Job summary
We are looking for an experienced, motivated and enthusiastic Band 6 Paediatric Physiotherapist to join our special schools team at Perseid Upper and Lower Schools.
The post holder will provide a specialist physiotherapy service for children and young people with severe and complex learning difficulties in the special schools, in accordance with the Service Level Agreement for Sutton Health and Care Alliance (SHC).
Main duties of the job
The post holder will contribute to the development of the special schools physiotherapy service for children and young people. They will plan and provide highly specialist physiotherapy assessment, advice and treatment to a defined caseload of children and young people with severe and complex needs.
They will work in partnership with the children and young people, their families and other professions and agencies, including school staff and the wider health team, to reduce the impact of these difficulties on the children's and young people's social and emotional development, their learning and their ability to participate in daily life.
They will work autonomously and without direct supervision and be accountable for their own actions.
About us
St George's, Epsom and St Helier University Hospitals and Health Group cares for a population of four million people in South West London and North East sites include St George's Hospital, one of 11 major trauma centres in the UK and the largest healthcare provider and major teaching hospital in the area; St Helier Hospital, home to the South West Thames Renal and Transplantation Unit and Queen Mary's Hospital for Children; and Epsom Hospital, home to the South West London Elective Orthopaedic Centre (SWLEOC).
After years of collaboration, our two Trusts became a hospitals group in 2021. While remaining as two separate Trusts, being a hospitals group will help us to collaborate more closely on research, and the development, education, and training of our 17,000-strong workforce.
Sutton Health and Care (SHC) was an innovative joint venture between local partner health and social care organisations, which sees community services fully integrated to support the delivery of a new model of care for the people of Sutton. Hosted by ESTH, the model ensures the breaking down of traditional organisational barriers enabling the provision of care to be wrapped around the patient.
We pride ourselves in having a highly dedicated team and offer a stimulating and dynamic working environment with a wide range of benefits and development opportunities.
Job description
Job responsibilities
Clinical Responsibilities
1. Provide a specialist level of clinical skill in paediatric physiotherapy
2. Be responsible for a clinical caseload of children and young people attending Perseid special schools as identified by the service specification, managing a defined caseload independently and prioritising own workload to ensure effective service provision
3. Use clinical assessments, interview and observational skills to determine physiotherapy needs of children and young people and effectively set goals and plan intervention
4. Communicate complex assessment findings and treatment plans with clients, family, school staff and the wider community staff, dealing sensitively with distressing or emotional circumstances and being realistic about clients' and families' expectations
5. Assess and treat individual children and young people with complex needs in school, their homes or clinical setting, working as part of a multidisciplinary team and liaising closely with education staff, parents/carers
6. Provide written, typed and/or verbal reports and programmes to referrers and other agencies involved in the client's care and keep up to date records
7. Provide written advice for Educational Health and Care Plans (EHCPs) and contribute to Annual Reviews
8. Monitor the effectiveness of intervention through goal setting, outcome measures and evaluation of practice and to communicate these to the relevant parties
9. Contribute to the development of information that enables family, school and the wider community to understand and self-manage the client's condition whenever possible
10. Recommend, provide and advise on physiotherapy programmes to take responsibility for demonstrating their usage and training clients/carers or school staff, ensuring adequate carry-over of information to enable ongoing treatment programmes to be carried out in the client's environment. This may include, but is not limited to, positioning, stretching, developmental activities and playground activities
11. Identify, provide and advise on client hydrotherapy needs as necessary
12. Recommend, provide and advise on equipment related to physiotherapy programmes. This may include, but is not limited to, postural management equipment
13. Organise equipment demonstrations and wheelchair clinics within school as necessary
14. Identify clients' complex seating needs, attending specialist seating clinics with the clients and their families as necessary
15. Have a full understanding of the working of any equipment and ensure regular checks are completed to maintain safety
16. Liaise and establish communication networks with the multidisciplinary team, external volunteers and statutory organisations, as appropriate, in planning of the clients' treatment.
Management Responsibilities
17. Assist the Team Leader in planning and providing the commissioned physiotherapy input to children and young people attending Perseid special schools, including attendance at appropriate meetings, developing guidelines and protocols and reviewing service provision
18. Keep the Team Leader up to date with service provision issues and report promptly any untoward incidences, clinical or non-clinical, co-operating with any investigation undertaken
19. Review efficacy of service delivery and facilitate setting up of new standards or amendment of existing ones, in close liaison with the Team Leader
20. Contribute to formulating policies for specialist areas and proposals for general service changes
21. Support the development of the physiotherapy service in the special schools, facilitating development and implementation of effective client/care pathways and outcomes for children and young people in conjunction with the Team Leader
22. Keep up to date with the Department and Trust standards and policies and facilitate dissemination of this knowledge to colleagues
23. Develop good working relationships with multidisciplinary teams, outside agencies and voluntary agencies to ensure that professionalism and service delivery are maintained
24. Provide support and supervision to other physiotherapy staff including assistants, where appropriate, monitoring the standard of treatment and giving training and instruction where required.
