To provide a high standard physiotherapy service across Oxford Children’s Hospital and the Paediatirc Critical Care unit. The post holder is expected to work closely with the wider multi-disciplinary team that includes doctors, nurses, occupational therapists, speech & language therapists and play therapists to assess and treat acutely unwell children across multiple specialty areas.
Rotations include:
Paediatric Critical Care
General Paediatrics
To assess and treat own caseload of patients and maintain associated records as an autonomous practitioner with support from senior staff.
To communicate with the relevant members of the multi-disciplinary team, other health care professionals, patients and parents/carers with regards to patient focused care.
To provide a clear handover for patients discharged from the Critical Care unit if they should still be receiving Physiotherapy input.
To assist in the supervision, teaching and appraisal of physiotherapy students, therapy assistants and work experience students; including formal group sessions and one-to-one teaching.
To participate in departmental continuous professional development, departmental education and training, audit and evidence-based projects.
Play an active role in service development within acute paediatrics.
To be aware of and operate within specific legal and national frameworks in relation to the care of children. E.g. The Children Act
To actively participate in the appraisal and supervision process.
To participate in extended hours working (inclusive of weekends and on-calls, and with the potential for twilight working).
Our friendly and vibrant Children’s Therapy and Gait team consist of approximately 80 staff working across 5 professional groups (physiotherapy, occupational therapy, speech and language therapy, dietitians, healthcare scientists). Together we offer a mix of inpatient and outpatient services to our patients across 4 sites (Nuffield Orthopaedic Centre, , John Radcliffe Hospital, Douglas House, Horton General Hospital. to provide world-class collaborative multi-disciplinary care. We are fortunate to work within a large teaching Trust housing many tertiary and regional clinical specialities which encourages staff development, research and quality improvement initiatives.
Children’s Therapies sits within the NOTSSCaN division within Oxford University Hospital’s NHS Foundation Trust. There is a strong learning ethos, and the team regularly host students across all professional groups in addition to supporting continual professional development of its staff.
We are keen to talk to you if you reflect or aspire to our core values - excellence , compassion , respect , delivery , learning and improvement .
Benefits of working for us include career development and regular supervision, staff recognition and excellence schemes and wellbeing support. We are committed to equality, diversity and inclusion as we know this leads to better patient care and a happier workforce. We will consider applications to work flexibly, part-time or job share.
Clinical:
To be professionally and legally responsible and accountable for all aspects of own professional activities
To undertake the specialist assessment of patients as an autonomous practitioner, including those with highly complex presentations, and using clinical reasoning skills, knowledge of evidence-based practice.
To interpret and analyse clinical and non-clinical facts to form accurate diagnoses in a wide range of highly complex conditions and to formulate prognoses and recommend best course of intervention, developing and implementing comprehensive treatment and discharge plans.
To continually reassess patients in order to progress treatments effectively and advise patients, carers and other colleagues as required.
To assess a patient’s capacity to understand and to gain valid, informed consent for treatment. To work within a legal framework with patients who lack the capacity to consent or refuse treatment.
To co-ordinate intervention which may include other disciplines; advises and educate patient/ carers/ relatives/ other health professionals.
To demonstrate the ability to communicate complex and sensitive information to patient, carers and other staff, where there may be barriers to communication e.g. non-English speaking patients; those with communication disorders, impaired speech, hearing, and ensure all members of the team do likewise.
To communicate effectively with all other disciplines involved in the patient’s care both in the Hospital and in the community thus ensuring a multidisciplinary approach and integrated service.
To manage clinical risk within own caseload at all times; and comply with trust manual handling policy and local therapeutic handling guidelines at all times.
To maintain accurate electronic and written records using POMR system, in line with Professional Standards. To provide comprehensive progress and discharge reports to referrers as required. To be responsible for ensuring that Band 5 staff and student physiotherapists are maintaining the department standards.
To participate in the respiratory overnight on-call, weekend and emergency duties as lone practitioner within the hospital site (with the possibility of twilight working and 7 day service). Provide advice to MDT regarding patient’s cardiorespiratory function.
To demonstrate physical ability to carry out physiotherapy assessment and interventions including manual therapy techniques and therapeutic handling.
To demonstrate highly developed dexterity, co-ordination and palpatory sensory skills for assessment and manual treatment of patients.
To represent physiotherapy and / or individual patients at multi- disciplinary team meetings, to ensure delivery of co-ordinated care. This will include discussion of patient care / discharge planning.
Management:
To assist in the day to day running of the Children’s Critical Care service and caseload, including attending handover, planning, allocation, liaison with MDT, training and patient care.
To assist in ensuring competent use and maintenance / reporting of all equipment used including but not limited to gym equipment, hoists, IPPB, ventilators, saturation monitors and patient appliances, and to ensure that junior staff/students and assistants attain competency prior to use.
To flexibly plan and organise own time, patient caseload, meetings, training and adjusting plans as required according to staffing levels.
As part of the critical care therapy team - to support the Induction of new staff to Children’s Critical Care in preparation for their undertaking of on call duties.
To support the effective daily management of a caseload of patients including responding to urgent referrals, prioritising clinical work and balancing other patient related and professional activities in accordance with departmental standards.
To actively assist in the implementation of new policies and practices within paediatric critical care.
Education:
To contribute to the education of multidisciplinary groups, patients, families and carers as appropriate.
To be responsible for own personal professional development and keep abreast of new clinical practices in the area of critical care / cardiorespiratory care. To attend and contribute to, specialist continuing education programmes. To attend external courses / education as appropriate; and to maintain a portfolio in line with HCPC recommendations.
Participate in a staff appraisal scheme as an appraisee and be responsible for own personal development and meeting competencies.
To be responsible for undergraduate student physiotherapists as allocated by the team leader.
To be pro-active with regard to learning from other physiotherapy staff within the department, and other MDT staff in the Trust.
To assist actively participate in the in-service and post-registration education programme within the specialist clinical area.
To undertake an evidence-based project / service development with professional presentation of the project to the physiotherapy team / department
Research and audit:
To undertake an evidence-based project and present it to colleagues within the physiotherapy department.
To participate in the department’s on-going audits and appropriate work related evaluation/research projects
To keep abreast of evidenced based practice in the clinical area by use of relevant reading, attendance at in-service training, external courses and database searches
To be actively involved in professional clinical groups in order to keep up to dates with new developments applicable to physiotherapy assessment and treatment.
To input all activity and statistically relevant clinical data required for information collection for managerial and also patient care reasons.
