Therapy Assistant Practitioner
Worcestershire Acute Hospitals NHS Trust
Redditch, B987UBView on map(opens Google Maps in a new tab)
Salary
£28,392 to £31,157
Contract
Fixed-Term
Hours
Not specified
Closing date
6 October 2026
5 days leftJob description
At Worcestershire Acute Hospitals NHS trust our Therapy service is recognised for its high quality patient care.We are excited to announce that we hav...
- Maintain positive,appropriate relationships with patients,families and carers demonstrating respect,kindness ,compassion and empathy at all times.
- Works unsupervised to implement treatment plans.
- Liaise with MDT to facilitate discharges home.
- Assess recommend,order and issue Therapy equipment to enable discharge
- Communicate effectively to the patients and MDT
- Assess patients following elective surgery with mobility,functional/cognitive impairments and impairments of Activities of daily living.
- Demonstrates an understanding of role boundaries, the importance of supervision and carrying out appropriately delegated tasks. Able to understand and follow procedures, protocols, and plans.
- Gather and interpret relevant information including social history, and through working under protocols facilitates early discharge planning, liaising with family/care agencies as needed.
- Complete assessment visits alone or with another member of staff in the community setting to support safe discharges.
- Demonstrates the ability to provide complex and sensitive information.
- Understands the importance of accessing,maintaining,and storing documentation relating to care,in accordance with local guidance andlegal requirements for maintaining confidentiality and data protection.
- Maintain complete accurate treatment records in line with local and HCPC standards.
- Participate in and contribute to any service improvements/audits
- Provide administrative support to therapy team
Working as part of the Therapy and wider MDT, Therapy Assistant Practitioners (TAP) use enhanced skills in a specialist area to provide direct high quality and effective therapeutic care and support to a defined group of patients.Within the scope of the role, the post holder will independently (unsupervised) plan and deliver individual or group tasks where the understanding of role boundaries and the importance of supervision and carrying out delegated tasks and plans is essential.
This role requires understanding of factual and theoretical knowledge of principles, policies, protocols, procedures, processes within a defined group of patients. Although work is guided by standard operating procedures and protocols, the post holder must be able to make judgements to plan activities assess, treat and progress/grade and adapt treatment of patients in line with competencies set and assessed by the Registered Therapist. This knowledge should be utilised to contribute to effective discharge planning as part of the MDT.
The post holder will also co-ordinate and assist with the training and management of other Therapy Support Workers, thus providing a quality and effective support service to the Therapy Team. They will contribute to service development and demonstrate personal development as well as being responsible for supervision of others and delegation of tasks to other non-registered staff.
The post holder will participate in the weekend service. The speciality being dependant on experience. This service may include the treatment of children.Working hours will be dependent upon the service provided within each speciality, this may include 7-day working, working contracted hours within an extended daily pattern or participation in a relevant weekend /bank holiday rota.
Domain 1: Formal Knowledge and Experience-
- Able to demonstrate substantial experience in health and care settings, including in the relevant field of work.
- Demonstrates the values of the NHS and commitment to personal and professional development.
- Domain 2: Supporting service users.-
- Develops, manages, and maintains positive, appropriate relationships with service users, families and carers, demonstrating respect, kindness, compassion, and empathy at all times.
- - Able to work collaboratively with a variety of health staff, social care staff, professional staff, and others. Understands and demonstrates the principles of team and partnership working.
- Recognises the importance of support workers in service delivery, including the diverse roles undertaken by AHP support workers. Is able to define own role, for example by describing their duties and the roles of others.
- Domain 3: Clinical, Technical and Scientific Roles and Responsibilities, Knowledge and Practice, Support, and Interventions.
- Developed knowledge of clinical, technical, and/or scientific theory and practice, within their immediate field of practice. Understands the importance of evidence-based practice.
- Demonstrates an understanding of role boundaries, the importance of supervision and carrying out appropriately delegated tasks. Able to understand and follow procedures, protocols, and plans.
- Following appropriate training and demonstration of competency, works unsupervised with service users within the scope of the role and operational policies, protocols, and procedures, adhering to evidence base practice.
- Understands and gains valid consent prior to action or providing care, and records this appropriately.
- Assesses a defined group of patients with mobility, functional/cognitive impairments, and impairments of activities of daily living, including assessment of a patients fitness to treat, recognising at deteriorating patient and escalating accordingly any concerns to a registered therapist/ward staff. - Gathers and interprets relevant information including social history, and through working under protocols facilitates early discharge planning, liaising with family/care agencies as needed.
