Specialist physiotherapist

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

To undertake skilled assessment of children and/or adolescents using a range of highly specialist standardised assessments and clinical observation skills.

To provide specialist physiotherapy treatment intervention in a variety of environments including home, school, clinic and other premises in the community.

To provide treatment on an individual basis or in a group setting, according to the assessed needs.

To demonstrate safe therapeutic manual handling skills continually assessing the frequently changing levels of risks involved.

To provide advice in formulation of a medical diagnosis and to support the family through this process.

To formulate agreed specialist individual treatment plans and goals based on clinical reasoning skills.

To alter and revise planned interventions as a result of changes in an individual’s level of function or circumstances, using clinical reasoning skills.

To accept clinical responsibility for the management of a specific paediatric caseload, to assess and review level of need and to organise this effectively and efficiently regarding clinical priorities and time management with guidance from a more senior therapist.

To assess for specialist paediatric equipment required as part of a child’s physiotherapy programme

To refer to surgical appliances for orthotics, as required.

To provide advice and physiotherapy programmes; and provide teaching and instruction to parents, carers and other relevant professionals in health, social and educational services, to promote understanding of the aims of physiotherapy and to ensure a consistent, coordinated approach to optimise patient care.

To provide advice for Statutory Assessment of Special Educational Needs and child specific advice for Educational Manual Handling Risk Assessments.

To provide specialist advice and peer support to health, social care and educational colleagues in the overall management of the child presenting with complex problems in a range of community settings. This will include the preparation and presentation of reports at relevant Social Services, Educational and Medical Case Conferences.

To work collaboratively with multi-agency professionals to develop comprehensive support packages for children and their families living with complex disabling conditions, ensuring appropriate service provision in response to changing clinical and/or social situations.

To supervise junior staff and students.

To participate in in service training sessions.

Personal

To facilitate and maintain effective two-way verbal and non-verbal communication with children and their carers, in order to ensure understanding of the importance and relevance of Physiotherapy in gaining the best outcomes for the child. This will need to consider the level of understanding of the child and carers.

To gain compliance of children in their treatment when there may be significant barriers to understanding due to learning disability, behavioural and emotional problems and/or sensory loss.

To communicate sensitive information in understandable form to parents/carers, which may be unwelcome or difficult to accept, regarding expectations of mobility and deterioration of abilities.

To gain compliance of children in their treatment when there may be significant barriers to understanding due to learning disability, behavioural and emotional problems and/or sensory loss.

To communicate information effectively and work collaboratively with partner agencies and professionals in health, social services, education and the voluntary sector to ensure the protection of vulnerable children. This may include some sensitive information.

To communicate effectively with other members of the paediatric occupational therapy team, admin staff, Service Lead and Team Leader to ensure smooth and efficient delivery of the paediatric occupational therapy service. This will include appraisals, clinical supervision sessions, coaching sessions and other structured interaction situations.

To actively listen to members of staff reporting to you, providing support and advice as required and escalating any issues as appropriate.

To use of IT to communicate via e-mail and to obtain/input data on information systems and to use the intranet/internet.

General

To be a registered member of the health care professionals’ council.

·         To actively seek up-to-date information regarding clinical conditions and methods of treatment   to ensure an evidence-based approach to treatment.

To be responsible and accountable for all aspects of your own work including the case management of children requiring specialist intervention.

To be professionally and legally responsible and accountable for all aspects of your own

work including the case management of children requiring specialised paediatric physiotherapy intervention.

To ensure that clinical governance and risk management guidelines and policies are followed and to undertake appropriate risk assessment within the paediatric therapy service, taking up actions as required e.g. completion of untoward incidents/ reporting identified risk following the correct policies and procedures.

To assess capacity and gain informed consent to treatment in line with trust policies and procedures.

To participate in the trust appraisal system and to be committed to continuing professional development and provide evidence of this.

To undertake clinical supervision according to department policy.

To contribute to the education of support staff to enable them to develop competencies.

To evaluate and measure own practice using outcome measures e.g. TOMS

To undertake audits either individually or as part of a team with support from senior colleagues as necessary.

To work as lone practitioner in a variety of community settings, working within Trust policies and guidelines.

To comply with the Paediatric Therapy Service policies and procedures and comment on recommended changes to service provision.