First Contact Physiotherapist

Assess and manage adults presenting with new or existing MSK symptoms, using advanced history taking, physical assessment and differential diagnosis.

Recognise serious pathology, red flags and MSK masqueraders, arranging urgent or emergency escalation where required.

Develop personalised management plans, including evidence-based advice on activity, rehabilitation, pain management, work and prevention.

Request, interpret and act on investigations within competence and locally agreed clinical governance arrangements.

Refer directly to community, interface and secondary care services in accordance with local pathways.

Support patients with persistent pain, frailty, multimorbidity and complex biopsychosocial needs.

Maintain accurate clinical records, clear safety-netting and appropriate SNOMED coding.

Contribute to clinical education, audit, service development, quality improvement and equitable access to MSK care.

To work as a highly experienced, autonomous practitioner,

to perform an advanced physiotherapeutic assessment of patients with diverse

and complex presentations and where appropriate against a competency level to

work in an extended role.

To use advanced clinical reasoning to provide a

diagnosis and develop, deliver and adapt individualised treatment programmes

which may include, for example, requesting, interpreting and acting upon

radiology and pathology tests and listing and consenting for surgery and

referral on to others.

To be responsible for organising and planning

own and other physiotherapy staff caseloads to meet service and patient

priorities, readjusting plans as situations or changes arise and to provide

specialist physiotherapy reports as requested.

To lead, develop and implement monitoring and

evaluation of treatment in order to measure progress and outcomes to ensure

effectiveness of interventions and service delivery at a highly specialised

level.

To be professionally and legally accountable for

all aspects of own work and hold responsibility for own caseload for a highly

specialist area of the service.

To develop and lead robust effective

communication with all general practice and Joint Therapies staff and other

relevant agencies i.e. GPs and other medical staff, nursing staff, social care

staff, carers and service users etc. and support other physiotherapy staff to

Communicate effectively and efficiently to

ensure optimised patient care.

To ensure that up to date written and electronic

records and activity data are maintained in accordance with the Practices

Professional Standards and to ensure that all relevant clinical information is

communicated securely and efficiently to the relevant GP practice to provide

seamless patient care.

To be responsible for and lead others in

maintaining stock of equipment and materials and advising on resources to carry

out the job and to use correct procedures relating to the safe and competent

use, issue and retrieval of equipment, including the prescription of equipment

and aids as required.

To critically evaluate current research and

apply to practice and demonstrate an understanding and application of national

and local guidelines, evidence based practice, and legislation relating to

health and social care and their impact on service provision.

To initiate coordinate and undertake

physiotherapy audit and disseminate at local/regional/national level and

identify and perform clinical governance activities and participate in the

quality agenda and continuous service improvement as required. To actively

pursue development opportunities for practice and service delivery, policy

implementation and lead specific projects within specific area of practice

To maintain a professional portfolio for CPD

recording learning outcomes through participation in internal and external

development opportunities and to demonstrate acquired highly specialist skills

and knowledge of professional practice in order to maintain fitness to practice

as an advanced physiotherapist and to work within department and trust policies

and relevant professional body codes of conduct and policy.

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.

Merchiston Surgery is the large Practice with a raw patient list of 13,500. We are a teaching practice with 2 Education Supervisors, 2 Clinical Supervisor, supporting 3 Trainee GPs. Rated excellent by the Swindon GP QA Panel for our trainee placement.

It covers a significant catchment area throughout Swindon and towards the Oxfordshire border. This equates to a hugely diverse population group with a wide variety of medical conditions and needs. Meeting those needs requires a robust, dynamic and enthusiastic workforce.

We are friendly, supportive and hardworking; reflected by our shared values of caring for each other and our patients. We are committed to providing the highest quality of care for our patients and ensuring that our staff feel valued and motivated. There is a strong team ethos across the practice and have a friendly and relaxed working environment.

The Practice is supported by several ARRS roles employed by Hawthorn & Merchiston PCN:

Qualifications

Essential: - Essential; - Degree in Physiotherapy or equivalent; - HCPC Registration; - Post-graduate training to Masters level or equivalent.

Experience

Desirable: - Desirable; - Supervisory skills and/or first line management experience.