Senior Physiotherapy Assistant

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King's College Hospital NHS Foundation Trust is one of the UK's largest and busiest teaching Trusts with a turnover of c£1.8 billion, 1.5 million patient contacts a year and more than 15,000 staff based across 5 main sites in South East London. The Trust provides a full range of local hospital services across its different sites, and specialist services from King's College Hospital (KCH) sites at Denmark Hill in Camberwell and at the Princess Royal University Hospital (PRUH) site in the London Borough of Bromley.

Job overview

NB. We will be operating a wait list and other Physiotherapy Assistant jobs are likely to come up in different departments with different hours of working.

The post holder will assist the Physiotherapists within Critical Care to maintain a high standard of patient care by undertaking delegated clinical programmes of management and administrative duties to support the functioning of the department. The specific clinical and administrative duties vary from area to area. To take part in rotas as required, including weekends and bank holidays.

Physiotherapy Assistants do not hold a professional qualification, and work only under the direction of qualified physiotherapists and require a period of induction and training, approximately three months, to achieve required competency to perform all tasks.

Main duties of the job

You will be working across King's Critical Care Units alongside the qualified Physiotherapists. You will be expected to carry your own caseload of patients and provide the pre-prescribed treatment plans utilising a variety of basic physiotherapy techniques including mobilisation, passive range of motion and exercise programmes. You will also be assisting the Physiotherapist in complex treatment sessions for patients who require more than one therapist for support. You will have some non clinical tasks for the running of the team including referrals, documentation, taking messages, documentation and other admin tasks. You will be working with patients of varying ages, levels of disability and social and economic backgrounds, so will need to use a variety of communication skills and techniques to help you build rapport with your patients.

Working for our organisation

King's College Hospital NHS Foundation Trust is one of the UK's largest and busiest teaching Trusts with a turnover of c£1.8 billion, 1.5 million patient contacts a year and more than 15,000 staff based across South East London. The Trust provides a full range of local and specialist services across its five sites. The trust-wide strategy of Strong Roots, Global Reach is our Vision to be BOLD, Brilliant people, Outstanding care, Leaders in Research, Innovation and Education, Diversity, Equality and Inclusion at the heart of everything we do. By being person-centred, digitally-enabled, and focused on sustainability, we aim to take Team King's to another level.

We are at a pivotal point in our history and we require individuals who are ready to join a highly professional team and make a real, lasting difference to our patients and our people.

King's is committed to delivering Sustainable Healthcare for All via our Green Plan. In line with national Greener NHS ambitions, we have set net zero carbon targets of 2040 for our NHS Carbon Footprint and 2045 for our NHS Carbon Footprint Plus. Everyone's contribution is required in order to meet the goals set out in our Green Plan and we encourage all staff to work responsibly, minimising their contributions to the Trust's carbon emissions, waste and pollution wherever possible.

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

§ Once inducted, to work with minimal or no direct supervision of a physiotherapist. To carry own caseload of patients, with straight-forward physiotherapy problems, as delegated by the physiotherapist.

§ To assist with the care of patients including any personal care that may be required pre/post or during the rehabilitation session.

§ To provide treatment to patients following a pre-prescribed treatment plan utilising a variety of basic physiotherapy techniques such as assisting a patient to transfer with an appropriate aid or specific exercises

§ To be able to recognise change in the condition of a patient, decide whether to treat and watch and document the patient response/reaction to any treatment undertaken.

§ To monitor patients' joint range whilst undertaking limb care regime and report changes to the physiotherapist

§ To assist with removal and application of functional/supportive aids e.g. prostheses, splints.

§ To assist the physiotherapist with individual rehabilitation, progressing to independent routine treatment sessions where immediate change or progression of exercise is not required.

§ To teach the patient safe transfer methods and develop clinical judgement skills and experience to progress the patient onto other aids following departmental protocol or instruction from the physiotherapist

§ To collect data from patients for recognised outcome measures and document for the physiotherapist to interpret.

§ To organise own delegated work tasks and activities being flexible to the needs of the service as indicated by the physiotherapist.

§ To take and relay messages accurately on the telephone and face to face with patients, relatives, health care professionals and others e.g. company representatives

§ To provide and receive information from patients, nurses and other professionals regarding a patient's condition and treatment progress.

§ To be able to motivate and persuade patients through effective communication skills, utilising verbal and non-verbal skills. Communication will be tailored to the patients'/carers' level of comprehension or cognition e.g. using interpreters.

