Job responsibilities
Purpose:
To provide a comprehensive and high quality orthopaedic service in the community to patients with musculo-skeletal dysfunctions, through advanced assessment and diagnosis, resulting in appropriate management or referral
To act as a source of expertise to physiotherapists and other healthcare professionals on the management of complex musculo-skeletal dysfunctions
To work in partnership with other agencies in the development of a high quality and flexible service to reduce the demand on secondary care wherever possible
Duties and Responsibilities:
Principal Responsibilities:
Clinical
To screen Orthopaedic referral letters and based on information given refer to the most appropriate service or professional
To undertake advanced physiotherapeutic assessment of patients with a wide range of orthopaedic conditions, including those who may have complex, acute and chronic presentations.
Based on assessment, using analytical skills, and incorporating other clinical investigations and findings (e.g. blood tests, scan results) to make a diagnosis and, where possible, prognosis of outcome and refer to appropriate service or professional
To screen patients for serious and other underlying pathologies.
To provide appropriate advanced treatment using a wide range of manual and electrotherapy techniques, and formulation of individualised home management programmes.
To evaluate clinical intervention and respond appropriately to findings.
To work autonomously in complex situations.
To ensure a high standard of clinical care for the patients under your management.
To provide advice on patient care to healthcare colleagues.
To be responsible for equipment used in carrying out physiotherapy treatment, and to adhere to trust policy, including competence to use equipment and to ensure its safe use.
Be an active member of the multidisciplinary team and liaising with them regarding patient management.
To order appropriate investigation as required.
Management
To develop a seamless musculo-skeletal service through close working partnerships with secondary care services and primary care services to ensure needs of patients are addressed in a holistic way.
To develop a patient centred planning approach to service provision.
To promote the service locally across all agencies.
To ensure and maintain high clinical standards throughout the musculo-skeletal service.
Organisation of clinical education time and student placements.
To be proactive in dealing with any complaints from patients.
Education and Research
To provide clinical teaching role for physiotherapy and medical colleagues to ensure appropriate skills are maintained.
To provide peer support and clinical peer review for GPSI (Orthopaedics) and senior musculo-skeletal Physiotherapists working in the trust
To provide advanced advice and education to patients, GPs and other health care professionals.
To undertake research and development projects as required.
To implement best practice and to act as a resource for the musculo-skeletal physiotherapy team.
Professional Development
To implement best practice and act as a resource for the musculo-skeletal team
To disseminate new physiotherapy specific guidelines to physiotherapy colleagues
To participate in protected learning time and attend staff meetings as requested
To participate in the Individual Performance Development system
To update clinical and managerial skills identified through IPD by utilising appropriate learning opportunities
To lead and undertake Research and Development projects as required.
Communication
To use communication skills:
effectively and sensitively with a flexible approach. To give patients details of their condition, its management and plans of treatment. This may involve explaining the nature of complex, chronic or disabling conditions and possible poor outcome and response to treatment, and will need to take into consideration emotional, physical and psychological conditions
to gain consent from patients, including those who may have communication problems e.g. English as a second language, hearing loss, other medical conditions which affect communication.
to motivate and encourage to ensure active participation in home management programmes, in particular when there may be high levels of pain and anxiety, and /or depression.
Both written and verbal in communication with referrers and those to whom you are referring patients
Triage and Treat
This is a role incorporated into the working day but separate from the work of the orthopaedic triage clinic. It is initially for 2 years. The post holder will have joint responsibility with others doing the same work to:
undertake a leading role in planning, co-ordinating, delivering and evaluating the Pathway.
undertake speciality services for patients who require diagnosis/assessment and/or investigation and/or treatment of low back pain and radicular pain (sciatica).
act independently in the management of an often complex caseload of back and sciatic pain patients
- be independently responsible for the diagnosis and treatment planning of acute low back and radicular leg pain patients. This will involve use of imaging and investigations and interpretation of results (with radiology report) and co-ordination of multi-disciplinary management of the patient cohort e.g physiotherapy, surgery and pain clinic.
- liaise with primary care and external agencies to enable and ensure quality service provision for patient caseload, and advise GPs on ongoing care of patients including medication management and, where appropriate, further medical investigations where musculoskeletal causes of patients symptoms have been ruled out.
- provide support, information and advice to patients, carers and other members of the multi-disciplinary team on all aspects of the service and ongoing holistic patient care.
- network with multidisciplinary colleagues within the Trust and secondary care Trusts, such as with pain management consultants, for the purpose of developing practice, audit, development of standardised patient information and clinical supervision.
- act as the primary point of contact regarding management of back pain patients within the locality for all patients, carers, multi-disciplinary team members, GPs, external agencies and social care agencies.
- work independently of but liaise closely with and ultimately receive governance from the Consultant Orthopaedic Surgeons to improve and deliver an evidence based service of proven quality
- be involved with ongoing research within the speciality such as pre-screening for trial involvement and may undertake more specific research tasks when appropriate such as specialist research protocol led assessment or education of patients (as arises).
Standard Information to be included in all job specifications
Information Governance
Employees of the Trust must comply with the provisions of the Data Protection Act 2018.
The post-holder must not; either during the course of their employment, or following termination of their employment, disclose any information relating to service users or employees, or of the lawful business practices, of the organisation.
The post-holder will be required, when and where appropriate to the role, to comply with the processing of requests under the Freedom of Information Act 2000.
The post-holder must comply with Trust policies that protect the information assets of the organisation from unauthorised disclosure, modification, destruction, inappropriate access or use and must pay due regard to the requirements of the NHS Confidentiality Code of Practice.
The post-holder will be responsible for maintaining the clinical and or corporate records that fall within the remit of this role to the standards in Trust records management policies, and data quality processes and standards.
The postholder must not; either during their employment, or following termination of their employment, disclose any personal information relating to service users or employees, or of the lawful business practices, of the organisation.
The postholder must comply with Trust policies that protect the personal data of service users and employees from unauthorised disclosure, modification, destruction, inappropriate access or use and must pay due regard to the requirements of the NHS Confidentiality Code of Practice.
The postholder will be responsible for maintaining the clinical and or corporate records that fall within the remit of this role to the standards in the Trust records management policies, and data quality processes and standards.
Postholders with elevated access to IT systems are held accountable to the highest standards of use.
Records Management
All health and care employees are responsible for managing corporate and health records held in paper or electronic format appropriately and comply with the appropriate legislation. Health and care professionals also have professional responsibilities set by their registration authorities.
Senior Manager roles will have added responsibilities for corporate and health records held in paper or electronic format. They may be the nominated Information Asset Owner or Information Asset Administrator responsible for an information asset and will be expected to report risks and compliance to the Trusts Senior Information Risk Owner.
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