We have an exciting opportunity for a highly skilled enthusiastic physiotherapist to join our Childrens Neuro orthopaedic team.
The post holder will work within the children's physiotherapy team and orthopaedic surgery team providing specialist physiotherapy to children with neuro-disabilities.
They will demonstrate competence in the management of of children with Cerebral Palsy (CP). The post holder will be able to develop the service collating outcome measures for children presenting to the orthopaedic neuro-disability service; providing pre-operative and post-operative rehabilitation programmes for selected patients and support / liaise with community physiotherapists.
Additionally, they will work collaboratively with in-patient physiotherapists, our highly specialised nurses and occupational therapists to ensure an optimal patient journey especially in the peri-operative period.
They will provide leadership within the childrens Physiotherapy teams demonstrating a high standard of leadership skills and behaviours.
This post is for 4 days per week to include Tuesday and Wednesday
The post holder will contribute to the paediatric out of hours service at the Leeds Childrens Hospital.
Unfortunately, we are unable to accept AI generated applications
Expected Shortlisting Date
04/08/2025
Planned Interview Date
11/08/2025
We have an opportunity for a skilled, enthusiastic clinician who enjoys working with children in an integrated multidisciplinary team. This post has been developed to support the management of Children with complex neurological conditions requiring surgical assessment of their hips & SEML surgery (Single Event Multi Level).
The role involves collating all the information from CPIPS and the gait laboratory assisting in assessment and decisions for surgery. The post holder will support the inpatient therapists and outpatient service for management of these patients around the time of surgery to ensure a smooth patient pathway and liaise closely with other hospitals for on going management of these patients. The post holder will act as the link person for the families in this service. The neuro-orthopaedic service at Leeds Childrens Hospital continues to grow and this role will involve ongoing service development.
The post holder will work closely with the multidisciplinary team including medical staff, nursing staff, occupational therapists, speech therapists, play therapists, dieticians and psychologists. They will also be encouraged to liaise with other agencies that support children and their families.
The Childrens Physiotherapy Team is committed to the concepts of clinical governance and staff development through appraisal, training, research and audit.
The childrens physiotherapy team is a team of approximately 40 physiotherapists and physiotherapy assistants who work across Leeds Childrens Hospital. They have a wide scope of experience and enjoy developing and teaching new members of the team.
Leeds Teaching Hospitals is committed to our process of redeploying 'at risk' members of our existing workforce to new roles. As such, all our job adverts are subject to this policy and we reserve the right to close, delay or remove adverts while this process is completed. If you do experience a delay in the shortlisting stage of the recruitment cycle, please bear with us while this process is completed, and contact the named contact if you have any questions.
JOB PURPOSE
To perform the advanced physiotherapeutic assessment, diagnosis and treatment of patients within this specialist field who may have complex physical and psychological conditions and/or chronic presentation.
As an experienced physiotherapist the jobholder will assist in co-ordinating the activities of the team and outpatient department ensuring efficient and effective service provision. He/she will be required to ensure effective communication is maintained at all times, whilst providing training, supervision and clinical expertise to qualified and unqualified staff and students.
As a lead clinician in this speciality, the jobholder will act as a role model to the physiotherapy team, promoting quality evidence based practice, developing the physiotherapy team and contributing to the effective management of the team in the absence of the clinical service manager..
JOB DIMENSIONS
The post holder will be responsible for managing their own individual caseload which will be varied and on occasions require prioritisation to best meet the service demands.
To undertake all aspects of work as an autonomous practitioner within this specialist field.
management of this team of physiotherapists, support staff and students.
ORGANISATIONAL CHART -
KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS AND EXPERIENCE REQUIRED
Qualifications
Degree or equivalent
Attendance on relevant post graduate courses
Experience
Extensive post graduate experience at a senior level in paediatrics
Clinical audit and standard setting
Working with a wide range of professionals including medical, nursing, therapy
and management colleagues
Skills
Ability to communicate effectively both verbally and in writing within a uni and
multi professional team
Ability to prioritise, organise and allocate workload.
Ability to teach, supervise and assess qualified, unqualified staff and students
Time management skills
Clinical leadership
Knowledge
Sound knowledge of clinical speciality acquired through in depth experience
and/or academic study to post graduate level or equivalent.
Working knowledge of current professional issues and those influencing the
NHS.
Standards of professional practice.
Personal Attributes
Professional and patient focused
Flexible, adaptable, capable of lateral thinking
Excellent interpersonal skills
Ability to work independently or as part of a team
CORE VALUES
Committed to delivering high quality evidence based physiotherapy treatment
Committed to the clinical area, valuing the contribution of all team members and
encouraging a positive and creative working environment.
Committed to own development and the development of the physiotherapy service and profession.
Committed to maintaining high standards of physiotherapy clinical practice and
interpreting their application as appropriate.
CORE BEHAVIOURS AND SKILLS
established clinical expertise
teaching skills with the ability to use various media
communication skills
time management skills
team player
professional
understanding of the process of change
research conscious
CORE KNOWLEDGE AND UNDERSTANDING
An understanding of the organisational structure and working practices of this organisation with regard to the provision of high quality physiotherapy services to this specialist area.
