Clinical Lead Therapist - Acute and Respiratory Medicine

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

Main Tasks and Responsibilities

1.               Communication and relationship skills

1.1           To establish and maintain effective working relationships with internal and external health and social care services forming effective partnerships to facilitate high quality patient care without delays or fragmentation.

1.2           To effectively communicate with patients and their carers/relatives using a range of verbal and non-verbal methods suited to the context of each situation.  Be able to deploy these skills in the event of barriers to communication, as well as in highly contentious and complex matters whilst maintaining a high level of professionalism throughout.

1.3           To be approachable to all staff, communicate in a way that fosters good working relationships, and deliver feedback using a method that is constructive and conducive to improvement.

1.4           To adhere to Trust values and standards, the information governance framework and the Data Protection Act in clinical documentation and information management.

1.5           Be able to write complex reports accurately describing patients’ clinical status and ensuring that the information provided aids effective continuing care and clinical management.

2.               Service management and development

2.1           To set and monitor clinical and operational performance standards to ensure that quality measures are in place to effectively evaluate and improve performance.

2.2           To prospectively plan and organise the workforce to ensure services are delivered with continuity and that demand is met with sufficient capacity.

2.3           To ensure effective mechanisms are in place to identify and ensure the highest priority clinical demand is met at times of insufficient capacity.

2.4           To effectively oversee the utilisation of e-rostering as the sole platform for workforce planning and management of staff leave.

2.5           To ensure sufficient service continuity plans are in place to mitigate for emergencies or unplanned events that affect the capacity and/or capability of the workforce to meet the demands placed upon it.

2.6           To be responsible for maintaining a full establishment of therapy staff within the service, and proactively recruit staff against forthcoming vacant posts.

2.7           To deputise for the Head and/or Deputy Head of Therapies and provide support for other therapy service leads in their absence to ensure departmental business continuity.

2.8           To effectively manage financial and physical resources, including the delegated budget, in a way that is efficient and maximises utilisation of the team’s and Therapy CSU budget

2.9           To effectively utilise policies and procedures to manage staff performance, sickness absence, and disciplinary matters

2.10       To represent therapy at Acute and Respiratory Medicine forums within and external to the Trust to advance the impact of the teams.

3.               Clinical skills

3.1           To undertake clinical assessment, formation of problem lists and goal planning, and therapeutic intervention to consistently high standards in a range of clinical presentations, including highly complex presentations.

3.2           To conform to standards and legal requirements of clinical and service record keeping.

3.3           To lead by example by performing clinical duties that are delivered to the highest standard, derived from evidence-based practice, and centred on maximising the patient’s care quality and experience.

3.4           To serve as a point of escalation and problem resolution supporting team members in decision-making where there are high levels of complexity and/or dispute in clinical management and/or discharge plans.

3.5           To demonstrate the ability to understand, interpret and implement relevant operational changes based on policy at a departmental, organisational and national level.

3.6           To actively participate in seven-day working for therapy services.

4.               Governance and performance 

4.1           To be the clinical governance lead for the Acute and Respiratory Medicine therapy services, which encompasses chairing a regular governance meeting, maintaining an up-to-date risk register and action log, investigating complaints and incidents on behalf of the head of therapies, and overseeing clinical audit and quality improvement.

4.2           To evaluate information and data related to clinical governance and performance standards to demonstrate the quality and efficiency of the service and make sustainable changes where required.

4.3           To work with the Head of Therapies and other departmental leaders to devise and implement an annual clinical audit programme by which to measure compliance of therapy services against quality standards.

4.4           To engage with senior AHP, nursing and medical leads in order to actively participate in clinical governance at a specialty and directorate level.

4.5           To be able to implement pre-determined business continuity and emergency planning policies that require a therapy service response.

4.6           To actively contribute to development and implementation of policies commissioned by Therapies CSU, the clinical specialty areas and the Trust.

4.7           To represent Acute and Respiratory Medicine therapy services at the senior governance and business forums for the CSU (currently: Therapies Clinical Governance and Performance Meeting and Therapies CSU Management Board)

4.8           To monitor and ensure all service members are up to date with statutory and mandatory training requirements

4.9           To design and implement a training and education programme that supports all service members in delivering high quality and safe therapy services