Job responsibilities
Key
Responsibilities
Clinical
To receive referrals for physiotherapy and
hydrotherapy services from within the hospice departments and for patients with
specialist palliative care needs from the community and to prioritise case load
appropriately.
To undertake specialist physiotherapy
assessments of patients with complex care needs referred for physiotherapy
services and identify and document appropriate interventions and care plans
based on assessed need.
To be responsible for maintaining accurate
and comprehensive patient treatment records in line with professional and local
guidelines.
To ensure informed/written consent is
obtained and documented for treatments as appropriate.
To maintain a clinical caseload for
physiotherapy, hydrotherapy and related specialist treatments.
To ensure holistic needs of patients are
assessed to an appropriate level within the requirements of the role and
responsibilities
To act as a role model for clinical teams,
demonstrating evidence based practice within daily clinical activity and
promoting discussion regarding the benefits and/or limitations of clinical
interventions.
To participate in multi-disciplinary team
meetings as appropriate and necessary to maintain continuity of patient care
across all departments of the hospice.
To provide advice to members of the
multi-disciplinary team on suitable interventions/care of patients in relation
to complexity of patient needs.
To maintain and develop a broad knowledge of
treatment modalities.
To maintain knowledge and skills in
communication/breaking bad news appropriate to the role and responsibilities
being aware of personal and organisational limitations of data protection and
safety of patient information
To maintain appropriate knowledge and skills
of the safe use of all specialist equipment used in the provision of patient
care and to disseminate that knowledge as required to other staff or patients
and families if necessary.
In the process of clinical care to assess
patient and family and their appropriateness to participate in clinical audit
initiatives and obtain necessary consent if required.
To act as a specialist resource and provide
specialist advice on patient care to other health, social, educational and
voluntary services.
To provide moving and handling assessments
for patients with complex mobility/immobility needs and advise carers
accordingly, assisting in developing care plans appropriate to patients and
carers needs for safe moving and handling.
Access support and supervision from
Rehabilitation Team Leader or other relevant health professional as required.
To maintain and record own Continuing
Professional Development as required by the regulating body.
Management
To ensure the safe operation and management
of the hydrotherapy pool in line with the hydrotherapy policy.
To prioritise and allocate daily workload
within the department, working in conjunction with or deputising for the team
leader.
To delegate appropriate patients to technical
instructor, assistant and volunteers and supervise their clinical work and
management of that patient.
To deputise for the team leader in managing
levels of sickness/absence within the department in accordance with hospice
policy, reporting any areas of concern to senior managers/human resources
department.
To facilitate effective communication between
the physiotherapy team and other staff groups within the hospice and the wider
specialist palliative care team.
To ensure collaborative working with medical,
nursing and therapy colleagues; patients, families and carers for optimal
patient care and promotion of the physiotherapy service.
To initiate and maintain contact with local
and national clinical special interest groups relevant to clinical field.
To participate in the development and review
of clinical guidelines, policies and procedures applicable to the provision of
physiotherapy.
To collect appropriate data and statistics
relating to patient care to comply with regional and national statistical
requirements.
Clinical Governance
Risk Management
To
manage clinical risk within the workplace, undertake risk assessments regarding
patient condition and environment to ensure safety of self and others.
Ensure
the equality, diversity and rights of patients are promoted and maintained in
all areas of clinical governance and clinical care.
To work within Nightingale House and the
Chartered Society of Physiotherapy
clinical and professional guidelines.
Service User
Participation To ensure service user views are fed back through the
appropriate channels to team leaders or senior management team.
Audit &
Research
To support the work of colleagues in undertaking audit and research in the
department.
To suggest suitable topics for departmental
audit to team leader.
To support management team and clinical team
leaders to continually monitor standards of care, using appropriate quality
assurance tools.
To ensure clinical risk is managed to as low
a level as is reasonable practicable.
Education
and Development
Actively participate in developing and
delivering education and training to all disciplines and grades of staff,
internally and externally, regarding the role of physiotherapy in specialist
palliative care.
Ensure own compliance and assist in ensuring
other staff members comply with the requirements of mandatory training and
continuing professional development.
To provide mentorship, supervision and
support to physiotherapy students as necessary and at a level appropriate to
their needs.
Promote use of evidence based practise.
Audit and
Research Activity
To undertake surveys or audits as necessary
to own work
To participate in hospice clinical audit or
research work.
To present findings of research and audit to
a variety of professional groups as appropriate to maintain the profile of the
service within the wider health community.
General
Requirements
This post is subject to the Terms and Conditions
of employment of the Hospice as specified in the staff handbook
Registered
Health Professional
You must be registered with the Health professions Council
and adhere to their code of conduct. It is a requirement of the
post that you maintain up to date knowledge and skills and an awareness of
professional issues relative to your role and responsibilities. You are advised
to maintain a professional portfolio for the purpose of demonstrating your
ongoing professional knowledge and skills development
Competence
You are responsible for limiting your actions to those that you feel competent
to undertake. If you have any doubts
about your competence during the course of your duties you should immediately
speak to your line manager / supervisor.
Risk
Management
It is a standard element of the role
and responsibility of all staff of the Hospice that they fulfil a proactive
role towards the management of risk in all of their actions. This entails the
risk assessment of all situations, the taking of appropriate actions and
reporting of all incidents, near misses and hazards. It is a requirement that
you adhere to Nightingale House Hospice Policies, Procedures, Protocols and
guidelines at all times.
Health and Safety Requirements of the Hospice
All employees of the Hospice have a statutory duty of care
for their own personal safety and that of others who may be affected by their
acts or omissions. Employees are
required to co-operate with management to enable the Hospice to meet its own
legal duties and to report any hazardous situations or defective equipment.
Data
Protection and Confidentiality
The post holder must treat all information, whether
corporate, staff or patient information, in a discreet, secure and confidential
manner in accordance with the provisions of the current data protection
legislation and organisational policy. Any breach of such confidentiality
is considered a serious disciplinary offence, which is liable to dismissal and
/ or prosecution under statutory legislation and the hospices disciplinary
policy. This duty of confidence
continues after the post holder leaves the organisation.
Records
Management
As an employee of the hospice, the post holder is
legally responsible for all records that they gather, create or use as part of
their work within the organisation (including
patient health, staff health or injury, financial, personal and
administrative), whether paper based or on computer. The post holder should consult the IG Lead if
they have any doubt as to the correct management of records with which they
work.
Flexibility
This job description is an outline of the role and
function. It is not intended to describe all specific tasks and therefore is
subject to change following consultation with the post-holder.
The
post is subject to an enhanced disclosure check with the Disclosure and Barring
Services (DBS).
