Musculoskeletal (MSK) service practitioner (East Locality) in Carlisle

Overview

North Cumbria Integrated Care NHS Foundation Trust

Musculoskeletal (MSK) service practitioner (East Locality)

The closing date is 23 September 2025

The role of the NCIC IMSK interface service is to provide a high quality Advanced Musculoskeletal Practitioner led MSK/Orthopaedic and Spinal triage and treat service; inclusive of advice and / or referral on to other disciplines in the North East and North Cumbria ICB.

Key roles include working with Advanced Practice colleagues, Orthopaedic Surgeons, Spinal Surgeons, Rheumatologists, GPs and all members of the multidisciplinary team across primary and secondary care boundaries.

The ultimate aim is for Practitioners to lead and be the single point of contact/access for the provision of cost effective, efficient, quality services that meet the needs of all clients with MSK conditions.

Main duties of the job

The post holder will have the responsibility for undertaking speciality services for patients who require diagnosis/assessment and/or investigation and/or treatment of a wide range of musculoskeletal (MSK) conditions.

The post holder will act independently in the management of an often complex and chronic caseload. They will be independently responsible for diagnosis and treatment planning for these patients. This will involve use of imaging and investigations and analysis/interpretation of results. It will involve knowledge of all possible multidisciplinary treatment pathways and appropriate referral to these pathways.

The role involves working with Primary Care and also developing strong links with Secondary Care to enable fast track referral to Consultant led services.

The post holder will 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.

The post holder will network with multidisciplinary colleagues, for the purpose of developing practice, audit, development of standardised patient information and clinical supervision.

The post holder will provide support for Clinical Specialist staff, facilitating their continued professional development activities (CPD).

About us

At NCIC, we have an ambition to deliver outstanding healthcare services to the population of North Cumbria. The Trust is committed to creating a centre of excellence in providing rural and remote healthcare and provides a wide range of community and acute services throughout our county.

Our 5 key principles demonstrate our belief in the delivery of \'safe, high quality care every time\':

• Being a clinically led organisation
• Quality and safety at the heart of our Trust
• A positive patient experience every time
• A great place to work
• Managing our money well

As an organisation we are serious about supporting a diverse workforce that reflects our local community and are very much focused on being an inclusive and compassionate place to work.

Across the North East and North Cumbria we are working together to deliver our ambition to be the greenest region in England by 2030. All staff are expected to support sustainability.

Job responsibilities

Please see attached job description and person specification for further information regarding the role and the essential and desirable criteria required to be met by applicants.

Please note, due to changes implemented by the Government to the UK immigration policy, individuals who require a Health and Care Visa or a Skilled Worker Visa may no longer be eligible for sponsorship where the UKVI salary threshold is not met or if the occupation is not included in the updated Immigration Salary List (ISL). Applicants must check their eligibility to be employed in any role they are interested in applying for, prior to completing an application for employment.Any applicants who do not meet the eligibility criteria will not be progressed.

If you are applying under the Disability Confident Scheme or Armed Forces Covenant and you meet all the essential criteria for a post, you will be guaranteed an interview.

Relocation assistance may be available for successful applicants moving to the region for certain posts. Please see our Policy for eligible vacancies.

Please ensure that you document evidence of meeting all the essential criteria in the supporting information.

If sufficient response is received this post could be closed earlier than the specified closing date, please apply as soon as possible to ensure that your application is considered.

Candidates who have been successfully shortlisted for interview will be asked via an email notification to log on to their Trac account to select an interview time. This will usually be within 2 weeks of the closing date.

For candidates applying using a Hotmail account or have strict firewall settings please ensure the following:

• Junk Mail is checked regularly

Disclosure and Barring Service:

On 28 November 2020, the new Disclosure and Barring Service filtering rules will come into effect.

The changes mean that:

• youth cautions, reprimands and final warnings will no longer be subject to automatic disclosure
• the multiple conviction rule has been removed, meaning that if an individual has more than one conviction, regardless of offence type or time passed, each conviction will be considered against the remaining rules individually, rather than being automatically disclosed.

If you are unsure about whether you need to disclose certain criminal record information, free confidential advice may be sought from one of the charity bodies listed below. These bodies can advise you on what you are legally required to declare and may also be able to advise you on how you can disclose criminal record information to a prospective employer and your legal rights when doing so.

