Detailed job description and main responsibilities

1. To be responsible for a clinical caseload and monitor own and others workload/treatment methods in order to maintain high professional standards, advising Professional Clinical Lead Physiotherapist of related issues.
2. To be professionally accountable and responsible for all aspects of own work, including the management of children on the caseload.
3. To assess and reassess the needs of the child, analysing and interpreting the information gathered to provide a diagnosis or contribute to the diagnosis, and formulate a treatment plan, seeking support from more senior physiotherapists as necessary.
4. To provide care plans to meet goals and evaluate the effectiveness of interventions using appropriate outcome measures and make any necessary modifications.
5. Implementation of an appropriate package of Physiotherapy care, by developing intervention packages to be delivered as a group or one to one sessions by the Physiotherapist or Physiotherapy assistant.
6. To carry out visits to education settings or home visits as appropriate teaching others to carry out activities as appropriate to support treatment goals.
7. To carry out clinical assessments and reviews in a clinic setting as required.
8. To provide specialist PT advice and suggestions to other professionals involved e.g. doctors, Occupational therapists, nursery nurses teachers, teaching assistants, family support workers and speech and language therapists, etc.
9. Deliver a range of treatments, following departmental care pathways where appropriate, including Physiotherapeutic handling and positioning; group work; serial casting; hydrotherapy.
10. Assess, provide and monitor the use of therapeutic equipment including seating, standing, other positioning and mobility equipment, orthotics and wheelchairs. This will involve liaising with Occupational Therapists from BCHC or the Disabled Children’s Social Care team, Wheelchair services, and Orthotist’s, teaching the parents or carers about health and safety issues surrounding the equipment so ensuring its safe use.
11. Take responsibility for the delegation of physiotherapy programmes to physiotherapy assistants, acting as a mentor and supervisor to named assistants in line with the local supervision policy.
12. Supervise treatment plans devised by the Physiotherapist and undertaken by the Physiotherapy assistant.
13. Communicate effectively and sensitively with children and carers to maximise rehabilitation potential and ensure understanding of the condition and its implications, at times where English may not be the first language. This will involve the use of a range of communication skills including persuasion, motivation and explanation and an understanding of alternative communication systems that may be used by the child, including sign language, gestures and other non-verbal methods.
14. To communicate user-related information effectively to the multi-disciplinary team, including colleagues in Education, Social Care and Health and acute services to ensure the delivery of a co-ordinated service.
15. To contribute to the development of new service delivery model in order to facilitate the effective uses of resources and meet the current demand and changes
16. To be involved in different service development and clinical governance activities e.g. may lead clinical audit, undertake research etc. specific to setting.
17. To provide clinical cover for other therapists as appropriate
18. To work in accordance with the Chartered society of Physiotherapy’s Code of Professional Values and Behaviour and the Health and Care Professionals council “Standards of proficiency for physiotherapists-2013”

Administrative Duties and Responsibilities

1. The post holder will be required to competently use the email and IT systems for correspondence, and to develop and maintain office systems such as spread sheets and data bases.
2. To complete timely accurate written and electronic records of patient’s care, maintaining service standards and following departmental clinical record keeping guidelines. The post holder will also be required to input activity into the IT system
3. To deal with incoming and outgoing correspondence, telephone calls and enquiries in an appropriate manner.
4. To attend and contribute to Paediatric Physiotherapy and Inclusion Services Staff Meetings, and in-service Training Sessions.
5. To be able to use Trust IT systems to ensure up to date written and electronic records and activity data are maintained in accordance with Professional and Trust standards and provide specialist Physiotherapy records relevant to special school and community setting.
6. To participate in quality assurance, clinical audit and outcome measures studies conducted by the Department

Management and Leadership Responsibilities

1. Ensure supportive staff management arrangements are in place and carry out personal development reviews for direct reports. Ensure all staff in your team/s have annual PDR’s resulting in specific objectives and effective personal development plans in line with the Knowledge and Skills Outline Framework.
2. Develop staff knowledge and skills to promote equality and diversity and address inequalities both in employment and service delivery. Ensure specific equality objective are included in PDR’s.
3. Develop a culture that ensure that the standards of Improving Working Lives and Investors in People are achieved and maintained for all staff and that staff’s perception about their working lives are measured and improvements made.