Prosthetics Clinical LeadinPlymouthinPlymouthPUBLISHED WED 19 MAR 2025

37.5 hours per week.

Livewell Southwest are looking for an experienced HCPC registered prosthetist to join the prosthetics rehabilitation team based in Plymouth. Due to a development opportunity for the current post holder, there is a vacancy for a prosthetist to join the team in the permanent role of prosthetics clinical lead. As an independent in-house provider, working for Livewell Southwest will provide the opportunity to collaborate with the full range of prosthetic suppliers to deliver optimal solutions for the patients you work with.

You will lead a team of 4 prosthetists, providing clinical leadership as well as managing their own complex caseload. You will undertake true MDT working, supported by a consultant, specialist physiotherapists, specialist nurse, clinical and administrative support and a team of on-site prosthetic technicians with a full manufacturing facility. You will be involved with pre-amputation assessment, Primary patient MDT consultation and lifelong prosthetic provision, collaborating with the whole team to provide holistic solutions across the range of amputation levels and congenital limb difference. The clinical lead role will also provide the opportunity to lead on research, audit and governance for the service, driving development and quality of service provision.

If you are passionate about the prosthetic profession and would like the opportunity to work in beautiful Devon and Cornwall, this is the role for you. Relocation assistance available

Provide Clinical Leadership to a team of 4 prosthetists, including line management of team members.

Provide leadership to the wider clinical team, leading on governance and development activities.

Act as a mentor.

In the absence of the service manager, be responsible for day to day management of the team

Manage a complex prosthetic caseload, providing holistic, evidence based care.

Lead and participate in pre-amputation consultations

To have joint clinical responsibility for the prosthetic profession within the organisation

To be the ultimate arbiter for second opinions and items requested outside of prescription guidelines

To provide the lead prosthetic clinical input to the MDT. Give clinical and professional advice to the multi-disciplinary team regarding appropriate prosthetic provision for patients.

To facilitate the implementation of relevant care pathways.

To identify, develop and implement relevant clinical competency frameworks and essential training for the prosthetic service.

To identify, develop and implement relevant clinical competency frameworks and essential training for the prosthetic service.

Develop/maintain/manage the implementation of robust prescription guidelines to maximise budget.

This role may not be eligible for sponsorship under the Skilled Worker route.

Please note that we may close the job advertisement earlier than the specified deadline.

All staff are expected to be able and willing to work across a 7 day service.

About us

Please see the attached Job Description for full details

SCOPE AND RANGE

The role will work within the scope of the HCPC professional code of practice and Livewell Southwest policies. Also working collaboratively and maintain key working relationships with managers, service heads and leads.

Within the role you will be expected to work with more complex patients providing holistic evidence-based care, assessing, planning, implementing the treatment requirements of the practice population.

Lead and participate in the management of enhanced assessments such as Pre-amputation consultations.

Promoting and supporting people in their care and treatment to help them manage their own health and wellbeing, maximise independence.

Support the audit of patient outcomes.

MAIN DUTIES/RESPONSIBILITIES

Responsibility for People Management

Provide line management to a variety of Prosthetists within the team as well as 2 Specialist Physiotherapists and support them in their line management of Prosthetist, Specialist Nurse and Assistants. This includes including absence approval and management, career development, training programmes, conducting appraisals, performance monitoring, 1st level grievance or discipline, reorganising staff or clinics to provide adequate cover and generally resolving queries e.g. leave entitlement, vacancies etc. Ensure personnel files and paperwork are maintained. Escalate any particular difficulties to the attention of the Service Manager.

Take part in the process of clinical supervision and support clinical supervision and reflective practice for team members.

Lead on recruitment and selection of new staff, including being the lead on interview panel.

In the absence of the service manager, be responsible for the day-to-day management of the team and patient care provided to the agreed local and professional standards.

Responsibility for financial and/or physical resources

To be aware of budgetary constraints when planning and carrying out care and promote this within the team.

Develop/maintain and manage the implementation of robust prescription guidelines to maximise budget for all patients based on individual needs

To be responsible for overseeing and monitoring and authorising of prosthetic equipment and components and ensuring maintenance and repair is upheld.

Be the arbiter for approval of components requested outside of prescription guidelines

Ensure safe and efficient use of stock and equipment. Ensure equipment is checked appropriately. Report any equipment defects. Advise stores person if low stock noted.

Exercise a duty of care in relation to the use of the organisations equipment and resources in a cost-effective manner.

Maintain effective working relationships with multidisciplinary team and deliver a cost-effective quality service to patient/carers within a defined geographical area.

To contribute to resource governance through knowledge and appropriate prescribing decisions.

Responsibility for administration

Maintain accurate and comprehensive documentation in line with legal and service requirements as an autonomous practitioner and to communicate assessment and other clinic outcomes to appropriate persons in the form of reports and letters.