Education, Training and Personal Development
25. Be responsible for training/education for families and school staff to ensure understanding and need for treatment advised
26. Be aware of changing trends in treatment, promoting evidence based practice within own team and interpreting this into own specialist area of work in order to provide the highest standard of care for service users
27. Participate in clinical audit, service development activities and research programmes as required
28. To carry out continual professional development as identified through supervision and PDR, including in-service training and courses as agreed
29. Participate in own supervision on a regular basis and work towards objectives set in PDR
30. Take responsibility for identifying suitable courses and training programmes to enhance own professional development, keeping abreast of new developments within relevant clinical fields
31. Actively participate in delivering in-service training, tutorials, individual training sessions, external training and peer review. Demonstrate own willingness to learn
32. Participate in the clinical education of students on placement
33. comply with the SHC/ESTH and physiotherapy service mandatory training requireemnts
34. Be actively involved in peer support and relevant specialist section support groups.
Clinical Governance
35. Ensure that statistics and notes are kept in accordance with local and national policies
36. Work in accordance with the standards and policies issues by the Chartered Society of Physiotherapy, Health and Care Professionals Council, the Trust and the physiotherapy department and to meet legal requirements
37. Keep up to date with clinical requirements and changing trends in practice, including National Service Frameworks and Special Interest Groups
38. Be responsible for demonstrating safe use of equipment to other staff and outside agencies
39. Be involved in monitoring and evaluating physiotherapy intervention as part of a multidisciplinary service and to liaise, as necessary, with other departments/disciplines and the wider physiotherapy service
40. Undertake specific projects, as necessary, to support clinical governance and quality initiatives and assist in developing audit tools within integrated therapy.
Managing People and Resources
41. Ensure that satisfactory systems are in place to maintain effective communication within your area and be responsible for ensuring that any Trust communication systems are utilised
42. Observe and comply with the Trust's policies and procedures for health and safety ensuring the environment in which you and your staff work is clean, safe and tidy
43. Comply with standard infection prevention and control precautions to prevent or minimise spread of micro-organisms and communicable diseases to clients, staff and surrounding community
44. Observe and continually promote equal opportunities in compliance with the Trust's policies on Equality and Diversity and Dignity at Work
45. Ensure the benefits to clients are maximised through careful, economical and appropriate use of NHS resources including, equipment, property, money, time etc.
Person Specification
Education and Qualifications
Essential
46. Degree/Diploma in Physiotherapy
47. Registration with the Health and Care Professions Council
48. Registration with the Chartered Society of Physiotherapy
Desirable
49. Relevant post-registration specialist education
50. Evidence of postgraduate training or attendance at short courses to develop specialist skills
51. Attendance at or membership of relevant specialist networks
Experience
Essential
52. Specialist knowledge/experience in physiotherapy
53. Extensive experience of working with children and young people with a range of physiotherapy needs in a range of settings
54. Knowledge/experience in the use of evidence based assessment and treatment approaches and practices
55. Evidence of effective multidisciplinary and multiagency working
56. Understanding of the principles of clinical governance
Desirable
57. Experience of mentoring, supervising, managing and/or supporting junior staff
58. Experience of setting up new projects/initiatives
59. Experience of delivering physiotherapy within a special school setting
60. Experience of training others both informally (around the needs of a specific child or young person) and formally (presentations to groups of professionals)
Skills and Abilities
Essential
61. Ability to perform manual handling tasks
62. Knowledge of a range of assessment tools and therapeutic interventions appropriate for working with children and young people
63. Knowledge of a variety of treatment modalities orthotics, equipment for postural management, hydrotherapy
64. Excellent written and oral presentation skills
65. Good organisation/time management skills
66. Problem solving skills
67. Basic IT skills
68. Knowledge of standards of record keeping and principles of clinical governance
Desirable
69. Knowledge of basic audit and quality tools
70. Insight into issues arising from the local health economy
Other Relevant Requirements
Essential
71. Ability to work autonomously
72. Ability to work as a team member and promote collaborative multdisciplinary and multiagency approach
73. Ability to be flexible to meet the needs of the role
74. Ability to support and develop other team members
75. Ability to take initiative
76. Ability to delegate tasks
77. Assertive and enthusiastic
78. Ability to demonstrate strong client focus
79. Evidence of work self development
80. Ability to get to all sites required for the post
Desirable
81. Membership of relevant specialist groups such as the Association of Chartered Paediatric Physiotherapists
82. Professionally active in specialist section
83. Involvement in local/regional groups
Physical Requirements
Essential
84. Physical ability to carry out physiotherapy assessment and intervention
85. Highly developed dexterity, coordination and palpatory sensory skills for assessment and treatment of clients with a variety of conditions