Job Summary
Join Our Forensic Services Team and Make a Difference
Are you an experienced and compassionate Physiotherapist looking for a unique and rewarding role? Kent and Medway NHS & Social Care Partnership Trust (KMPT) is seeking a motivated Specialist Physiotherapist to join our Forensic Services, helping to support individuals with complex mental health and physical health needs within secure settings.
This is an exciting opportunity to apply your physiotherapy skills in a dynamic and multidisciplinary forensic environment, where you will play a crucial role in developing the service and promoting mobility, independence, and overall well-being for service users in low and medium secure units.
Main duties of the job
As a Specialist Physiotherapist Within Forensic Services, You Will:
1. Assess and provide treatment for patients with a wide range of physical health conditions, often co-occurring with severe mental illness.
2. Work closely with a multidisciplinary team, including psychiatrists, nurses, occupational therapists, speech and language therapists and psychologists, to ensure holistic patient care.
3. Develop and deliver individualised rehabilitation plans to improve mobility, function, and quality of life.
4. Support service users with pain management, exercise programmes, and education on maintaining physical health.
5. Contribute to risk assessments and care planning in a secure environment.
6. Provide training and guidance to staff on movement, injury prevention, and the benefits of physical activity.
What We are Looking For
* HCPC-registered Physiotherapist.
* Experience working within complex care settings, mental health, forensics (desirable but not essential).
* Strong communication and interpersonal skills, with the ability to engage service users who may present with challenging behaviours.
* Ability to work autonomously and as part of a multidisciplinary team and wider AHP team.
* Commitment to patient-centred care and rehabilitation.
About Us
Come and work with us in the Garden of England where we combine exceptional professional development opportunities with a tremendous quality of life.
We are Kent and Medway NHS and Social Care Partnership Trust (KMPT), providing mental health, learning disability and specialist services, serving 1.8 million people in Kent and Medway, as well as specialist services for adults in Sussex and Surrey. We are rated Good overall by the CQC.
Each year we care for over 2,000 people in our hospitals and 54,000 people in the community.
We are proud to employ over 3,800 people from 66 nationalities, and to serve an increasingly diverse range of communities across rural and urban areas.
You will be joining friendly, passionate colleagues, rich in their diversity, who are committed to providing excellent care to our service users and their loved ones.
Our strategy
Our mission is what we set out to do every dayWe deliver brilliant care through brilliant people
Our vision is where we want to be in the futureTo provide outstanding care and to work in partnership to deliver this in the right place, for every service user, every time.
Check out our recruitment videos Recruitment - YouTube
Date posted
14 March 2025
Pay scheme
Agenda for change
Band
Band 7
Salary
£46,148 to £52,809 a year Forensic RRP
Contract
Permanent
Working pattern
Part-time
Reference number
380-FR0548
Job locations
Trevor Gibbens Unit
Hermitage Lane
Maidstone
ME16 9PL
Job Description
Job responsibilities
JOB PURPOSE:
To take a lead in identifying, developing and providing the physiotherapy contribution within the Forensic Inpatient Services, in accordance with the needs of service users and the requirements of the service.
To manage a defined caseload of clients with complex presentations using evidence based, person centred, rehabilitation orientated principles and practice.
To undertake specialist assessments of service users providing therapeutic interventions for adults with mental & physical health presentations.
To provide clinical leadership for junior staff through supervision and training.
KEY RESULT AREAS:
To work collaboratively with MDT ward teams to ensure a flexible and effective interdisciplinary team approach to clinical care.
To effectively establish a therapeutic relationship with service users and their relatives/carers.
To assess capacity and obtain informed consent from service users and work within a legal framework with those clients who lack capacity to consent to treatment.
In conjunction with colleagues to undertake, record, review and work within individual risk assessment and management plans in line with service and Trust policy.
To undertake specialist assessments of clients with mental & physical health presentations.
To analyse and interpret information gained from assessment to formulate and deliver physiotherapy treatment plans using advanced clinical reasoning skills.