Maintain patient clinical records in accordance with HCPC policy and local guidelines.

Report any accidents, complaints, defects in equipment, near misses and untoward incidents following Trust procedure.

Support the Service manager in the recording of accurate clinical activity data for NHSE data capture.

Ensure line management and appraisal documentation is completed for the team members for which they hold manager responsibility.

Act as the NICE lead for the prosthetic service ensuring that the new guidance is shared as appropriate and any relevant policies are implemented by the department.

Ensure incident reporting is carried out by team members to an appropriate level and provide answers to incident forms in a timely manner.

Carry out risk assessments and record these on the organisations risk register.

Maintain and update risks on the risk register as required.

Responsibility for people who use our services

To have joint clinical responsibility for the prosthetic profession within the organisation.

To provide the lead prosthetic clinical input to the MDT. Give clinical and professional advice to the multi-disciplinary team regarding appropriate prosthetic provision for patients.

To be the ultimate arbiter within the prosthetist team for second opinions etc

To facilitate the implementation of relevant care pathways within the prosthetic profession

To identify, develop and implement relevant clinical competency frameworks and essential training for the prosthetic service and others as required when linked to the profession

Accept referrals from medical and healthcare professionals and undertake clinical assessment and examination of patients to provide suitable highly specialist prosthetic clinical-technical prescriptions for patients with a wide range of presentations including complex patients.

To draft, consult upon and complete clinical procedures, protocols, guidelines and policies that will support evidence based or best practice for the prosthetic profession and to revise and maintain any such documents in existence in line with current organisation policy

Specify the design, componentry, materials, fabrication method and suppliers of prostheses and order individual items to meet the patients clinical needs.

Perform mechanical and technical adjustments to prostheses

Evaluate the completed device on the patient to ensure the desired quality of body-device interface, functional alignment, comfort, cosmetic appearance and mechanical integrity and safety.

Provide verbal, visual and written information, explanation and highly specialised clinical advice to the patient and/or carers at every stage of device provision for informed consent.

Report patient adverse incidents related to the provision of prostheses to maintain patient safety and engage in national reporting and monitoring procedures for specialised medical devices.

Use excellent negotiation and counselling skills and other tools to ensure the effective communication of complex, sensitive and emotional information and to overcome barriers to understanding. Such persons will include those At risk, the terminally ill, the vulnerable, those such as Stroke patients, the learning disabled, the deaf and hard of hearing and those possessing poor communication skills. Also non-English speakers and those who speak some English but who have a different first language.

To be accountable for the direct delivery of service by providing holistic evidence-based practice to patients and their carers, ensuring maximum independence and quality of life in a constantly changing environment. To achieve positive patient outcomes in partnership with multi-professional agencies and promoting this throughout the clinical team.

Utilise a range of specialised clinical skills appropriate to the needs of individual patients and the clinical setting in which they are seen. Exercising a high level of judgement, discretion and decision making in clinical care.

To triage and accept appropriate routine and urgent referrals directly from other disciplines, patients, carers, and members of the public and / or refer to other agencies where appropriate. Ensuring all referrals are prioritised accordingly. Whilst working within professional guidelines to make clinical decisions without supervision.

To undertake comprehensive risk assessments of all situations associated with the care of patients to ensure patients and the carers safety.

Responsibility for implementation of policy and/or service developments

To work with the risk management team service manager and workshop manager in the analysis of relevant clinical incidents across the profession and implementing learning from outcomes.

To work with the risk management team and service manager in identifying, assessing and managing risk across the profession/service- be proficient in updating the risk register with new risks and reviewing all risks on an agreed schedule.

Develop, review and audit guidelines/ protocols/ polices for specific aspects of own service in line with NICE guidance, best practice Guidance and professional forums and support implementation into practice ensuring the clinical practice reflects national and local drivers.

Act as the NICE lead for the prosthetics department

To lead the development and implementation of a clinical governance framework across the profession within organisation systems and professional regulation.

To proactively support and advise operational managers implementing clinical service improvements, initiating new ideas, innovations and approaches to develop clinical and service excellence and quality of delivery, taking into account patient and other service users views and opinions to optimise the use of resources and respond proactively to changes in service needs.

To support the operational managers with the ongoing review and evaluation of the services skill mix and establishment at a strategic level, developing and implementing innovative models of service delivery in collaboration with locality managers, professional leads and others.

To participate to the development of job descriptions, person specifications, interview questions and participating on interview panels.

Facilitate the development of service objectives within own area, considering relevant guidelines and the needs of the Organisation.

To support the investigation of complaints with support from the Operational Manager, Service Manager and Customer Services Department.

Monitor the emergence of new evidence and implement and evaluate research-based recommendations that are expected to improve patient care in own work area.

Lead practice innovation and the implementation of change in relation to the own area within the Organisation.