Specialist physiotherapist | Blackpool Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust

Overview

To be responsible for provision of specialised assessment, treatment and management of babies, children and/or young people who present with a wide variety of conditions. These include chronic, complex, disabling and life limiting conditions. To demonstrate sound knowledge and skills in the management of paediatric neurological and developmental conditions, and behavioural and learning disabilities. To educate and train other healthcare and multi-agency professionals and physiotherapy students in paediatric physiotherapy management. To participate in the management of complex paediatric cases within a multi-disciplinary team setting, under the guidance of a more senior therapist. To work in the community as a lone practitioner in line with the trust lone worker policy. To provide assessment for and provision of equipment for complex children in the community.

Responsibilities

• Undertake skilled assessment of children and/or adolescents using a range of highly specialist standardised assessments and clinical observation skills.
• Provide specialist physiotherapy treatment intervention in a variety of environments including home, school, clinic and other premises in the community.
• Formulate agreed specialist individual treatment plans and goals based on clinical reasoning skills.
• Alter and revise planned interventions as a result of changes in an individual’s level of function or circumstances, using clinical reasoning skills.
• Assess for specialist paediatric equipment required as part of a child’s physiotherapy programme.
• Provide advice for Statutory Assessment of Special Educational Needs and child specific advice for Educational Manual Handling Risk Assessments.
• Provide specialist advice and peer support to health, social care and educational colleagues in the overall management of the child presenting with complex problems in a range of community settings, including preparation and presentation of reports at Social Services, Educational and Medical Case Conferences.
• Work collaboratively with multi-agency professionals to develop comprehensive support packages for children and their families living with complex disabling conditions, ensuring appropriate service provision in response to changing clinical and/or social situations.
• Supervise junior staff and students; participate in in-service training sessions.
• To provide advice and physiotherapy programmes; and provide teaching and instruction to parents, carers and other relevant professionals to promote understanding of the aims of physiotherapy and to ensure a consistent, coordinated approach to optimise patient care.
• To gain compliance of children in their treatment when there may be barriers due to learning disability, behavioural and emotional problems and/or sensory loss.
• To communicate effectively with partner agencies and professionals in health, social services, education and the voluntary sector to ensure the protection of vulnerable children.
• To actively listen to staff, provide support and advice, escalate issues as appropriate.
• To use IT to communicate via e-mail and to input data on information systems.

Personal

To facilitate and maintain effective two-way verbal and non-verbal communication with children and their carers, considering the child’s level of understanding; to gain compliance of children in treatment; to communicate sensitive information in an understandable form to parents/carers; to work with partner agencies to ensure protection of vulnerable children; to communicate with paediatric occupational therapy team, admin staff, Service Lead and Team Leader to ensure smooth delivery of services; to actively listen to staff and escalate issues; to use IT for communication and data input.

General

• To be a registered member of the health care professionals’ council.
• To stay up-to-date with clinical conditions and evidence-based treatment.
• To be responsible and accountable for all aspects of your own work including case management of children requiring specialist intervention.
• To ensure clinical governance and risk management guidelines are followed and undertake risk assessments as required.
• To assess capacity and gain informed consent to treatment in line with trust policies.
• To participate in the trust appraisal system and ongoing professional development; to undertake clinical supervision as per department policy.
• To contribute to the education of support staff and evaluate own practice using outcome measures and audits.
• To work as a lone practitioner in a variety of community settings, within Trust policies and guidelines.
• To comply with Paediatric Therapy Service policies and procedures and suggest improvements as needed.

Note: This advert closes on Wednesday 17 Sep 2025.