The Harrow Community Respiratory service is seeking an enthusiastic and dynamic Respiratory Physiotherapist to join the team. The post holder will work within the London Borough of Harrow which is part of the CLCH NHS Community Trust. The post holder will work alongside other senior staff involved in the provision of the Pulmonary Rehabilitation. As part of the team, the post holder will provide respiratory physiotherapy interventions predominantly breathlessness management and airway clearance to appropriate respiratory patients within the service. Post holder will be expected to undertake the long-term oxygen therapy assessment and ambulatory oxygen therapy assessment components of the home oxygen service provided by the service. In addition, the post holder will also run community clinics and do domiciliary visits to case manage people living with respiratory conditions.

Main duties of the job

The post holder will work with the Senior Respiratory Nurse/Service Lead, to plan, co-ordinate, implement and evaluate the physiotherapy input provided to respiratory patients. The Physiotherapist will work as an integral team member undertaking assessment and treatment of patients. This will include the delivering of community based respiratory physiotherapy care and pulmonary rehabilitation to expected contractual markers and the highest possible standard of evidence-based care in line with the NICE / BTS guidance. Good interpersonal and organisational skills are essential for this post. A flexible approach and the ability to work under pressure, both as part of a team and independently is expected. This job involves the safe moving and handling of patient equipment as well as travel to various locations which successful candidate will be expected to undertake.

About us

Central London Community Healthcare (CLCH) is one of the largest community healthcare organisations in London and Hertfordshire, providing our services to diverse communities/boroughs in 11 London Boroughs - Barnet, Brent, Ealing, Hammersmith & Fulham, Harrow, Hounslow, Kensington and Chelsea, Merton, Richmond, Wandsworth, Westminster - and Hertfordshire.

Just as we care about our patients' wellbeing, we care about yours!

We can offer you:

• A comprehensive induction into the community service followed by a local induction to introduce you to the role
• Single occupancy accommodation in Central London - (we can help you find accommodation in London, support you with your deposit)
• Support with gaining your driving license *T& C's apply
• Car lease scheme *T& C's apply
• Flexible working options
• Annual travel card loan
• Training, support and development in your career

To have a full look at our benefits and what it's like working for us please go here: https://www.clch.nhs.uk/job/pay-and-benefits

At CLCH we appreciate and are proud of the diversity in the communities we serve and the workforce we employ. Applications are open and welcome to anyone, regardless of your age, sexual orientation, ethnicity, religion, and disability. We are proud to say that we follow the workforce race equality standard and 28% of our senior staff (8A and above) are from a BAME background. CLCH also has active BAME and LGBTQI networks.

Job description

Job responsibilities

• To identify patients and their suitability for the Pulmonary Rehabilitation, using the British Thoracic Society and NICE guidance for safe management.
• To assess, prescribe and progress exercise for patients in pulmonary rehabilitation, as well as provide educational classes, ensuring that patient outcomes can be demonstrated.
• To be trained and able to use skills across boundaries (nursing and physiotherapy) for benefits of our patients.
• To undertake physiotherapy clinics, using specialist skills including airway clearance, breathing control / breathlessness management, relaxation and anxiety management techniques
• To undertake comprehensive assessments of complex respiratory with co-morbidities, including physical examination, and to develop treatment plans for patients using investigative and analytical skills, and to formulate individualised management and treatment plans using clinical reasoning.
• To assess, develop and implement specialist care programmes, including pulmonary rehabilitation with evidence-based exercise prescription and progression, home oxygen, breathlessness, airway clearance, psychological interventions and medication reviews, adhering to evidence based guidelines.
• To accurately undertake specialist clinical skills including spirometry, performing ambulatory oxygen walking tests and breathing techniques to alleviate breathlessness.