- Works unsupervised to assess, plan, implement, progress/grade and monitor own treatment and care plan interventions, including adapting to circumstances/patients needs.
- Actively participates in the planning and development of personalised care plans by offering objective clinical and evidence-based information to inform planned activities.
Monitors the effectiveness of treatments through evaluation of outcome and use of clinical knowledge and evidence base to progress the patient within defined protocols and recognises the reason for any unmet goals.
- Understands the impact of complex or urgent care needs and other factors encountered when prioritising care activities within their own or the teams defined workload.
Identifies the need for ongoing rehabilitation/support and liaises with the MDT to recommend the appropriate level of care on discharge. This could involve referral to other agencies.
Completes visits in the community setting to provide necessary assessments or interventions to support safe discharge. This may be completed alone or with another therapist/member of staff. Assesses for, recommends, orders, issues, and fits equipment as per scope of practice, as required by the service user, including demonstration of safe use of equipment to service users, carers, and other staff.
Recognises an emergency, summons assistance, and acts as a member of the MDT within parameters of own competence and defined role. In settings where a registered practitioner is not present, initiates immediate first aid whilst awaiting the arrival of appropriately qualified practitioners.
- Domain 4: Communication and Information Management.
Communicates effectively, through a variety of methods with patients, carers, and relatives to maximise rehabilitation potential through interpersonal, verbal, and nonverbal skills. This may require explanation, instruction, persuasion, motivation, negotiation, and reassurance.
- Exchanges information with service user and families using active listening, compassion, empathy, and coproduction techniques with the service user.
- Demonstrates the ability to provide and receive complex and sensitive information, including relating to service users. Judges the appropriate method of communication, ensuring information is provided in an accessible way.
- Actively listens and receives information, gives and acts on feedback. Understands the communication needs of others and adapts communication style accordingly.
Manages barriers to effective communication and adapts own communication style as appropriate.
Liaises and communicates effectively with registered therapists, acute ward and community teams and other members of the MDT, regarding referrals, ongoing care, rehabilitation needs, and discharge requirements of individual patients.
- Domain 5: Safe and Inclusive Environments.
Contributes to the maintenance of healthy and safe working environments through appropriate practice, use of resources, techniques and behaviours and understanding of relevant legislation. Contributes to the application and evaluation of organisational procedures and protocols.
Identifies and acts immediately to manage risks/unsafe practice or environments, including assessment of moving and handling, using local policies and procedures.
Acts with integrity and honesty, ensuring individuals do not experience harm by reporting situations, behaviours or errors that might lead to adverse outcomes for service users.
Is aware of the environment in which they work and how to maintain health and safety for themselves and others.
Reports any adverse incidents, accidents, near misses or complaints in a timely manner, taking appropriate action where necessary, according to Trust policy.
Ensures safe use of all mechanical and electrical equipment or medical devices used in the care of patients.
- Domain 6: Research and Service Improvement.
Participates in, contributes to, and may lead, audits, service evaluation, and quality improvement projects relevant to own work. Applies research governance, ethics, protocols, and guidelines and may undertake more complex research activities including data collection and analysis. Disseminates research findings.
- Domain 7: Leadership and Management.
Acts in a professional manner, demonstrating NHS Constitution values.
Demonstrates role modelling,Takes responsibility for management, prioritisation, and leadership of own workload within the defined area of work, and within scope of practice. At times working without direct supervision.
Identifies and develops own leadership skills
Is aware of limitations of own knowledge and skills and actively seeks feedback.
Completes all required mandatory and compulsory training
Works with registered therapists to supervise, mentor and manage Therapy Support Workers /less experienced staff and apprentices, including induction of new staff and students.
Contributes to the learning of the organisation, colleagues, and team
Provides administrative support to the therapy team
- Domain 8: Personal and Professional Values and Behaviours.
Demonstrates, through interactions with others, the core values of the NHS, Our NHS People Promise and WAHT Values and Behaviours.
Understands and acts on own safety, health and wellbeing needs and supports the health and wellbeing of wider team.
Worcestershire Acute Hospitals NHS Trust is a large
acute and specialised hospital trust that provides a range of local acute
services to the residents of Worcestershire and more specialised services to a
larger population in Herefordshire and beyond.
The Trust operates hospital-based services from
three sites in Kidderminster, Redditch and Worcester
Our workforce is more than 7,000 strong, and our
caring staff are recognised as providing good and outstanding patient-centred
care. You could be one of them.
