Highly Specialist Physiotherapist -Acute Respiratory & Critical Care inLondon inLondon PUBLISHED MON 2 DEC 2024

We are looking for Physiotherapist to join our committed and friendly team at the Whittington Hospital. We need you to be a respiratory specialist with advanced knowledge & skills of delivering outstanding & compassionate physiotherapy treatment to patients in ICU & across Respiratory, General Acute & Paediatric wards.

You will be an integral part of the ICU team responsible for the delivery of therapy to patients in critical care demonstrating clinical expertise in both the acute management of respiratory compromise & rehabilitation of patients following critical illness.

You will also work closely with our excellent Respiratory consultants to deliver the NIV service & be involved in regular audit, & development work in support of this.

We provide a specialised respiratory out-patient service where you will co-manage a caseload of primarily patients with bronchiectasis alongside the Clinical Respiratory Lead Physiotherapist.

The role has weekend & on call commitments on a rota basis.

As a skilled & passionate educator, you will support the service to develop the next generation of respiratory physiotherapists, delivering competency based & in situ training with patients to ensure Band 5's and 6's are confident & prepared to treat & manage patients with complex respiratory presentations.

You will receive regular supervision & dedicated support to enable you to meet the responsibilities of this role and we will actively support your professional and clinical development.

To be responsible for therapy provision across Respiratory and Critical Care services & general acute wards.

Deliver clinical expertise in both the acute management of respiratory compromise & rehabilitation of patients following critical illness.

Undertake advanced assessment & treatment of patients who may have complex &/or chronic presentation.

Determine clinical diagnosis & physiotherapy treatment indicated, working autonomously.

Be the lead physiotherapist for the Non-Invasive ventilation (NIV) service, including routine audit of all NIV set ups in conjunction with the Lead NIV consultant.

Represent Physiotherapy at the ITU Clinical Governance meeting.

Be responsible for providing Paediatric respiratory physiotherapy cover, working in close collaboration with the Paediatric physiotherapy lead.

To have delegated responsibility from the Respiratory Clinical Lead for the management & leadership of staff on the on-call rota providing support & expert advice during working hours & some evenings & weekends

To manage an out-patient caseload of patients with primarily bronchiectasis & a small cohort with dysfunctional breathing, working closely with referring respiratory consultant teams & colleagues.

To support the operational team management of Physiotherapists, Occupational Therapists, Apprentices & Assistants in conjunction with peer colleagues.

To be a skilled educator & lead the Respiratory Competency & On-call training programme for Band 5 &Band 6 rotational staff.

About us

To be professionally and legally responsible and accountable for all aspects of own professional work activities.

To assess patients understanding of treatment proposals, gain valid informed consent and have the capacity to work within a legal framework with patients who lack capacity to consent to treatment.

To demonstrate, highly specialist knowledge and skills in the management and treatment of respiratory disease.

To undertake specialist assessment with designated caseload (inpatient and outpatient) as an autonomous practitioner, carry out diagnostic procedures and interpret the results for patients with multifaceted respiratory and / or rehabilitation problems including those patients with a complex presentation, using investigative and analytical skills.

To request, in consultation with medical colleagues, and use the results of specialist investigations (e.g., x-rays, C.T scans, blood tests, arterial blood gases) to assist the formulation of diagnoses and plan patient management.

To use specialist physiotherapy skills in the management of acute respiratory failure, which may include correctly identifying patients in need of Non-Invasive Ventilation (NIV) in accordance with the Trust guideline.

To administer NIV, selecting appropriate settings, and regimen for usage. Provide specialist guidance to all health care professionals involved in patients care including the weaning and discontinuing when appropriate to do so.

To facilitate the care of patients with a tracheostomy by liaising with Site Managers regarding appropriate ward placement, providing expert advice to all disciplines involved in the management of such patients and advise on appropriate weaning strategies for complex patients.

To provide specialist physiotherapy to paediatric patients with respiratory presentations within the Whittington Health NHS Trust.

To interpret and analyse clinical and non-clinical facts to form accurate diagnoses and prognoses in a wide range of highly complex conditions, to recommend the best course of intervention, and to develop comprehensive discharge plans.

To formulate, evaluate and reassess individualised physiotherapy management and / or treatment plans, using clinical reasoning skills and utilising a wide range of treatment skills and options to formulate a specialised programme of care for patients with multiple pathologies, complex respiratory and medical conditions, and those in acute respiratory distress.

To provide advice on specialised physiotherapy care and treatment for patients with respiratory problems based on theoretical knowledge and relevant practical experience, and to be consulted frequently for specialist advice and guidance by junior team members and other health care professionals both within and outside the Trust.

To be highly competent in assessing a wide range of conditions experienced by patients with respiratory problems based on advanced theoretical knowledge of anatomy, physiology, and pathology, often in situations where conflicting evidence is present.

To demonstrate a sound understanding of clinical governance, clinical risk and demonstrate utilisation of the current best clinical evidence when designing treatment plans.

To always manage clinical risk within own patient caseload and to ensure clinical risk is effectively managed across designated work areas.

To demonstrate visible leadership and ensure that a high standard of clinical practice and patient care is maintained in both own practice and ensuring that other physiotherapists in the team do likewise, through ongoing competency assessment and evaluation of treatments and outcomes.

To keep up to date with clinical developments, analysing current research and discussing, advocating, and implementing changes to improve care and clinical practice accordingly.

To be informed of and work to the standards expected in the specialty area and ensure that junior members of the team are informed and work to these same standards.

To use specialist knowledge to refer to other health disciplines, units or services as appropriate including recommending further investigations or referral onto other specialist centres such as Lane Fox Unit for long term weaning.

To demonstrate physical ability to carry out physiotherapy assessment and interventions, including manual physiotherapy techniques and therapeutic handling. These techniques require direct and close physical contact with the patient and require regular training and practice sessions to maintain competency and the sensitivity and specificity of handling e.g., airway suctioning, passive movements.

To demonstrate highly developed dexterity, co-ordination and palpatory sensory skills for assessment and manual treatment of patients.

To plan and manage the physiotherapy on-call and weekend service, ensuring policies and procedures are in place, all rosters are covered (in conjunction with the Clinical Leads), and that training and induction is provided for all physiotherapists on the 24-hour emergency on-call and weekend rotas.

As the lead for the on-call and weekend service, be responsible for the induction and training of new and existing on-call staff to ensure competency of staff carrying out evening and weekend duties.

To participate in the on-call, weekend and emergency duty rotas as a lone practitioner and as back support for new staff to the rota within the Trust. (See Appendix 1)

To undertake any other duties as may be deemed necessary and be prepared to work at any location within the Trust.