• To undertake extended scope practitioner roles with appropriate competencies for example differential diagnosis, independent prescribing, taking of blood gases as appropriate.
• To interpret and analyse clinical and non-clinical tests to form an accurate assessment of complex respiratory patients.
• To work in a variety of clinical areas including patients homes and outpatient clinics.
• To work as an autonomous practitioner accepting clinical responsibility for a specialised caseload of patients, and to organise this effectively and efficiently with regard to clinical priorities and use of time.
• To provide emotional support to patients and family/carers to cope with life limiting respiratory conditions, recognising when patients are entering the terminally stages and communicating this to the patient and family/carer in a sensitive and empathic way. Ensuring appropriate level of involvement from palliative services
• Develop specialist end of life treatment plans which includes patients wishes, management of unpleasant respiratory symptoms, particularly breathlessness, anxiety and agitation are effectively managed using specialist skills including active cycle of breathing, sputum clearance techniques, relaxation techniques, medication and positioning.
• To demonstrate a specialist working knowledge of guidelines for best practice, competence in physical assessment skills and treatment of complex respiratory patients.
• To provide safe practice to patients and be able to identify acute deterioration and take appropriate action.
• To liaise with and give specialist advice to other members of the Multidisciplinary team (MDT), have knowledge of disease management pathways within secondary and primary care and refer on where appropriate.
• To be contactable throughout the working day via the mobile phone system and to be able to immediately change planned activity without prior knowledge, sometimes in order to respond to emergency situations.
• To maintain accurate, comprehensive documentation, ensuring patients care plans / documentation is updated to reflect changes in clinical needs, in line with legal and departmental requirements, and to communicate assessment and treatment results to the appropriate disciplines and patients in the form of reports and letters.
• To take responsibility for health and safety aspects of your work and implement any policies, which may be required to improve the safety of your work area including prompt recording and reporting of incidents to senior staff.
• To be responsible for equipment used in carrying out duties and to adhere to departmental policy for safety and maintenance, including competence to use equipment and to ensure its safe use by others through teaching, training and supervision of practice.
• To be responsible for the evaluation of new equipment.
• To carry out risk assessment within the service, own patient caseload, equipment and environment on a daily basis (health & safety and clinical) and to minimise risk within the team.
• To gain valid informed consent and have the ability to work within a legal framework with patients who lack capacity to consent to treatment.
• To comply with the organisational and departmental policies and procedures.
• To participate in the on-call rota for the purpose of providing telephone advice to patients during evenings and weekends where appropriate, to meet commissioning intentions.
• To ensure involvement of the patient, and their carers, in decision making to improve understanding of their health care needs promoting self-care as appropriate.
• Promote and facilitate patient choice in the planning and delivery of healthcare services.
• To be alert to the needs of vulnerable adults, identifying risk of possible harm and taking appropriate action as required.

Please refer to the attached Job Description for full list of responsibilities

Person Specification

Education/Qualification

Essential

• Registered physiotherapist - current HPC registration
• oEducated to Post Graduate Level in Respiratory Physiotherapy or an equivalent combination of Degree, short courses and experience

Experience

Essential

• Experience of working with respiratory patients ? Experience in leading a pulmonary rehabilitation programme
• Experience in physiotherapy specific interventions including airway clearance, breathing control / breathlessness management, relaxation and anxiety management techniques
• Experience of working within a community setting.
• Demonstrates ability to develop new initiatives ? Demonstrates ability to manage change

Skills & Knowledge

Essential

• Ability to communicate effectively, verbally and in writing ? Ability to motivate self and others
• Ability to make decisions and prioritise actions ? Ability to be proactive and resourceful
• Ability to make decisions and prioritise actions ? Ability to be proactive and resourceful
• A working knowledge of clinical governance and evidence-based practice.
• Ability to develop and maintain team working ? Ability to demonstrate specialist clinical expertise
• Ability to work under pressure and to tight deadlines ? Ability to work autonomously
• Ability to perform and interpret spirometry
• Sound working knowledge of guidelines in the field of respiratory care
• Excellent documentation skills
• Knowledge awareness of recent NHS policies/DoH agenda
• Ability to demonstrate an understanding of the holistic needs of the client group
• Ability to demonstrate an understanding of the holistic needs of the client group
• Computer skills i.e. Word, data- bases email, internet
• An eagerness to contribute to quality assurance and audit

Desirable

• Ability to perform arterial / arterialised / capillary blood gas sampling and interpret the results

Key Attributes

Essential

• Friendly and approachable ? Calm & confident team player ? Good presentation of self, enthusiastic, flexible
• Willing to undertake out of hours cover and on call on rotational basis
• Satisfactory health record & physically able to perform all aspects of the job
• Punctual and reliable
• Commitment to lifelong learning
• Car owner / driver

Employer details

Employer name

Central London Community Health Trust

Address

Honeypot Lane Health Centre

London

HA7 1AT

Any attachments will be accessible after you click to apply.

824-ONW-6745-A