Job summary
- Main area
- Wheelchairs
- Grade
- Band 7
- Contract
- Fixed term: 9 months (Maternity leave cover)
- Hours
- Part time - 15 hours per week (Worked flexibly according to the needs of the service)
- Job ref
- 844-8328384
- Employer
- Wirral Community Health and Care NHS Foundation Trust
- Employer type
- NHS
- Site
- St Catherine's Health Centre
- Town
- Birkenhead
- Salary
- £49,387 - £56,515 per annum pro rata
- Salary period
- Yearly
- Closing
- 24/11/2026 23:59
Employer heading
Highly Specialist Wheelchair Therapist (OT or Physio)
Band 7
Wirral Community Health & Care NHS Foundation Trust's common purpose:
We will support you and your community to live well.
Our values:
Compassion
Supportive and caring, listening to others.
Open
Communicating openly, honestly and sharing ideas.
Trust
Trusted to deliver, feeling valued and safe.
Wirral Community Health & Care NHS Foundation Trust provides high quality community health and care services which are responsive to the needs of our local population. Services are delivered by our dedicated and innovative multi disciplinary professionals and supported by equally committed staff behind the scenes. We strive to continue developing and improving our services by working with and listening to our populations, partners, commissioners and staff.
WCHC offers you a great opportunity to be a part of a talented, passionate and committed team delivering excellent community based services across Cheshire and Merseyside.
Job overview
Due to maternity leave, we are looking for a registered Occupational Therapist or Physiotherapist who already has highly specialist skills in Wheelchairs to join our exceptional multidisciplinary Wheelchair Service team for a fixed period.
In addition to your wheelchair expertise, you must have excellent organisational, interpersonal and communication skills, demonstrate strong leadership behaviours and a coaching style approach, and be passionate about delivering the best possible care to wheelchair service users.
This is a part-time post, worked flexibly according to service needs at either of our locations in Wirral or West Cheshire.
It is patient facing position which is clinic based but also requires you to visit service users in their place of residence or other establishment in the community as/ when required. It is essential that you are able can drive and have access to a suitable vehicle for work purposes.
Main duties of the job
You will:
-
Undertake multifaceted and highly specialist and evidence-based assessments of adults and children who have complex postural and mobility problems and prescribe/ handover a range of wheelchairs and associated equipment, including specialist seating and powered wheelchairs to meet their personalised needs.
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Work alongside the other Band 7s to provide clinical and professional leadership to the clinical team of wheelchair therapists, assistant practitioners, rehabilitation engineering technicians, therapy assistants and admin staff; this includes line management and development of the team.
-
Support the Service Lead and Support Manager with the operational delivery and development of the service ensuring a high quality safe, effective, and responsive service which is personalised.
Working for our organisation
Wirral Community Health and Care NHS Foundation Trust has been rated as Good by CQC (Dec 2023) with some outstanding areas.
As an aspiring outstanding Trust we have numerous policies and procedures in place which provide standard organisational ways of working, in line with organisational objectives, relevant legislation and requirements. Policies allow for continuity and consistency within the Trust. Employees must abide by and adhere to all Wirral Community NHS Trust’s policies, at all times
We deliver NHS wheelchair services to adults and children living in Wirral and West Cheshire for Cheshire Merseyside Integrated Commissioning Board (ICB); and have nearly 8,000 wheelchair users with equipment on issue from our service. We pride ourselves in delivering excellent customer service and on-going clinical support to all our users, along with a comprehensive maintenance and repair service which is provided by an approved contractor.
We strive to be a great place to work and thrive; and are committed to investing in you to help you fulfil your potential through a range of learning and development opportunities. Our staff are very much valued, and this is why we offer a range of employee benefits including family friendly policies, additional leave purchase scheme, laptops for remote working, staff wellbeing support services including counselling and inclusive staff networks.
Detailed job description and main responsibilities
The main responsibilities include:
- Prioritise, analyse and interpret referrals received to the Wheelchair Service using advanced clinical reasoning skills.
- Ensure cases are allocated to most appropriate clinician, collaborating with service users and other professionals.
- Provide highly specialist wheelchair assessments for adults and children with diverse and/ or progressive conditions, all who will have complex mobility, pressure and related functional needs.