To work collaboratively with service users, staff, and relatives to identify goals which maximise the individuals recovery potential and minimising the impact of disability.
To monitor, evaluate and modify therapy programmes in order to measure progress and increase efficacy for service user outcomes.
To demonstrate and apply a high level of understanding of the effects of physical disability and complex mental health problems and to assess for and order aids, equipment, and appliances, teaching clients, carers and others in the safe application and use.
To act as a source of clinical expertise for other colleagues regarding the service users, providing advice to enable and improve service/care provision.
To attend and actively participate in relevant clinical meetings/forums.
RESPONSIBILITY:
* Working with service users referred to the forensic inpatient mental health wards.
* To screen all newly referred service users.
* To contribute to the planning and implementation of induction, training and education of students and staff.
* To use supervision and appraisal to help to help support staff identify their training needs and ensure their CPD needs are addressed.
* To assess for, plan and contribute to the delivery of specialist training packages of in-service training and staff development when necessary.
* To fulfil the role of clinical educator, maintaining own update training and ensuring responsibility for regular placement provision and ensuring supervision and written assessment of students whilst on placement.
* To assist the Directorate Head of AHP by identifying personal and professional training needs in order to appropriately plan for future training and development.
* To provide / ensure there is effective supervision, support, and guidance for physiotherapy support workers and any physiotherapy work delegated to them.
Person Specification
Qualifications
Essential
* oA recognised professional qualification in Physiotherapy
* oRegistration with the Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC).
* oApproved Clinical Educator.
Desirable
* oRegistered member of The Chartered Society for Physiotherapists.
* oAccredited Clinical Educator (ACE Programme).
Experience
Essential
* oMinimum of 4 years post registration experience, including a broad range experience within a variety of settings.
* oExperience of supervising and appraising staff and students.
* oLeadership of others.
* oExperience of liaising with a variety of stakeholders both internal and external to organisations.
Desirable
* oExperience of leading service developments.
* oExperience of clinical audit and research.
Knowledge & Skills
Essential
* oAn advanced level of knowledge and skill in providing physiotherapy assessment and rehabilitation to people with mental health presentations.
* oKnowledge of and ability to apply relevant legislative frameworks and policies relating to care e.g. Mental Capacity Act, Safeguarding, Consent to Treatment.
* oAn advanced understanding and expertise in the principles of risk assessment and risk management.
* oAbility to motivate, empower and enable others.
* oSupervisory and appraisal skills (where appropriate).
* oAbility to work autonomously and co-operatively as part of an inter-professional team.
* oAdvanced communication skills, communicating highly complex, sensitive and emotional information using a variety of mediums; being able to adapt methods/style/approach as appropriate.
* oSound knowledge of clinical governance and its relationship to clinical effectiveness and patient safety and patient experience.
* oEffective organisational /planning and decision-making skills.
Person Specification
Essential
* oAn advanced level of knowledge and skill in providing physiotherapy assessment and rehabilitation to people with mental health presentations.
* oKnowledge of and ability to apply relevant legislative frameworks and policies relating to care e.g. Mental Capacity Act, Safeguarding, Consent to Treatment.
* oAn advanced understanding and expertise in the principles of risk assessment and risk management.
* oAbility to motivate, empower and enable others.
* oSupervisory and appraisal skills (where appropriate).
* oAbility to work autonomously and co-operatively as part of an inter-professional team.
* oAdvanced communication skills, communicating highly complex, sensitive and emotional information using a variety of mediums; being able to adapt methods/style/approach as appropriate.
* oSound knowledge of clinical governance and its relationship to clinical effectiveness and patient safety and patient experience.
* oEffective organisational /planning and decision-making skills.
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).
Employer details
Employer name
Kent & Medway NHS & Social Care Partnership Trust
Address
Trevor Gibbens Unit
Hermitage Lane
Maidstone
ME16 9PL
Employer's website
https://www.kmpt.nhs.uk (Opens in a new tab) #J-18808-Ljbffr