Detailed job description and main responsibilities

Key Responsibilities:
1) Clinical:

•    To practice as an autonomous and integrated senior therapist.
•    To asses with MDT patient to determine the most appropriate pathway for their needs.  
•    To provide input to patients with FND and other neuropsychiatric conditions across the service, providing a physiotherapy assessment and treatment plan.  This should include the use of evidence-based practice, set to meet individual SMART goals and to routinely use outcome measures to monitor individuals’ progress and response to physiotherapy, which compliments the over-arching MDT and individual goals.
•    To manage and prioritise a caseload of patients, working jointly with OT/psychology/rehab support workers/SALT/nursing team to deliver a collaborative treatment plan.
•    To facilitate goal setting sessions and provide written updates.
•    To develop and deliver educational sessions in a group setting and individualise information for patients directly linked to their MDT goals. For these goals to have clear timeframes for achieving.
•    To assess and document risk, escalating concerns to neuropsychiatrist or other team members. To develop and provide a written discharge report containing a relapse plan and future goals for the patient.
•    When needed, to undertake pre-admission assessment and post discharge visits.

2)    Communication

•    Provide and receive patient information and overcome barriers to understanding of illness.
•    To deliver complex information sensitively, taking into consideration the psychological model of FND and the common psychological issues around acquired brain injury.
•    Communicate with patients assessing capacity, for and obtaining appropriate level of consent for their treatment.
•    Use highly developed skills of motivation and explanation, to ensure patients and carers have a full understanding of their condition and treatment options and to gain co-operation in their treatment programme to maximise their potential gains from it.
•    Use highly developed skills of persuasion and motivation to promote self- management skills to assist patients in coping with their conditions including lifestyle change and adjustments.
•    Communicate highly complex patient related information effectively with multi- disciplinary team colleagues including medical staff, OT, SLT, psychology, and psychotherapy colleagues
•    To develop a shared understanding within the MDT of how goals are developed and achieved for patients. This includes overcoming frequent barriers to communication for example: cognitive impairments, fluctuating mood levels, sensory deficits, pain or fear
•    To ensure delivery of a coordinated multi-disciplinary service. 

3)    Documentation

•    To oversee and maintain up-to-date written and electronic records and activity data, in accordance with professional, local and Trust standards. Physiotherapy notes should be written within the CSP standards using a SOAP note format.
•    To collect outcome data on all patients, collecting evidence of the benefits of the service.
•    To develop and maintain updated patient hand-outs and guides, in keeping with the national standards on assessable information.
•    To ensure the completion of clinical outcome measure and contribute to the UK Roc Database.

4)    Supervision

•    To collaboratively participate in monthly managerial and professional supervision. To provide regular supervision to junior staff (including Band 6 Physiotherapist and rehabilitation support workers). Supervision is available from the Head of Physiotherapy and the Clinical Specialist Physiotherapist.
•    To participate in annual and mid- year appraisal held jointly with clinical service manager and the Trust head of physiotherapy
•    To participate in team Reflective practice sessions.
•    To participate and lead on student supervision.  

5)    Professional Ethics & Development:

•    To work within the standards set by the Chartered Society of Physiotherapy. To maintain and develop own skills as a physiotherapist.
•    To maintain own knowledge on area of clinical work along with mandatory training and to ensure other training needs are identified and addressed in a timely manner.
•    Where applicable to work within National Framework Standards (NSF) and National Institute for Clinical Excellence (NICE) guidelines.

6)    Service Development & delivery

•    To collect data on referrals and physiotherapy needs.
•    To provide evidence for the effectiveness of physiotherapy for FND and Brain Injury patients and to work with colleagues to further develop treatment models and the evidence base.

7)     Organisational

•    To demonstrate the Trust commitments.
•    To demonstrate an understanding of and compliance with departmental and organisational policies for example; Infection control, maintenance of equipment, manual handling, health and safety, incident reporting and complaints.