Post: Band 6 Physiotherapist

Base: Rotherham Hospice

Hours: 30 hours per week (over 4 days)

Salary: £30,000-£34,866 (Pro Rata)

Contract: Permanent

Reporting to: Clinical Services Director

Overall Purpose:
The Band 6 Physiotherapist role will be to work with people with specialist palliative care needs to help them live life well. They will work with the inpatients, contributing to end of life care or discharge planning. They will also work with people attending the day hospice, as outpatients or working in the community in patient’s homes.
This post will be based at Rotherham Hospice but is required to work across all areas including the Inpatient Unit, Day Hospice and within the community. They will work independently with the support of the Band 7 Physiotherapist and other members of the MDT.
Key Responsibilities:
  1. Utilize specialist knowledge and skills to undertake comprehensives assessments and interventions to provide a responsive servicefor the needs of the patients and their families
  1. To communicate complex and sensitive information in an understandable format to patients, families and carers whilst ensuring inclusion in their physiotherapy programmes and with the provision of informed consent and patient centred goal setting.
  1. To constantly evaluate and reassess treatment plans and utilize a wide range of treatment, moving and handling skills and options in order to provide ongoing highly specialized and individualized programmes throughout the changing phases of the patients’ illness.
  1. Work in collaboration with the Band 7 Physiotherapist, Occupational Therapists and other team members in carrying out joint interventions including moving and handling interventions, delivery of education programmes and home assessments.
  1. To provide assessments and interventions to facilitate safe discharge from the Hospice Inpatient Unit.
  1. To provide crisis intervention to palliative/end of life patients, where specialist physiotherapy input is required, especially where intervention will prevent hospital or hospice admission, breakdown of care or facilitate hospital/ hospice discharge.
  1. Plan, prioritize and organize a caseload of complex patients and demonstrate the ability to manage time effectively and efficiently.
  1. To act as a specialist resource to other health care professionals on issues relating to the physiotherapy management of palliative care patients.
  1. Communicate effectively and collaboratively with medical, nursing, therapy, voluntary and social services colleagues to ensure a coordinated multidisciplinary team service delivery. This includes representing the physiotherapy service at case conferences, team meetings, discharge planning and when making direct referrals to other members of the MDT (hospice/ community/ acute sectors).
  1. To offer specialist advice to hospital based staff and liaise closely with the specialist palliative care team based in the acute sector to promote the preferred place of care initiative and integrated pathway of care.
  1. To effectively manage sensitive situations with empathy and respect
  1. To be responsible for the ordering of specialist supplies when required.

General
  • Encourage a positive team culture, positive communication and co-operation between colleagues and staff and volunteers of the Hospice.
  • To comply with all information governance requirements, in particular on data protection and information security ensuring the confidentiality necessary in relation to patient, staff, stakeholder and volunteer information, in line with Hospice policies.
  • To ensure knowledge, skills and competence are up to date and relevant to the service. Take responsibility for own professional development, identifying training and development needs to line manager.
  • The post holder undertake any other reasonable duties necessary to ensure effective support to the Executive Team and the Board of Trustees across the range of duties as appropriate within the grading of this post.
  • Required to abide by the Health and Safety at Work Act.
  • Required to attend statutory and mandatory training annually.
  • Required to respect confidentiality applying to all Hospice areas.
  • Required to work within Hospice policies and procedures
  • Required to co-operate and liaise with departmental colleagues.
  • Expected to support and encourage harmonious internal and external working relationships.
In the context of rapid and on-going change within Rotherham Hospice, the above responsibilities represent the current priorities and requirements for the post. These priorities will develop and evolve over time. Any significant changes will be the subject of full consultation with the post holder.

PERSON SPECIFICATION

Essential / Desirable
Qualifications and Training /
  • Diploma/Degree in Physiotherapy
  • Current HCPC Registration
/
  • Membership of Chartered Society of Physiotherapy
  • Postgrad qualifications relevant to Palliative Care
  • Advanced communication course

Knowledge /
  • Evidence of the above qualifications into clinical practice
  • Knowledge and experience of using standardised assessments and development of relevant outcome measures
  • Demonstrates knowledge of equipment available and able to assess and utilise where applicable
  • Knowledge and understanding of national and legislation in relation to Physiotherapy and end of life care.
  • Knowledge and understanding of Health & Safety requirements particularly in relation to Moving and Handling.
/
  • Knowledge and evidence of participation in clinical audit or service improvement

Skills and Abilities /
  • Demonstrates an ability to prioritise own and support staff workload and meet required timescales
  • Responds appropriately to urgent and palliative care emergency situations
  • Ensures the collection of data in order to inform clinical decision making and organisational targets.
  • Ability to reflect and critically appraise own performance
  • Ability to convey sensitive information inan empathetic manner to patients, relative/carers and staff.
  • Demonstrate effective written, verbal and non-verbal communication skills at all levels.
  • Skills and ability to motivate and support others
  • Provides learning and development to carers & other professionals within own work area
  • Able to demonstrate advanced patient assessment skills
  • Produce timely, accurate written/electronic records and documents
  • Full UK Driving Licence and use of own vehicle
/
  • Demonstrates skills & ability in use of System One on a regular basis.
  • Ability to identify need for service development
  • Group facilitation skills- for example exercise classes
  • Negotiation and conflict resolution skills

Experience /
  • Experience of working with palliative care patients
  • Experience of management of resources
  • Experience of patient/carer participation and engagement
  • Experience of working within a multi-professional team
/
  • Experience of working in a care home/ community setting
  • Evidence of development and supervision of staff and students

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