Detailed job description and main responsibilities

Communication

• To communicate effectively and work collaboratively with medical, nursing, and other professional colleagues to ensure the delivery of a co-ordinated, patient centred multidisciplinary service. 
  • To communicate effectively with external organisations such as community services, GP’s etc to help ensure effective transfer of patient care. To contribute to discussions with external agencies on systems in place to facilitate this.
  • To communicate effectively and consistently with patients and carers, individually and in groups, to maximise rehabilitation potential and to ensure understanding of often highly complex aspects of their condition and recovery (goal setting, family meetings, carer training tasks, individual activity programmes).
  • To be highly skilled in verbal and non-verbal communication skills, allowing patients to express their thoughts, feelings, concerns, and expectations. This includes patients who are distressed, depressed or angry and who may have difficulty in understanding or communicating. (e.g. blind, deaf, frail, illiterate or those with other co-existing pathology such as mental health problems.)
  • Educate patients, carers, and relevant MDT staff on a range of topics including advanced respiratory physiotherapy techniques, self-management plans for chronic respiratory conditions, exercises, and advice and education with regards to patient condition
  • Use empathetic, tactful, and interpersonal skills to encourage and empower patients and carers to maximise patients’ rehabilitation potential, giving opportunity for unloading / sharing of concerns and issues.

  ·         To communicate complex and sensitive information to patients, carers and other staff including imparting unwelcome news.

  ·         To be able to motivate others such as staff and patients through effective communication skills.

  • To use effective communication skills to reduce actual or potential conflict situations that may occur with patients, relatives, colleagues etc. To be able to manage situation sensitively, in accordance with trust policies and assist other members of the team in such scenarios. To seek advice and support from line manager and HR as appropriate
  • To identify and minimize interpersonal conflict, counsel staff, offer appropriate support (e.g. staff counselling service, Occ Health) and be responsible for the first stages of disciplinary and grievance procedures. To liaise with line managers and HR for advice.
  • To maintain contacts with appropriate local and national clinical interest groups and to share and disseminate knowledge with colleagues working within the Trust.
  • To attend and be an active participant in speciality, peer group and departmental staff meetings. 
  • To ensure timely and effective communication with the Lead Physio and other senior staff on all professional matters.
  • To be able to motivate others through effective communication skills.
  • Respond promptly to telephone enquiries / messages/ e mail received.
  • To represent the Trust (locally, regionally, and nationally, (through conferences, local link meetings and shared training sessions) regarding physiotherapy services provided to respiratory patients.
  • Keep accurate and comprehensive documentation of all patient contact in line with legal, CSP standards and local guidelines including uni and multi-professional documentation.

Service Delivery and Improvement

• To undertake an active role in developing policy changes within respiratory physiotherapy, which will impact on all service users. This includes being involved in working parties, taking responsibility for evaluation, action plan development and completion of delegated tasks.
• To ensure individual and team compliance with the organisational and departmental policies and procedures, be involved in the monitoring, evaluating, and updating as appropriate.

·         To be responsible for implementing within your clinical practice, the relevant standards and policies, including those applicable to the Trust, and also wider policies and guidelines, for example set by the CSP / NICE etc.

• To support staff to use equipment safely. This involves ensuring all team members are aware of the trust and departmental medical devices policies, including competence to use equipment through teaching, training, and supervision.
• To develop and create implementation strategies as appropriate for the respiratory physiotherapy service in conjunction with local and national initiatives.
• To undertake the measurement and evaluation of current practices using research, audit and outcome measures. To make recommendations for or devise strategies either individually or with manager through process mapping and audit practises and to implement change within current resources as appropriate.
• To initiate and drive relevant service development projects with the ability to engage others as required.
• To demonstrate the ability to critically appraise information, and make informed decisions regarding the effect, relevance, and impact on the respiratory physiotherapy service (through patient satisfaction survey, outcome measures and journal critique) 

People Management and Development

• To undertake teaching in formal settings within and beyond the physiotherapy department (e.g. support groups, nurse training days)

• To identify and justify team training needs for internal and external courses.
• To reinforce and facilitate a positive learning culture towards CPD and evidence-based practice within the team, department, and profession. This will require ensuring the in-service training programme undertaken by the team is delivered and attended by all staff, that IST is of a good standard and that reflective practice is encouraged.
• To monitor and evaluate teaching within the team and provide feedback to facilitators of learning.
• To keep up to date with disability and child and adult protection legislation.
• To be responsible for maintaining own competency to practice through continued professional development activities e.g. attending relevant study days or visiting specialised units and recording this in a portfolio.
• Undertake evaluation of your work and current practices using evidence-based practice, audit, and outcome measures either individually or with the lead physiotherapist.
• To participate in the staff appraisal scheme and PDP as both appraiser and appraisee, taking appropriate action to manage performance in an objective and timely manner.
• To ensure regular attendance at statutory and mandatory training as specified by Trust regulations.
• To maintain access to and a detailed working knowledge of the role of other members of the multi-disciplinary team (e.g. dieticians, cardiac physiologists, OT’s, other AHP’s and infection control personnel) to facilitate excellent working relationships affording opportunity for informal problem solving and effective patient management.
• To develop links with respiratory physiotherapy teams in other Trusts to exchange information, ideas, and good practice.

Patient Care Delivery

• To undertake the comprehensive assessment of patients including those with a highly complex presentation and with co-existing multi-pathology, utilising robust clinical reasoning
• To interpret and analyse clinical and non-clinical facts to form accurate diagnoses and develop appropriate treatment plans for those with complex acute/chronic respiratory conditions.
• To formulate individualised specific management and treatment plans employing advanced investigative and analytical skills.
• To achieve and maintain a high standard of care by keeping up to date with clinical developments, analysing current research and discussing and implementing changes in clinical practice.
• To adopt a problem-solving approach, engaging patients and carers in their treatment plan, negotiating on agreed outcomes, gaining consent, and educating users on self-management
• To be responsive and adaptable to the perpetual changes in patients’ clinical states, in a frequently unpredictable clinical environment.
• To assess the ability of the patient to give valid informed consent, while working within the legal framework with patients who occasionally may lack the capacity to consent to treatment.
• To take responsibility for electing when to withdraw or withhold physiotherapy intervention from individuals when appropriate based on robust clinical decision making.