Job responsibilities
Job Purpose
The main purpose of this post is to provide physiotherapy
input, as part of a Specialist Multi-disciplinary Team, to patients referred
for specialist palliative/end of life care. You may be expected to work at
our partner hospice in Birmingham.
The post holder will:
Be
responsible for the planning and delivery of holistic care to patients, their
family and carers on the physiotherapy caseload, both in the community and in
hospice settings, as part of the Multi-Disciplinary Team (MDT)
Provide
evidence-based physiotherapy intervention to patients following Health &
Care Professions Council (HCPC) clinical standards of care and Chartered
Society of Physiotherapy (CSP) professional codes of conduct.
Act as a
role model demonstrating high standards of care and clinical standards.
Assist in
provision of education, training and advice to other professionals and
students involved in patient care, including generalist Allied Health
Professionals (AHP).
Support
the team in the development, management, promotion and evaluation of the
physiotherapy service, ensuring high quality service delivery and
cost-effective care.
Promote
the philosophy of person-centred care, co-creating care with people affected
by cancer, other palliative and long-term conditions and encouraging
self-management.
Adhere to
the relevant clinical guidelines, follow standards and protocols from the
Chartered Society of Physiotherapy and Health & Care Professions Council.
Participate
in multi-professional meetings, acting as patient advocate and representing
physiotherapy specific views.
Be aware
of resources/services available to the patient, family and carers and
signpost/refer to other services or professionals when appropriate.
Participate
in education and development to support the delivery of evidence based, safe
and effective holistic patient care.
Record
clear and thorough details of physiotherapy assessment, diagnosis, clinical
reasoning and treatment plans and all other information related to patient
contact on Systm1, within the stipulated 24-hour time scale.
Develop
and maintain good multi-professional working relationships across the service
divisions and clinical specialities to ensure optimal patient care.
Promote
and interpret national policies and guidance within the MDT to influence the
patient journey and ensure delivery of quality care.
To
demonstrate compliance with the hospice mandatory training programme.
To
recognise that the hospice is a charity, committed to supporting palliative
care and end of life services to the local community which relies on fund
raising and marketing to raise the profile of the hospice to deliver a
high-quality service to the community it serves.
Be an
ambassador for the organisation at every opportunity, representing the
philosophies of the hospice and promoting the service and the strategic
vision of the hospice.
Main Duties
and Responsibilities
CLINICAL PATIENT SERVICES
To
provide responsive, clinical physiotherapy to patients under the care of the
Hospice, in accordance with priorities set by the Director of Clinical
Services.
To
undertake all clinical duties as an autonomous practitioner, including
professional and legal accountability for all aspects of own work.
To triage
referrals for appropriate criteria for physiotherapy and to manage a clinical
caseload of patients with palliative care needs.
To
holistically assess, plan, develop and provide evidence based physiotherapy
intervention for patients with a wide variety of complex physical,
psychological and spiritual needs.
To
identify patient needs and refer to relevant agencies or other professionals
if appropriate.
To
utilise physiotherapy assessment and analytical skills to allow diagnosis and
selection of precise and appropriate treatment options for a wide variety of
conditions.
To
constantly evaluate patient progress, reassess and adjust treatment
programmes as required and to liaise and discuss relevant information to
other members of the clinical team
To
identify the needs of the individual patient requiring specialist equipment
and/or medical devices; ordering, managing delivery and teaching safe and
effective use to the patient and/or family/carers.
To liaise
with other healthcare professionals in primary and secondary care to optimise
the management and treatment of the patients on the physiotherapy caseload
and to be available as a specialist resource for generalist healthcare
professionals.
Provide
specialist physiotherapeutic intervention to patients and carers in their
preferred place of care with the emphasis on empowerment, enablement and
self-management in order to optimise each patients quality of life.
To
communicate complex condition and treatment related information; to
facilitate understanding, elucidate any barriers to intervention, and to
establish an effective professional rapport to gain trust and confidence of
the patients and carers.
To
regularly attend and contribute to multidisciplinary team meetings and, as
required, to meetings of other multidisciplinary teams involved in providing
palliative care for hospice patients
To assist
with the running of patient self-management education programmes
Proactive
discharge planning, identification and provision of equipment required to
allow safe discharge, anticipation of needs when patient returns home. Follow
up home visits if required to ensure optimal patient function and quality of
life, irrespective of life expectancy.
Attend
and actively participate in clinical meetings on the Inpatient Unit.
Liaise/refer
to the Hospice at Home, Clinical Specialist Nurses, and Social care teams,
Community Healthcare or other voluntary agencies to ensure continuity of care
for the patient at home.
To liaise
with health professionals involved in the care of each patient with regard to
any problems highlighted on assessment. This may require signposting to other
health services, provision of equipment or individualised physiotherapy input
if unsuitable for group therapy.
SERVICE DEVELOPMENT
To
provide physiotherapy knowledge and skills to other members of the healthcare
team. Maintain and develop competency through Continual Professional
development (CPD) training, maintenance of portfolio and reflective practice.
Attendance
at MDT meetings to communicate specialist Physiotherapy information and to
contribute to the development of service delivery within Palliative care
which impact on other professions.
To
support education, supervision and assessment of undergraduate physiotherapy
students is delivered to the standard required for degree level university
and CSP standards within current national guidelines and recommendations. and
be an active participant, or lead when relevant, in in-service education and
presentation of case studies
POLICIES, PROCEDURES AND AUDIT
To
support the development of related local policies, procedures, guidelines and
clinical care pathways to ensure the delivery of a high quality, equitable
service in all locations and to provide supportive information, education and
training to staff as required to implement the same
Demonstrate
understanding and participation in all aspects of Clinical Governance
Undertake,
review and evaluate audits and make recommendations to the organisation based
on the findings when requested
To be
aware of the complaints procedure and the reporting of clinical incidents on Vantage
COMMUNICATION
To
effectively communicate and gain consent for any intervention to patients and
their carers regarding the physiotherapy intervention and the management of
their palliative care and end of life symptoms; this may be in the hospice,
within care establishments, during a visit to a patients home. The post
holder will need to strike an appropriate balance between relaying factual
information and being sensitive to an emotionally charged atmosphere where
high levels of emotion and distress
are likely
To have
knowledge of the legal framework for patients who lack capacity to consent to
treatment
To
develop advanced communication skills in order to ascertain patients wishes,
respond appropriately to difficult questions and manage situations that may
be emotionally charged which may include difficult to accept information such
as expectations of treatment and prognosis
To
represent physiotherapy or patients at multi-professional team meetings to
ensure the delivery of co-ordinated care.
FREEDOM TO ACT AND AUTONOMY
The post
holder will be part of a team but will have the ability to act as an
autonomous practitioner adhering to national professional and local policies
and guidelines as directed by the Health and Care Professions Council and the
Chartered Society of Physiotherapy
The post
holder will be managed rather than supervised, demonstrating personal
initiative to act independently to manage personal work schedules and
priorities
To work
collaboratively and delegate appropriate tasks and roles to other members of
the Palliative care team in order to maximise the cost-effective and
efficient use of resources.