We are committed to recruiting the best people to
work with us. Our values, which we ask all staff to demonstrate, underpin our
everyday work and remain firmly at the heart of all we do.
Being open and honest
Ensuring people feel cared for
Showing respect to everyone
We are committed to developing a culture of continuous improvement by embedding the principles of our Improvement System.
We are proud to have achieved Timewise
accreditation - this means we are committed to embedding flexible working
within our organisation as a flex positive employer.
Any applicants who are offered posts requiring a
DBS check as part of their employment check will have the cost of this check
(at the current rate) deducted from their salary. Please see link in Supporting
Information section for more details on DBS checks and costs.
Qualifications
Essential
- Functional Skills (level 2) or Maths
- & English GCSE (grades 9-4 or
- A-C)
- National Care Certificate
- AND
- A foundation degree Health and
- Social care or equivalent level 5
- qualification and A-Levels and
- GCSEs or equivalent(s)
- Or as a level 5 apprenticeship
- (e.g. Assistant practitioner
- apprenticeship)
- Or equivalent clinical
- experience/expertise within an
- AHP profession underpinned by
- Theoretical, and practical experience.
Desirable
- Evidence of
- attendance at
- healthcare related
- course e.g. Dementia
- awareness, stroke
- specialist seating.
- A relevant further
- education qualification
- eg BTEC (Therapy
- Support Worker) or
- NVQ 3 in healthcare or
- Equivalent.
Experience
Essential
- Proven experience as a Senior
- Therapy Assistant/or equivalent
- working with different patient
- groups/conditions
- Experience of working in an
- acute/healthcare setting with direct
- patient contact.
- Evidence of work using a wide
- range of Therapy related skills
- including grading, adaptation and
- progression of interventions
- Evidence of supporting other staff
Desirable
- Experience of
- organising and/or
- providing training to
- others
- Experience of group
- Working
- Experience of
- using fitting adaptive
- equipment
Skills/knowledge
Essential
- Knowledge of Basic aims and
- principles of Physiotherapy and
- Occupational Therapy
- Evidence of managing/ prioritising
- own caseload/working
- independently
- Ability to work autonomously using
- own Knowledge skills and initiative
- in complex situations
- acknowledging role boundaries
- Effective and appropriate written
- and verbal communication/interpersonal skills
- Evidence of thorough, relevant
- self-development/ CPD activity
- Completion of broad-based
- competencies in therapy related
- skills
- Evidence of patient handling skills
- Computer Literate e.g. Microsoft Word PowerPoint Outlook.
Desirable
- Evidence of activities
- involving leadership
- management skills
- Understanding of
- professional, legal and
- clinical governance
- issues
- Previous experience of
- Electronic Patient Records.
Trust values
Essential
- Able to demonstrate our Trust values and behaviours: -
- Being open and honest we all communicate clearly and honestly, asking for
- help when we need it, and making it easier for the people around us to share
- ideas and concerns.
- Ensuring people feel cared for we all take responsibility for actively supporting
- and nurturing a kind and compassionate environment for ourselves and others.
- Showing respect for everyone we all act with consideration and fairness
- valuing each other as individuals and appreciating our different perspectives.
Personal qualities
Essential
- Evidence of enthusiasm and
- commitment to the role in
- Worcestershire
- Proactive in self-development
- Able to maintain confidentiality and
- Professionalism
- Compassionate
- Evidence of appropriate personal
- attributes e.g. responsible, reliable
- flexible, well-organised, initiative
- Evidence of good team working
- Ability to problem solve
Other job requirements
Essential
- Right to work in the UK Valid Visa
- Ability to meet the physical
- emotional and challenging
- demands of the role
- Able to meet the moving and
- handling requirements of the post
- Able and willing to work contracted
- hours over 7 days, extended daily
- hours pattern as required
- Able to contribute to the Therapy
- Weekend and Bank Holiday rota
- Able to fulfil the travel requirements
- of the post - Full driving licence and
- access to a vehicle (or alternative
- mode of transport)
Desirable: - Able and willing to; - commute between; - sites
How to apply
Applications are handled entirely by the employer on the original advert. We do not collect CVs, supporting statements or application data.
Provenance
Source
NHS Jobs
First seen
22 September 2026
Last checked
23 September 2026
Salary, closing date and description are taken from the employer's advert. The original advert always takes precedence.
About the employer
NHS organisation
This listing was structured from NHS Jobs. Vacancy details and the application process remain the responsibility of the original source.
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