To have a working knowledge of and be guided by broad professional / clinical policies and standards e.g. those set by the Chartered Society of Physiotherapy, the Health Professions Council and the National Institute for Clinical Excellence.
PRINCIPAL DUTIES & AREAS OF RESPONSIBILITY
Clinical
To be professional and legally responsible and accountable for all aspects
your own work relating to the assessment and treatment of patients in your care
undertaking clinical duties as an autonomous practitioner.
To undertake the comprehensive assessment and treatment of patients including
those with diverse/complex /multi pathological presentation. This will necessitate
the use of advanced investigative and analytical skills to formulate an accurate
diagnosis and treatment plan from a range of options.
Using advanced investigative and analytical skills to formulate individualised
management and treatment plans including the development of complex
discharge plans.
To accept clinical responsibility for a designated caseload of patients within this
specialist field and to organise this effectively and efficiently with regard to clinical
priorities and use of time.
To demonstrate dexterity, co-ordination and palpatory skills in the assessment
and manual treatment of patients.
To develop and deliver the physiotherapy element of the rehabilitation
Programme.
To be an active member of the out of hours service.
The working pattern will require flexibility including seven day working to ensure
safe and effective service provision.
Use a range of verbal and non-verbal communication tools to communicate
effectively with patients to progress treatment and rehabilitation programmes.
This will include patients who may have difficulties in understanding,
communicating or have challenging behaviour.
Ability to work in a stressful environment imparting complex information regarding
poor rehabilitation prognosis on a daily basis.
Ability to deal effectively with emotional and/or aggressive patients and/or carers
on a daily basis. This will necessitate the use of developed communication
skills e.g. the ability to negotiate, motivate and reassure.
Assess patient understanding of treatment proposals, gain valid informed
consent and have the knowledge to work within a legal framework with patients
who lack capacity to consent to treatment.
Formulate and deliver specialised physiotherapy treatment programmes based on a sound knowledge of evidence based practice and treatment options using clinical assessment, reasoning skills and knowledge of treatment options e.g. manual physiotherapy techniques, patient education, exercise classes, electrotherapy techniques and other alternative options.
To represent the physiotherapy service and /or individual patients at multi
disciplinary team meetings, to ensure the delivery of a co-ordinated
multidisciplinary service and integration of physiotherapy treatment. This will
include discussion of patient care, patient progress and involvement in discharge
planning.
In the absence of the clinical service manager, to represent the trust externally (locally, regionally and nationally) regarding physiotherapy services provided to this group of patients.
Education and Training
To provide spontaneous and planned specialist advice, teaching and instruction
to relatives, carers and other professionals, to promote understanding of the aims
of physiotherapy, and to ensure a consistent approach to patient care.
To effectively communicate complex clinical information with patients and carers
to maximise rehabilitation potential and to ensure understanding of their
condition.
To be an active member of the in-service training programme. You will be responsible for the provision of specialist teaching to peers and juniors on a range of subjects through the delivery of in-service training sessions, tutorials, individual training sessions, external courses and peer review.
To co-ordinate and deliver core training within the speciality to qualified and
unqualified physiotherapy staff and students.
To train, supervise and performance manage more junior staff, technical
instructors, assistants and students on a daily basis. This will include the use of
formal appraisal documentation.
To provide daily support, guidance and training to more junior staff, support
workers and students, assessing, evaluating and ensuring competence.
To provide highly specialist advice, teaching and training to physiotherapy
colleagues and other members of the MDT regarding the medical and
physiotherapy management of this group of patients.
Professional and Managerial
Maintain and develop current knowledge of evidence based practice in this
specialist clinical field.
As a senior member of the clinical team you will be required to ensure that you
implement policy and service development changes and ensure that others do
likewise.
To be responsible for maintaining own competency to practice through Continued Professional Development activities and maintain a portfolio which reflects your own personal development.
To communicate effectively and work collaboratively with medical, nursing and
therapy colleagues to ensure delivery of a co-ordinated multidisciplinary service.
This will include case conferences, ward rounds and discharge planning as
appropriate.
To participate in the staff appraisal scheme as an appraisee and appraiser and
be responsible for complying with your agreed personal development
programmes to meet set knowledge and competencies.
To regularly undertake the measurement and evaluation of your work and current
practices through the use of evidence based practice projects, audit and
outcome measures, either individually or with colleagues. Make
recommendations for change as appropriate.
To demonstrate an understanding of clinical governance and risk management
and apply to work situation.
To maintain own continuing professional development (CPD) by keeping abreast of any new trends and developments, incorporating them as necessary into your work.
To supervise and co-ordinate physiotherapy staff within your area on a day to
day basis.
In the absence of the clinical manager you may be required to participate in
working parties developing policy changes within clinical support services which
will impact on service users.
This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (Exceptions Order) 1975 and as such it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service (formerly known as CRB) to check for any previous criminal convictions.
Applicants must have current UK professional registration. For further information please see NHS Careers website (opens in a new window).
Leeds Teaching Hospitals
Leeds General Infirmary
Great George Street
Leeds
LS1 3EX
https://www.leedsth.nhs.uk/ (Opens in a new tab)