Major Trauma Therapy Assistant Practitioner

Main area Therapy Assistant Practitioner Grade NHS AfC: Band 4 Contract Permanent Hours

• Full time
• Part time
• Flexible working

37.5 hours per week (No current weekend working pattern. Future planning may determine need for weekend working.) Job ref 190-8614-DIR

Employer Sheffield Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust Employer type NHS Site Northern General Hospital Town Sheffield Salary £26,530 - £29,114 Per annum pro rata for part time staff Salary period Yearly Closing 13/04/2025 23:59 Interview date 24/04/2025

Major Trauma Therapy Assistant Practitioner

NHS AfC: Band 4

We are committed to helping our staff balance their work and home lives and ensure they feel supported, valued and appreciated so whilst you care for our patients and clients, we’ll take care of you. We offer many different ways of helping staff including career development opportunities, flexible working, good annual leave and pension schemes, health and wellbeing packages and financial support systems. Joining the Trust also allows you access to a number of saving options via our salary sacrifice schemes and a wide range of discount opportunities with retailers and service providers.

Job overview

A unique opportunity has become available for a motivated individual to join the Major Trauma Rehabilitation Team in Sheffield Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust.

The successful post holder will work as part of the defined Major Trauma Coordination Team and will be responsible for providing rehabilitation as part of a multidisciplinary team in a large teaching hospital. They will work in a regional Major Trauma centre specialising in orthopaedic, cardiothoracic, spinal injuries, plastics, vascular and general surgery, as well as having the opportunity to learn and develop from a wide range of professions.

The successful candidate will have close links with the wider MDT including the Clinical Specialist Occupational Therapists, Nurse Specialists in multiple fields including Head Injury management, as well as the Consultant in Rehabilitation Medicine.

You will be involved in both rehabilitation delivery and care coordination therefore will require excellent teamwork, communication, and prioritisation skills. The post holder will also be expected to lead and contribute on service development.

Main duties of the job

1. Management of own, varied caseload, delivering rehabilitation to major trauma patients with a variety of needs. Discuss patient progress with Major Trauma Rehabilitation Co-Ordinators as required.
2. Support patients through the acute phase of neurorehabilitation. Completing standardised assessments, such as the Westmead Post-Traumatic Amnesia Assessment and implementing therapy programs as prescribed by the Clinical Specialist Occupational Therapist.
3. Acting as a point of contact for major trauma patients and their carer/s, escalating questions in an appropriate and timely manner.
4. Work as part of a defined team including Major Trauma Rehabilitation Co-Ordinators, Trauma Nurse Co-ordinators, Clinical Specialist Therapists and Consultants to support ongoing patient care through the pathway and onto rehabilitation.
5. Work with therapy teams to help ensure the 2019 rehabilitation prescriptions are completed for all qualifying patients on discharge or transfer.
6. Participate in weekly MDT meetings which occur to discuss all the patients within the scope of the Major Trauma Centre.
7. Contribute to the educational ethos of the team by engaging with a variety of under and post graduate students.
8. Utilise a range of IT systems to ensure accurate communication between teams and clear documentation of patient’s care needs, priorities and rehabilitation plans.
9. Contribute to non-clinical tasks to support the day to day running of the rehabilitation team.

Working for our organisation

Sheffield Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust is a large Major Trauma Centre with over 16,000 staff working across the city in both hospital based services and community settings.

The Musculoskeletal Directorate (MSK) provide services including Orthopaedics, Rheumatology, Pain Management, Metabolic Bone, Hand Centre, Physioworks, Staff Physiotherapy Service, MSK Hospital based Therapy Services and Podiatric Surgery.

The hospital based therapy team consists of over 110 whole time equivalent staff members who work together to deliver excellent patient care and sharing learning and experience.

You will be working for an organisation which values and respects all of its staff and the community it serves. The Trust is a leader in the NHS and research sectors and provides excellent benefits for its staff. This includes commitments to professional development but also many policies to support employees in balancing their personal and professional lives.

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

Please view the attached Job Description and Person Specification documents for full details regarding this post.

