Job Description
Job Title: First Contact Physiotherapist*
*Advanced Practice Physiotherapist – Equivalent to Band 8A, Agenda for Change
Responsible to: South Islington PCN
Place of Work: Within Islington Practices
Hours: Full time (37.5 hours a week) – Part time and job-share will also be considered and supported
Salary: £54,000
Duration: Permanent
About Islington GP Federation
Islington GP Federation (IGPF) is a new, rapidly growing organisation representing 31 practices; we have established ourselves as a leader in new ways of working, including running Islington’s extended access primary care services (i:HUB) as well as supporting the Islington Primary Care Networks (PCNs). Our current range of services includes i:HUB, Community ENT, Integrated Community Gynaecology, practice-based pharmacists and a range of practice support mechanisms.
IGPF works very closely with a range of partners including the regional commissioning group, NHS England, Healthy London Partnership, Public Health, local hospitals such as the Whittington Health and the London Borough of Islington.
The PCN workforce is hosted by IGPF and over the last few years IGPF has been working with the Islington Training Hub, to create training and development programmes that meet the need of all staff working in primary care.
About South Islington PCN
The South Islington Primary Care Network (PCN) is a group of 7 independent GP practices in the South of Islington, covering a population of around 70,000 residents. The PCN is brought together by NHS England’s PCN DES contract to deliver against its specifications and other tasks. The PCN works with multiple stakeholders as part of the South Locality, a multi-agency group focused on identifying population health needs and identifying streams of work to support these. This is part of Islington’s ‘Fairer Together’ borough partnership.
The population within the PCN geography is diverse, often with significant and complex health and wellbeing needs. There is an exciting opportunity for enthusiastic and motivated individuals to support the co-ordination of this care and working closely with people to support them to achieve improved health outcomes and a better quality of life.
As this is a new role and the guidance around PCNs is constantly changing, there is a need for the post holder to be flexible and adaptable in this evolving environment. As a consequence, the post will be subject to ongoing review and inevitable iteration, and will help inform how roles like these can be effectively used to support patient care.
Job Purpose
· Reduce local health inequalities
· Enable patient access to MSK Physiotherapy at the start of the pathway, ensuring timely access to diagnosis, early management and onward referral if necessary
· Support patients to stay well and make informed decisions and choices through shared decision making when their health changes
· Empower patients to build knowledge, skills and confidence to live well with their health conditions
Job Role
The successful candidate will play a key role in proactively working with people, who would need support around MSK-related conditions and to provide coordination and navigation of care and support across health and care services.
They will work closely with GPs and practice teams, making sure that appropriate support is made available to people; supporting them to understand and manage their condition and ensuring their changing needs are addressed. They will enable people to access the services and support they require to meet their health and wellbeing needs, helping to improve people’s quality of life.
Responsibilities will include, but are not limited to:
· Work within primary care, seeing patients directly from reception booking ad triage.
· Work independently, to assess, diagnose, triage, and manage patients
· Where required refer patients to other health professionals within the PCN
· Work as part of a multi-disciplinary team in a patient facing role, using their expert knowledge of movement and function issues, to create stronger links for wider services through clinical leadership, teaching and evaluation
· Develop integrated and tailored care programmes in partnership with patients, providing a range of first line treatment options including self-management, referral to rehabilitation focussed services and social prescribing
· Make use of their full scope of practice, developing skills relating to independent prescribing, injection therapy and investigation to make professional judgements and decisions in unpredictable situations, including when provided with incomplete or contradictory information.
· Manage complex interactions, including working with patients with psychosocial and mental health needs, referring onwards as required and including social prescribing when appropriate
· Communicate effectively with patients, and their carers where applicable, complex and sensitive information regarding diagnoses, pathology, prognosis and treatment choices supporting personalised care
· Implement all aspects of effective clinical governance for own practice, including undertaking regular audit and evaluation, supervision and training
· Develop integrated and tailored care programmes in partnership with patients through:
- Effective shared decision-making
- Assessing levels of Patient Activation to support their own level of knowledge
- Designing and implementing plans that facilitate behavioural change
· Request and progress investigations (such as x-rays and blood tests) and referrals to facilitate the diagnosis and choice of treatment regime including, considering the limitations of these investigations, interpret and act on results and feedback to aid patients’ diagnoses and management plans
· Be accountable for decisions and actions via Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC) registration, supported by a professional culture of peer networking/review and engagement in evidence-based practice.
