Countess of Chester Hospital NHS Foundation Trust

Specialist Physiotherapist

The closing date is 09 September 2025

Job summary

Working Full or Part time hours

We are excited to advertise a therapy vacancy delivering Urgent Community Response (UCR) and Virtual Ward services for a Physiotherapist. This service is provided within the Hospital at Home Service, is an exciting place to work, with many training opportunities available. The successful candidate will have a specialist interest in frailty and hospital admission avoidance to enable the appropriate management of individuals in the community. This is a 7-day service and operates from 08:00-20:00, with a base at Custom House, in Ellesmere Port. The successful applicant will be required to work shifts across 7days, 8am to 8pm.

You will be a member of a holistic team which consists of GP's, Advanced Clinical Practitioners, Registered Nurses, Therapists, Therapy Assistants, Pharmacists and Clerical Support.

The service provides a 2-hour response to patients who are experiencing a health crisis, with the aim to support their treatment in their own home rather than requiring a hospital admission. The successful applicant will also provide therapy assessment and treatment for patients on the virtual wards, to enable optimisation of their physical function.

The successful candidate will be enthusiastic, flexible and innovative, and enjoy working as part of a dynamic and pro-active team.

We are committed to providing an excellent service to our patients.

Main duties of the job

Provide a 2-hour response for patients entering a health crisis and provide ongoing assessments and treatment plans for individuals on the virtual wards.

Work as an autonomous practitioner to perform a specialist therapeutic assessment of patients with diverse presentations. Use clinical reasoning to provide a diagnosis, deliver and adapt an individualised treatment programme within the patient's own home.

Work in collaboration with the Hospital at Home Team, Community Respiratory Team, Community Care Teams, Northwest Ambulance Service, Social Services, Millbrook and the patient's registered GP, to support the patient at home.

Work flexibly in response to service needs, ensuring allocation of an appropriate caseload for the Therapy Assistants.

About us

The Countess of Chester Hospital NHS Foundation Trust provides services to West Cheshire and to Welsh patients covered by Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board. The Trust works collaboratively within the wider Cheshire and Merseyside Health and Care Partnership. Its services are provided from three locations:

  • The Countess of Chester Hospital: providing 438 general and acute beds
  • Ellesmere Port Hospital: providing 56 beds as a rehabilitation, intermediate and outpatient facility
  • Tarporley War Memorial Hospital: a base for community services which serve the local rural population.

The Trust employs over 5916 staff (headcount) which includes temporary bank staff and provides acute emergency and elective services, primary care direct access services and obstetric services to a population of approximately 411,000. This includes 361,000 residents in Chester and West Cheshire which includes Ellesmere Port and Neston as well as the Deeside area of Flintshire which has a population of approximately 50,000.

Details

Date posted

26 August 2025

Pay scheme

Agenda for change

Band

Band 6

Salary

£38,682 to £46,580 a year pa pro rata

Contract

Permanent

Working pattern

Full-time, Part-time

Reference number

210-2025-554

Job locations

Countess of Chester Hospital & Custom House

Merseyton Road

Ellesmere Port

CH65 3AD


Job description

Job responsibilities

See Job Description for further details.

Recruitment selection processes are based on competence (see Person specification) and values.

Please note applicants will be required to pay for their DBS check. Costswill be deducted from their salary over the first three months of employment.

You are encouraged to enrol for the DBS Update Service. A small annual fee of £16per year applies.

New entrants to the NHS will commence on the minimum of the scale stated above.

Applicants are advised to apply early as if a large number of applications are received for this post, we reserve the right to close the vacancy prior to the advertised date.

Good luck with your application.

Job description

Job responsibilities

See Job Description for further details.

Recruitment selection processes are based on competence (see Person specification) and values.

Please note applicants will be required to pay for their DBS check. Costswill be deducted from their salary over the first three months of employment.

You are encouraged to enrol for the DBS Update Service. A small annual fee of £16per year applies.

New entrants to the NHS will commence on the minimum of the scale stated above.

Applicants are advised to apply early as if a large number of applications are received for this post, we reserve the right to close the vacancy prior to the advertised date.

Good luck with your application.

Person Specification

Qualifications

Essential

  • Degree in physiotherapy or equivalent
  • HCPC Registration
  • Relevant student training course or qualification

Desirable

  • Membership of professional body

Knowledge and Experience

Essential

  • Substantial post graduate experience
  • Evidence of post graduate short courses
  • Evidence of CPD and reflective practice
  • Evidence of audit and/or research work
  • Knowledge of current best practice in specialist physiotherapy area
  • Understanding of professional ethics and their application in practice
  • Knowledge of the principles of clinical governance
Person Specification

Qualifications

Essential

  • Degree in physiotherapy or equivalent
  • HCPC Registration
  • Relevant student training course or qualification

Desirable

  • Membership of professional body

Knowledge and Experience

Essential

  • Substantial post graduate experience
  • Evidence of post graduate short courses
  • Evidence of CPD and reflective practice
  • Evidence of audit and/or research work
  • Knowledge of current best practice in specialist physiotherapy area
  • Understanding of professional ethics and their application in practice
  • Knowledge of the principles of clinical governance

Disclosure and Barring Service Check

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.

Certificate of Sponsorship

Applications from job seekers who require current Skilled worker sponsorship to work in the UK are welcome and will be considered alongside all other applications. For further information visit the UK Visas and Immigration website (Opens in a new tab).

From 6 April 2017, skilled worker applicants, applying for entry clearance into the UK, have had to present a criminal record certificate from each country they have resided continuously or cumulatively for 12 months or more in the past 10 years. Adult dependants (over 18 years old) are also subject to this requirement. Guidance can be found here Criminal records checks for overseas applicants (Opens in a new tab).

UK Registration

Applicants must have current UK professional registration. For further information please see NHS Careers website (opens in a new window).

Additional information

Disclosure and Barring Service Check

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.

Certificate of Sponsorship

Applications from job seekers who require current Skilled worker sponsorship to work in the UK are welcome and will be considered alongside all other applications. For further information visit the UK Visas and Immigration website (Opens in a new tab).

From 6 April 2017, skilled worker applicants, applying for entry clearance into the UK, have had to present a criminal record certificate from each country they have resided continuously or cumulatively for 12 months or more in the past 10 years. Adult dependants (over 18 years old) are also subject to this requirement. Guidance can be found here Criminal records checks for overseas applicants (Opens in a new tab).

UK Registration

Applicants must have current UK professional registration. For further information please see NHS Careers website (opens in a new window).

Employer details

Employer name

Countess of Chester Hospital NHS Foundation Trust

Address

Countess of Chester Hospital & Custom House

Merseyton Road

Ellesmere Port

CH65 3AD


Employer's website

https://www.coch.nhs.uk/working-with-us.aspx (Opens in a new tab)

Employer details

Employer name

Countess of Chester Hospital NHS Foundation Trust

Address

Countess of Chester Hospital & Custom House

Merseyton Road

Ellesmere Port

CH65 3AD


Employer's website

https://www.coch.nhs.uk/working-with-us.aspx (Opens in a new tab)

Employer contact details

For questions about the job, contact:

Hospital at Home Team Leader

Lisa Davies

coch.hospital-at-home@nhs.net

01244366866

Details

Date posted

26 August 2025

Pay scheme

Agenda for change

Band

Band 6

Salary

£38,682 to £46,580 a year pa pro rata

Contract

Permanent

Working pattern

Full-time, Part-time

Reference number

210-2025-554

Job locations

Countess of Chester Hospital & Custom House

Merseyton Road

Ellesmere Port

CH65 3AD


Supporting documents

Privacy notice

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