First Contact Physiotherapist in Hemel Hempstead

If you are an experienced physiotherapist looking to develop your career in a supportive, forward-thinking team, this is your next move. As a First Contact Physiotherapist, you will be fully integrated into the practice, collaborating closely with GPs, nurses, and other MDT colleagues to provide cohesive, tailored patient care.

Main duties of the job

• Work onsite in the practice as part of a dynamic multidisciplinary team.
• Assess, diagnose, and manage MSK patients at the first point of contact - with full autonomy and clinical support.
• This is not a hybrid or remote position.
• Be embedded in your practice, working closely with GPs, receptionists, nurses, and other MDT colleagues to deliver integrated, personalised patient care.
• Have the opportunity to use or develop advanced skills, including injection therapy and independent prescribing.

About us

Everest House Surgery is a patient-focused GP surgery committed to delivering high-quality primary care to our local community. We offer a comprehensive range of services, including routine consultations, chronic disease management, minor illness care, and support for long-term conditions. Our team of dedicated clinicians and administrative staff work collaboratively to ensure smooth practice operations, excellent patient experience, and the highest standards of clinical care. We are proud of our commitment to innovation, continuous improvement, and fostering a supportive, inclusive working environment for all staff.

Job responsibilities

• Be the first point of clinical contact for patients presenting with MSK conditions or symptoms, providing the patient with the primary assessment, diagnosis and management options for their condition.
• Use advanced clinical practice skills and clinical reasoning to provide comprehensive diagnostic and treatment support to patients who present with complex musculoskeletal conditions and/or multiple pathologies and/or mental health and/or pain management needs.
• Be the link between primary, community and acute services, ensuring an integrated care pathway for individual patients that meets their needs.
• Lead on and develop effective communication between primary care services/GP practices and other relevant care providers.
• Initiate, develop, and maintain relationships with MDTs, orthopaedic and physiotherapy consultant teams in the community and acute settings.
• Provide leadership and support on MSK clinical and service development, alongside learning opportunities for the whole multi-disciplinary team (MDT) within primary care.
• Encourage collaborative working across the health economy and be a key contributor to the primary care networks providing leadership and support on MSK clinical and service development across the network.
• Work independently, without day-to-day supervision, to assess, diagnose, triage, and manage patients, taking responsibility for prioritising and managing a caseload of the practices registered patients.
• Work as part of an MDT in a patient facing role, using expert knowledge of movement and function issues, to create stronger links for wider services through clinical leadership, teaching and evaluation.
• Develop integrated and tailored care programmes in partnership with patients, providing a range of first line treatment options including self-management, referral to rehabilitation focussed services and social prescribing.
• Make use of their full scope of practice, developing skills relating to independent prescribing, injection therapy and investigation to make professional judgements and decisions in unpredictable situations.
• Take responsibility for making and justifying these decisions.
• Manage complex interactions, including working with patients with psychosocial and mental health needs, referring onwards as required and including social prescribing when appropriate.
• Implement all aspects of effective clinical governance for own practice, including undertaking regular audit and evaluation, supervision and training.
• Develop integrated and tailored care programmes in partnership with patients through effective shared decision-making.
• Clinical Request and progress investigations (such as x-rays and blood tests) and referrals to facilitate the diagnosis and choice of treatment regime.
• Carry own caseload as an autonomous practitioner, providing direct clinical/physiotherapeutic care for patients with a range of complex musculoskeletal conditions.
• Be able to decide when appropriate to use advanced clinical practice skills that may include joint/soft tissue injection therapy, joint aspirations, and non-medical prescribing.
• Be able to clinically justify referral onto appropriate MSK pathways within the community or wider healthcare services.
• Recognise RED flags, serious pathology and potential underlying non-MSK related disease, that may present as MSK symptoms and to refer appropriately.
• Provide expert advice and act as source of expertise in the management of musculoskeletal conditions.
• Provide clear advice, instruction and teaching on aspects of management of a condition to patients, relatives, carers and other health professionals.
• Continually review and develop specialist clinical and diagnostic skills in response to service need.
• Be accountable for own decisions and actions via HCPC registration and professional standards.

Service/Professional Leadership/Consultancy

• Integrate the FCP role into the wider primary care team, proactively working with the primary care team to build robust relationships and integrate working practices.
• Work collaboratively with the primary care team and also in partnership with business managers, professional managers and lead clinicians of secondary, community and other care providers to improve service delivery.
• Participate and lead in ensuring a professional culture of peer networking and support underpinned by active engagement in peer review and embracing evidence-based practice.
• Review and develop organisational and service policies that support the maintenance of good clinical governance, manage risk and ensure patient safety is paramount.
• Take responsibility for the introduction, monitoring and review of service standards for MSK primary care services.
• Participate in or lead investigation into complaints and clinical errors/incidents when appropriate.

Education/Workforce Development

• Provide and receive clinical supervision and be an active provider of mentoring and coaching of specialist clinicians from a range of disciplines.
• Maintain a professional portfolio of knowledge and skills, at advanced clinical practice level, through participation in internal and external development opportunities.

Research and Evaluation

• Promote the integration of evidence-based practice and national guidelines into own and local FCP MSK service practice.
• Lead or participate in research and MDT research projects as appropriate.
• Present and disseminate research and clinical audit findings across the practice and wider service providers as required.

Communication/Building Networks

• Take the lead in communicating and influencing across the practice the benefits of the FCP role in primary care.
• Communicate effectively and appropriately with patients and carers.

Person Specification

• BSc degree in Physiotherapy.
• Health & Care Professions Council (HCPC) registration.
• Can demonstrate working at Level 7 (within the ACP framework) capability in MSK related areas of practice or equivalent.
• Pre-reg MSc degree in Physiotherapy or equivalent.
• Completed or working towards a Supplementary Prescribing qualification.

Experience

• Significant leadership and experience in applying the physiotherapy process to include MSK assessment, interpretation, individual care planning, motivation, monitoring and evaluation of highly specialised MSK treatment.
• Strong knowledge of Microsoft and GPIT systems, alongside prescribing data monitoring systems.
• Experience of senior level decision making and delivery in a changing environment.
• Experience of working with a diverse range of stakeholders/providing leadership within the MSK pathway.
• Ability to lead and manage change across own service and wider MDT team/services.
• Ability to integrate latest evidence-based practice into services.
• Able to understand and analyse complex issues and balance competing priorities to make difficult decisions.
• Independent thinker with demonstrated good judgement, problem-solving and analytical skills.

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 to check for any previous criminal convictions.