Unlock Tel: 01634 247350, email advice@unlock.org.uk or complete the online form on the Unlock website

Please note the cost of the DBS check is increasing from 2nd December and the new cost will be

Standard DBS check £21.50, Enhanced DBS check £49.50 + any admin costs.

The Trust is committed to safeguarding adults and children therefore if the post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (ROA) 1974 (Exceptions) Order 1975 (as amended) the successful candidate(s) will be subject to a criminal records check with the Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS). The cost of the DBS must be met by the successful candidate(s) through salary deduction. DBS charges are as followsif applicable to the post:

Standard Check: £18 + Administration cost of £3.85 = £21.85. Deducted at £6.85 from 1st month salary and £5 deducted from salary over following 3 months.

Enhanced Check: £38 + administration cost of £3.90 = £41.90. Deducted at £11.90 from 1st month salary and £10 deducted from salary over following 3 months.

As part of the one of the largest employers in the UK NCIC future employees will have also access to the following benefits.

A lease car may be available for this position; further details will be provided upon appointment if applicable.

27-day holiday scheme rising to 33 after 10 years

Access to NHS discounts with retailers and leisure companies

EAP (Employee Assistance Programme) a free, confidential counselling and information service to assist with personal or work-related problems

These schemes are subject to availability

Person Specification

Qualifications

• Degree or equivalent qualification in Physiotherapy or relevant professional field.
• Post graduate specialist training/experience to Masters level in relevant field or working towards this.
• Valid registration with professional regulatory body (e.g. HCPC, NMC).
• MSc Module in Injection Therapy or Diploma in Injection Therapy (or working towards).
• On-going evidence of continued professional development within the specialist field.
• Relevant validated clinical courses at specialist level.
• MSc in relevant field
• IRMER/MRI safety training
• Radiological Interpretation Course (or working towards)
• Non-Medical Prescribing
• MSc Module in Injection Therapy or Diploma in Injection Therapy (or working towards).

Experience

• Significant post graduate experience in relevant field.
• Experience of working alongside orthopaedic and rheumatology consultants in a clinic situation or senior/advanced practitioners in specialist areas.
• Experience of peer, student and junior supervision.
• High level of communication skills.
• Experience in providing coaching to patients and to support staff.
• Previous experience of working within a multi-professional MSK team.

Knowledge

• Specialist knowledge of multiple disciplines (rehabilitation, surgery, pain management etc),
• Awareness of current initiatives within the local and national health economy.
• High level knowledge of referral criteria to other specialists.
• High level knowledge of professional practice, and ability to be innovative and proactive to enhance the service.
• Knowledge of strategic issues which influence area of practice at a local and national level.
• Knowledge of audit and research processes.
• Evidence of Continuing Professional Development relevant to this post.
• Relevant validated clinical courses to MSc Level 7 or working towards this.

Skills and Aptitudes

• Complex problem solving and assessment skills.
• Demonstrable analytical skills and judgement when dealing with the management of complex patients and complex MSK presentations.
• High level communication skills with the ability to communicate complicated, sensitive or contentious information to patients, carers and colleagues in order to describe or explain, persuade, motivate or influence, give advice, instruction or training.
• High levels of Tact, diplomacy and empathy
• Ability to confidently, professionally and sensitively challenge the competence of others.
• Ability to develop and improve competence in clinical and organisational skills and apply to practice through CPD activities.
• Ability to work autonomously, and to pass on knowledge / skills to others within both formal and informal environments.
• Able to present information, written and orally, in a clear and logical manner.
• An understanding of legal responsibilities within the profession.
• Training and development of other healthcare professionals.
• Excellent presentation skills.
• Ability to understand and work within the Trust\'s policies of data protection, equal opportunities and health and safety and meet the differing needs of patients.
• Ability to keep accurate and legible patient notes.

Personal Circumstances

• The post holder must be professional, responsible, flexible, adaptable, a good communicator and a team player.
• Display the ability to problem solve and manage change.
• Respond and adapt to the changing needs of the service.
• Act appropriately in distressing or emotional circumstances.
• Ability to comprehend and work within the Trust\'s policies of data protection, equal opportunities and health and safety and meet the differing needs of patients.
• Ability to cope working in a stressful environment and with emotional or aggressive patients and carers.

Other requirements

• Clear vision of role/commitment to the speciality.
• Develop a culture that promotes equality and values diversity

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.

North Cumbria Integrated Care NHS Foundation Trust

£47,810 to £54,710 a yearPer Annum Pro Rata