When completing your application please ensure that you clearly demonstrate how you meet the role criteria.

Person specification

Qualifications

• Foundation degree Health and Social Care, or equivalent level 4 qualification; plus, A-levels and GCSE English and Maths Grade C/4 or equivalent (including Functional Skills (level 2)) along with additional relevant experience.
• Willing to undertake appropriate occupation specific qualification if do not possess the above level 3 qualifications.
• Completed Care Certificate or willing to work towards in first 6 months.
• Willing to undertake additional training in therapy skills relevant to specified area of work to further develop role.
• Health & Safety
• First Aid

Experience

• Significant experience as a senior therapy assistant
• Detailed understanding and experience in rehabilitation
• Demonstrates a clear understanding of the role of acute therapy within the NHS.
• Experience of working in an acute inpatient environment managing and prioritising own caseload
• Experience or knowledge of a variety clinical specialities, such as trauma/orthopaedics, cardiothoracics, neurology.
• Awareness of Major Trauma Pathways within STH.
• Experience of using outcome measures to record patient progress

Further Training

• Current knowledge & skills in therapy practice relevant to speciality
• Competency in therapy practice within specified area.
• Excellent interpersonal and team working skills
• Able to communicate clearly both verbally and in writing
• Able to maintain confidentiality
• Ability to act on own initiative, organise work and manage multiple tasks
• Calm approach to changing work situations
• Ability to maintain accurate written records & statistics
• Teaching ability
• Able to motivate patients
• NHS values
• IT Literate
• Comprehensive understanding of occupational therapy and physiotherapy in line with the role

Other Factors

• Flexible and reliable approach to working practices
• Positive attitude to patient care and teamwork
• Ability to demonstrate commitment to the Assistant Practitioner role.
• Willing to work flexibly as service requires including evening/weekend

Candidates are advised to read the attached guidance on using AI technology. When you complete your application, you are required to declare that the information in your application form is true and complete. The personal statement is exactly that; personal.

When selecting to apply via NHS Jobs, you will be redirected to our preferred recruitment system called Trac. You will be asked to create and submit your application via the Trac recruitment system.

You will not be able to track the progress of your application or receive messages through the NHS Jobs website, and furthermore, as an employer, we will not be able to respond to any e-mails sent to us via the NHS Jobs website. All communications should be sent via your Trac system account.

If you are offered employment at Sheffield Teaching Hospitals your information will be transferred from the Trac recruitment system into the national NHS Electronic Staff Records system. In addition, in submitting an application form, you authorise our Trust to confirm any previous NHS service details via the ESR IAT process should you be appointed.

Please note, all communication regarding your application will be made via email sent via the Trac recruitment system, please ensure you check your junk/spam folders as emails are sometimes filtered there.

The Trust is committed to its obligations in accordance with the Equality Act 2010, and we positively encourage applications from all sections of the community. Should you require any assistance in applying for the position please contact the General or Medical Human Resources Departments on the number identified on the NHS Jobs page for the organisation.

Job Share applicants are welcome for all full time posts unless indicated but cannot be guaranteed. In addition for Fixed Term Contracts, internal secondments may be considered, please seek the approval of your current line manager before applying for the position.

All employment with the Trust is subject to a number of NHS Employment Checks being met to a satisfactory standard including verification of identity, eligibility to work in the United Kingdom, references and qualifications in addition to professional registration, a disclosure and barring records check and occupational health check if these are deemed to be a requirement for the position to be undertaken.

For more information about our organisation and the opportunities available, please visit our website and follow us on Twitter and Facebook.

Employer certification / accreditation badges

This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (Exceptions) Order 1975 (Amendment) (England and Wales) Order 2020 and it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service.

Name Luke Symonds Job title Lead Therapist Email address luke.symonds@nhs.net Telephone number 07815917985 Additional information

Working Hours: 8.00-16.30 Mon, Thurs & Fri. 8.00-14.00 Tues. 9.30-14.30 Weds.

Alternative phone number: 0114 2714112