§ To liaise with health care professionals and physiotherapists on a day-to-day basis in clinical area of work, with regard to patient care

§ To liaise with managers, other administrative and support staff as necessary to ensure the smooth running of the department, both clinically and administratively.

§ To maintain confidentiality of patient information at all times in line with Trust and departmental policies

§ To maintain accurate and timely patient notes and activity records in accordance with departmental policy and to ensure the safekeeping and confidentiality of these records.

§ To use departmental/Trust software e.g. EPIC or Physio Tools

§ To update spreadsheets regarding patient contact time and outcome measures

§ To undertake non-clinical induction of assistants and students as required.

§ To be an active team member by supporting other members, offering assistance, being flexible and approachable particularly during changing service demands and staffing levels.

§ To be responsible for competent use and maintenance of all equipment used, to report defects in equipment in a timely manner to the Clinical Lead in the area and locate missing items.

§ To understand the function and use of departmental equipment e.g. Supportive chairs, exercise equipment and be able to use safely jointly with physiotherapy staff or independently with own patients.

§ To undertake routine light cleaning/tidying tasks of clinical equipment e.g. supportive chairs, wheelchairs, electrical equipment

§ To administer any equipment loan monitoring system and liaise with maintenance engineers where appropriate.

§ To undertake administrative tasks particularly related to photocopying, record keeping, filing, errands and making appointments

§ To be responsible for stock control within clinical areas ensuring consistent supply and request new orders from the departmental secretary, including using catalogues for new equipment.

§ Collect, unpack and store new supplies

§ To follow physiotherapy department and Trust policies

§ To comment on changes to departmental policies, procedures and service development as required.

§ To demonstrate capability in physiotherapy assistant skills, by completing the tasks listed in the Assistant Induction Checklist, within the first 3 months of employment.

§ To participate in the King's College Hospital Employee Performance Appraisal system and to fulfil its requirements

§ To undertake relevant in-service training to improve patient care and for personal development

§ To participate in the department's ongoing audit programme as required.

Person specification

Qualifications

Essential criteria

• NVQ Level 3 or GSCE level or equivalent including maths and English

Experience

Essential criteria

• Experience of delivering care to patients in a health or social care setting

Desirable criteria

• Previous experience as a physiotherapy assistant

Knowledge

Essential criteria

• Aware of Health and Safety policy and aware of need to comply with other relevant Trust policies/procedures
• Demonstrate basic knowledge of the role of a physiotherapist
• Competent to take part in weekend and bank holiday rota
• Can demonstrate ability to learn new procedures and techniques and follow instructions
• Basic numeracy and keyboard skills

Desirable criteria

• Knowledge of NHS structure

Skills

Essential criteria

• Can demonstrate decision-making ability
• Able to communicate - written and verbal - logically and accurately, in English, imparting information to others
• Able to deal with people who have difficulty communicating
• Sensitivity towards patients when dealing with their toileting or who are disfigured by disability
• Able to motivate patients
• Able to recognise boundaries of own practice and responsibility
• Good team working skills
• Able to respect and value equality and diversity
• Punctual and able to manage a workload efficiently by prioritising and sharing work appropriately
• Able to work with minimum or no supervision, appreciating the need to consult qualified staff in appropriate circumstances
• Able to recognise, and take some responsibility for, own training needs
• Able to cope with a challenging working environment, and periods of interruption during the day

IMPORTANT

• Check your email account regularly as this is how we will communicate with you
• If you delete the job from any of your accounts, you may be prevented from accessing further communications
• To enquire about your application or inform us of any changes in your circumstances, please contact the named person on this advert
• Please provide email addresses for referees where possible
• Click here to see the range of benefits we offer
• Please review the documentation on our recruitment microsite, particularly the Trust's criminal records checking policy
• All staff have a responsibility for safeguarding children and vulnerable adults and for ensuring they are aware of the specific duties relating to their role.
• Please note that the closing date is given as a guide. On occasion, we might close a vacancy early due to a high number of applications being received. You are advised to submit your application as early as possible to avoid disappointment.

King's College Hospital NHS Foundation Trust Annual Reports and Other Corporate Publications

King's Health Partners Academic Health Science Centre Website

King's College Hospital is part of King's Health Partners Academic Health Sciences Centre (AHSC), a pioneering collaboration between King's College London, and Guy's and St Thomas', King's College Hospital and South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trusts.

Employer certification / accreditation badges

Applicant requirements

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

• Band 3 Job Description and Person Specification (PDF, 472.4KB)
• Denmark Hill Site Map (PDF, 1.2MB)
• Visa and Sponsorship Information (PDF, 352.6KB)