinion to colleagues, patients, clients, users, their relatives and carers.
• The jobholder will have regular contact with the following and must be able to communicate effectively:

8. Special Working Conditions

1. Available to provide on call cover as required.
2. May be required to work across a variety of multi disciplinary teams, hospital and other community sites/locations.
3. Will be required to handle inanimate loads and/or patients in accordance with Trust policy.
4. Subject to the prior agreement of the Operations Director, Rehabilitation you may engage in private practice.

Any private practice you may undertake must not diminish the level of service expected from you by the Trust in carrying out your duties.

9. Job Description Agreement