First Contact Physiotherapist / Advanced Physiotherapist

Northamptonshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust; Northampton; On-site; GBP 46,000 - 53,000; Full time

Job description

Job Summary

Northamptonshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust (NHFT) are committed to providing the people of Northamptonshire with an experienced and extensive Musculoskeletal (MSK) Physiotherapy service including First Contact Physiotherapy (FCP).

Our outpatient team is looking for an Advanced MSK Physiotherapist who has experience in (or wanting to gain experience) in FCP, with a passion for high-quality care, demonstrating highly specialised assessment and management skills and supporting both patients and family members alike with their presenting complaint.

Rewards And Benefits

• Excellent learning and development to support you and develop your career including monthly supervision and in service training
• Flexible working opportunities
• Free parking on Trust Sites
• Competitive Mileage Rates
• Enterprise Car Pool Scheme
• You'll also have access to our generous pension scheme and health service discounts, as well as generous annual leave plus bank holidays
• The opportunity to work additional hours/ overtime (when available)

Main duties of the job
Your primary role will be within our First Contact Physiotherapy Service, where patients are directed to you from Primary Care as a first point of contact. You will be working as part of a multi-skilled team including APPs, to provide specialist assessment, diagnosis and advice to Primary Care MSK patients.

You will also provide input to the main MSK Physiotherapy service where you will demonstrate high level clinical reasoning, assessment and treatment skills, assessing a wide range of complex MSK conditions.

You will be actively involved in leading service development and act as a role model for change to the rest of the team. You will provide training and supervision for junior staff.

Working For NHFT - Must-Have Skills
You will need to have excellent communication skills and be able to work well within a team. You will be adaptable and resourceful. You will also need to be well organised, confident and able to manage in diverse situations to deliver patient care. As with all Physiotherapy roles, rapport building, problem-solving and good judgement are crucial, alongside evidence of strong leadership and management. Awareness of your own scope of practice is critical, and we welcome candidates who actively seek help and support for both patient safety and to aid their own professional development.

You will be part of a dynamic, driven and caring team and be able to work flexibly, with the ability to prioritise work based on the patient need and service capacity.

About Us
NHFT is an integrated primary care and mental health Trust, providing physical, mental health and specialty services in both hospital settings and out in the community. Because we put the person at the centre of all we do, we focus on delivering care that is as easy to access as possible. This means many of our services can be provided at home, work or in schools. We also provide health services to various prisons and detention centres in Bedfordshire and Cambridgeshire.

NHFT promotes a culture of learning to improve the care and safety of our patients and staff, which focuses on people who enable our Trust to be 'outstanding' by supporting opportunity, innovation, development and growth.

Date posted: 31 March 2025
Pay scheme: Agenda for change
Band: Band 7
Salary: £46,148 to £52,809 a year pa pro rata
Contract: Permanent
Working pattern: Full-time, Part-time, Flexible working
Reference number: 270-TF928-ACS
Job locations: Highfield Clinical Care Centre, Northampton, NN1 5BD

Job Description
Responsibilities
Job responsibilities:
For further information on the advertised role, please refer to the job description located under the Supporting Documents heading. The full person specification can be accessed under the About You Section of the document.

Person Specification
Education & Qualification Essential

• Professional qualification, BSc Physiotherapy or pre reg MSc Physiotherapy or equivalent
• HCPC registration as a Physiotherapist
• Evidence of post graduate CPD
• Stage 1 Roadmap completion confirmed on application (to be evidenced at interview)

Desirable

• Member of CSP
• Evidence of post graduate qualifications / MSc Modules
• Stage 2 FCP sign off confirmed on application (to be evidenced at interview)

Knowledge & Understanding Essential

• Up to date with professional practice and research
• Understanding of clinical governance and its implications for service including quality and audit
• Ability to comprehend and work within Trust policies and Professional Standards
• Advanced knowledge within MSK Physiotherapy supported by relevant experience

Desirable

• Membership of Interest Groups relevant to clinical interest
• Advanced knowledge of MSK Physiotherapy approaches for an area of special interest
• Experience of requesting and interpreting imaging

Experience Essential

• 5 years experience in Physiotherapy
• 3 years experience in MSK
• Band 6 MSK Experience
• NHS Experience
• Experience of leading on designated projects / service improvement
• Experience of managing a diverse caseload of MSK patients
• Experience of having clinical supervision

Desirable

• Experience in Primary Care / FCP
• Experience of providing clinical supervision for junior staff

Skills & Abilities Essential

• Ability to communicate effectively with service users, and/or relatives and other healthcare professionals
• Ability to manage conflicting demands, solve problems and prioritise own workload
• Ability to manage difficult situations where there may not be direct support

Desirable

• Leadership and presentational skills
• Ability to resolve conflict
• Ability to present information in a clear, concise and logical manner

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.

UK Registration
Applicants must have current UK professional registration. For further information please see NHS Careers website.

Employer details
Employer name: Northamptonshire Healthcare Foundation Trust
Address: Highfield Clinical Care Centre, Northampton, NN1 5BD
Employer's website: https://www.nhft.nhs.uk/