- Interpret assessment findings using advanced clinical reasoning skills and formulate the best course of intervention that will meet the agreed goals of the user/carer and the service, taking into account eligibility criteria and local policies for provision of wheelchairs.
- Prescribe a range of wheelchairs (manual and powered), wheelchair seating systems and accessories to meet the needs of service users that have complex needs.
- Offer personal wheelchair budgets in line with the Wheelchair Service offer.
- Carry out detailed/complex risk assessments, documenting and reporting clinical risks and other risk management issues.
- Undertake specialist pressure care assessments pertaining to wheelchair seating and interpret the information ascertained to ascertain the appropriate prescription.
- Manage clinical risk within own caseload and that of junior staff and wheelchair therapy assistants to ensure the safety of users, carers, colleagues, and self, documenting and escalating any significant risks.
- Consider budget demands on the service when ordering and prescribing equipment and ensure it is the most cost effective to meet the service users’ clinical needs.
- Keep accurate, comprehensive and timely user records on the bespoke Wheelchair Service clinical and asset management system (BEST) in line with Trust policies and professional standards of practise.
- Provide line management to identified clinicians and be responsible for the clinical supervision of junior staff, wheelchair therapy support workers and students.
- Be aware of responsibilities and implications of the current legislation that affects clinical and professional practice.
- Provide highly specialist advice, and act as a resource, to other colleagues in other clinical areas regarding postural/pressure management and mobility.
- Organise and plan to ensure the smooth running of clinics and effective utilisation of staff skills, and maintain an overview of the service to support the efficient and effective running of it.
Person specification
Qualifications and Professional Training
Essential criteria
- Degree or equivalent in Occupational Therapy/Physiotherapy
- State registration with HCPC
- Evidence of attending post registration courses that carry credits towards post graduate qualifications in a specialist area and Occupational Therapy or Physiotherapy consolidating this knowledge in the working environment
- Evidence of utilising highly developed therapy assessment/ treatment skills with specialist client groups
- Evidence of recent fieldwork educators training or equivalent experience
Desirable criteria
- Evidence of leadership/ management experience/qualification or a commitment to complete
Experience and Knowlegde
Essential criteria
- Significant relevant post registration experience
- Evidence of NHS Wheelchair Service experience/ provision
- In depth knowledge/skills in wheelchair assessment and prescription, including personal wheelchair budgets
- Highly developed knowledge/skills in posture and seating
- Evidence of commitment to Wheelchair Therapy provision and personalisation
- Proven understanding of clinical governance and risk management, its importance and an awareness of how it is carried out.
- Experience of application of evidence-based interventions/ outcome measures relevant to client group
Desirable criteria
- Evidence of effective use of clinical audit/ quality improvement project knowledge/skills
- Highly developed knowledge/skills in quality improvement/ service development
- Experience of staff appraisal/ workforce development
Skills and Abilities
Essential criteria
- Effective communication (both written and verbal) and interpersonal skills with both professionals, carers, and users with highly complex disorders/communication problems
- Evidence of ability to manage appraise, develop, and motivate staff
- Ability to promote, participate and facilitate Service Clinical Governance Agenda and Quality Improvement
- To use computer databases competently and be able to access email and intranet
Personal Qualities
Essential criteria
- Car driver and access to a car for work purposes essential
- Self-motivated, enthusiastic, and innovative
- Ability to prevent and manage with complaints fairly and empathetically
- Ability to work under pressure
- Positive attitude to service development/ improvement and a flexible approach to service changes
- Ability to lead and manage clinical team, demonstrating strong leadership behaviours and skills
- Ability to work both independently and part of a multi-disciplinary team -disciplinary team
- Excellent timekeeper and time management
- Ability and stamina to manoeuvre patients in wheelchairs with transfers, and to undertake home visits
- Physical ability to carry out assessments in various environments and ability to manipulate wheelchairs
Applicant requirements
You must have appropriate UK professional registration.
This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (Exceptions) Order 1975 (Amendment) (England and Wales) Order 2020 and it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service.
Documents to download
Further details / informal visits contact
- Name
- Amanda Ball
- Job title
- Specialist Services Manager
- Email address
- [email protected]
- Telephone number
- 07717 692954
- Additional information
Jenny Young, Band 7 Wheelchair Therapist. Tel. 0151 604 7261 or email: [email protected]
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