Highly Specialist Paediatric Physiotherapist

Highly Specialist Paediatric Physiotherapist

The Specialist Children's Division is a highly experienced and professional multi-disciplinary provision delivering therapeutic services for children within the London borough of Enfield.

The services currently comprise Physiotherapy, Occupational Therapy, Speech and Language Therapy, Dietetics, Complex Needs and Palliative Care Nursing, and Specialist Family Support. The service works closely with other disciplines within the Child Development Team and Primary Care Team (Health Visiting, School Nursing, and Safeguarding Services) to provide services across the borough.

The service also collaborates closely with the Local Authority, particularly the Joint Service for Children with Disabilities and Special Education Needs Department, including schools in the provision of a joined-up Health, Education, and Social Care provision.

The Physiotherapy service is an established Musculoskeletal (0-14 years) and Neurodisability (0-19 years) service that provides specialised physiotherapy assessment and intervention to children with varying needs in community settings, special schools, clinics, and the CDC.

The band 7 physiotherapist will have a mixed caseload consisting of children of all ages.

Main Duties of the Job

1. To provide specialist assessment for children aged 0-18 who may have complex presentations, to determine the relevant clinical picture and specific treatment indicated, working as an autonomous practitioner.
2. To provide specialist advice and work closely with members of the multidisciplinary team, including Paediatricians, Orthopaedic Consultants, GPs, SLT, OT, Nurses, Social Care professionals, Educational professionals, and other services.
3. To educate families and carers regarding their child's specific physiotherapy management, including exercise programmes, targeted activities, positioning advice, and physical activity recommendations.
4. To work closely with Wheelchair Services, Orthotics Department, and other specialist equipment agencies, voluntary agencies, and other professional groups to ensure physiotherapy treatment is fully integrated into patient care programmes.
5. To be responsible for the appropriate physiotherapy treatment of an identified group of children, with a wide variety of conditions, including children with severe physical and/or cognitive impairment, some of whom may have complex social and psychological needs.
6. To formulate individualised physiotherapy management and treatment plans using clinical reasoning skills and utilising a wide range of specialist treatment approaches.

About Us

North Mid is part of North Central London integrated care system - consisting of the NHS and Local authority organisations in Camden, Islington, Barnet, Enfield, and Haringey. As with other ICS's, we are working increasingly closely with partners, and indeed many of our financial and performance objectives are measured at this system level. Whilst all organisations remain as standalone statutory bodies, we have an ICS infrastructure for making shared decisions and agreeing shared approaches.

We are proud of our staff and want to ensure their training allows them to provide excellent clinical care. We are also a training unit for medical students from UCL and St George's University Grenada, and for nursing and midwifery students from Middlesex and City Universities.

Take a tour of our hospital here.

Job Responsibilities

1. To use highly specialized handling skills and manual physiotherapeutic techniques during assessment and treatment of children, some with complex disabilities and movement disorders.
2. To make complex decisions and appropriate judgments as a frontline practitioner to interpret situations that may require child protection action.
3. To work to locally and nationally agreed standards set by the Chartered Society of Physiotherapy and the Association of Paediatric Chartered Physiotherapists.
4. To be aware of and follow NICE guidance relevant to conditions of childhood.
5. To assess children for a variety of highly specialist equipment and recommend its purchase by health and education. To be responsible for its safe setup, adjustment, and competent use of all physiotherapy equipment by parents, carers, and educational staff.
6. To demonstrate a sound understanding of risk management and to undertake risk assessments involved in the manual handling of the children during physiotherapy management.

Person Specification

Education/Qualifications

• Graduate diploma or BSc in Physiotherapy
• Evidence of ongoing CPD
• HCPC registration
• Member of APCP

Personal Attributes

• Strong desire and passion to work within a Children's Physiotherapy Team and share your knowledge and skills within the team.
• Ability to demonstrate empathy, sensitivity, and tact.

Other

• Car driver with own car available.

Experience

• Evidence of broad experience working in paediatrics including neurodevelopmental delay, complex needs, and/or MSK.
• Experience of working as part of an MDT.
• Evidence of appraisal and supervision of junior members of staff and students.
• Some experience of managing a Paediatric MSK caseload.
• Evidence of involvement in service development.

Skills and Knowledge

• Demonstrates specialist knowledge of paediatric assessment and treatment interventions in neurodevelopmental physiotherapy and/or MSK.
• Demonstrates advanced clinical reasoning skills.
• Able to work independently and manage own caseload.
• Experience of hydrotherapy.
• Knowledge of specialist postural management equipment and orthotics.

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.

£51,883 to £58,544 a year per annum (pro rata) inclusive of HCAS.