Confidentiality:
In the performance of the duties outlined in this Job Description, the post-holder may have access to confidential information relating to patients and their carers, staff and other healthcare workers. They may also have access to information relating to the Federation as a business organisation. All such information from any source is to be regarded as strictly confidential.
Information relating to patients, carers, colleagues, other healthcare workers or the business of the Federation may only be divulged to authorised persons in accordance with the Federation policies and procedures relating to confidentiality and the protection of personal and sensitive data.
Health & Safety:
The post-holder will assist in promoting and maintaining their own and others’ health, safety and security as defined in the Federation’s Health & Safety Policy, to include:
- Using personal security systems within the workplace according to IGPF guidelines
- Identifying the risks involved in work activities and undertaking such activities in a way that manages those risks
- Making effective use of training to update knowledge and skills
Equality and Diversity:
The post-holder will support the equality, diversity and rights of patients, carers and colleagues, to include:
- Acting in a way that recognizes the importance of people’s rights, interpreting them in a way that is consistent with Federation and organisational procedures and policies, and current legislation
- Respecting the privacy, dignity, needs and beliefs of patients, carers and colleagues
- Behaving in a manner which is welcoming to and of the individual, is non-judgmental and respects their circumstances, feelings priorities and rights.
Personal/Professional Development:
The post-holder will participate in any training programme implemented by the Federation or organisation as part of this employment, such training to include:
· Engage in portfolio-based record keeping of skills and competencies, with support of a local GP supervisor, to meet requirements of standardised national Roadmap to Practice Accreditation.
- Participation in an annual individual performance review, including taking responsibility for maintaining a record of own personal and/or professional development
- Taking responsibility for own development, learning and performance and demonstrating skills and activities to others who are undertaking similar work
Quality:
The post-holder will strive to maintain quality, and will:
- Alert other team members to issues of quality and risk
- Assess own performance and take accountability for own actions, either directly or under supervision
- Contribute to the effectiveness of the team by reflecting on own and team activities and making suggestions on ways to improve and enhance the team’s performance
- Work effectively with individuals in other agencies to meet patients’ needs.
- Effectively manage own time, workload and resources
The post-holder will:
- Apply Federation and organisation policies, standards and guidance,
- Discuss with other members of the team how the policies, standards and guidelines will affect own work.
- Participate in audit where appropriate
Communication:
The post-holder should recognize the importance of effective communication within the team and will strive to:
- Communicate effectively with other team members
- Communicate effectively with patients and carers
- Recognise people’s needs for alternative methods of communication and respond accordingly
- Contribute to service implementation if required
Person Specification
Experience
Essential
- Knowledge of managing patients with a variety of conditions and complex needs
- Demonstrates expert clinical reasoning skills in MSK physiotherapy
- Ability to implement evidence based practice principles
- Good self-management and ability to prioritise workload and delegate tasks as appropriate
- Evidence of appropriate post-graduate training in a broad range of appropriate specialist areas
- Evidence of an active part in learning activities e.g. peer review
- Evidence of providing professional advice /support
- Evidence of collaborative working within a multi-professional team
Desirable
- Experience of working in Primary Care and First Contact Practitioner roles
- Evidence of involvement in Service Improvement initiatives and outcomes
- Experience of initiating change
- Previous experience working in Primary Care
- Ability to cope with unpredictable situations
Knowledge and skills
Essential
- Be flexible and adaptable to cope with unpredictable situations
- Ability to implement evidence based practice principles
- Good self-management and ability to prioritise workload and delegate tasks as appropriate
- Willing and able to work towards completing Stage 1 and 2 of the FCP roadmap
- Computer literate for record keeping, communication, data collection and research purposes
- Aware of own limitations and when to ask for advice from the wider MDT
Desirable
- Experience of working and have a good understanding of EMIS clinical platform
Qualifications
Essential
- BSc degree in Physiotherapy
- Registration with the HCPC
- Membership of the Chartered Society of Physiotherapy
- Minimum of 3 years MSK experience
Desirable
- MSc degree in Physiotherapy
- Completed or working towards a Supplementary Prescribing qualification or non medical prescribing qualification training will be supported in post.
Job Types: Full-time, Permanent
Salary: £54,000.00 per year
Benefits:
Schedule:
- 8 hour shift
- Monday to Friday
Application question(s):
- Please provide a supporting statement.
Work authorisation:
- United Kingdom (required)
Work Location: One location
Application deadline: 15/03/2023
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