Community Services Division

Community Adult and Children Health Services

Integrated Falls & Bone Health Service
Job Description
Job Title: Physiotherapist, specialism in Falls & Bone Health
Band: 7
Hours of Work: 15 hours
Directorate: Community Adult and Children Health Services
Base: St Johns Therapy Centre
Accountable To: Managerial: Clinical Team Leader
Professional: Physio Professional Lead
Reports To: Head of Integrated Falls & Bone Health

Key working relationships: IF&BHS team leader/line manager / MDT colleagues/Supervisees

Role of the Department: Community Adult and Children Health Services consists of four multi-
disciplinary teams of staff who provide assessment, treatment, advice and management to clients
requiring rehabilitation.

Role of the Team: The Integrated Falls & Bone Health Service, is a proactive, selfreferral
community service in Wandsworth, which aims to reduce the incidence of falls and fractures in the
older adult population.

Job Summary:
To manage a caseload of clients, including those with a complex presentation, make a
diagnosis and develop and deliver individualised treatment within clinics and sole working
at patients homes.
To provide leadership and a point of expertise for the bone health arm of service, including
working with people with Osteoporosis and vertebral fractures
To share responsibility with Band 7 colleagues for the day to day provision of the
integrated falls service and for the supervision of band 5 & 6 physiotherapists, rehab
technical instructors/exercise instructors, rehab assistants and PT students as required.
To be a driver of Trust wide and specific Falls and Bone Health service developments,
particularly regarding bone health management pathways
To work as an autonomous practitioner within the standards of professional practice laid
down by the Chartered Society of Physiotherapy and the Health Professions Council.
To work as a member of the multidisciplinary team, contributing to service organisation,
evaluation, development and learning.
To oversee the implementation of training and development of community health
professionals regarding falls and bone health
Trust Vision & Values:
The postholder is expected to have a clear understanding of how this post contributes to the
achievement of the trust vision of:

By 2015 we will be a thriving Foundation Trust at the heart of an integrated healthcare system.
One that delivers improved patient care at a community, hospital and specialist setting, supported
by a unique and nationally recognised programme of research, education and employee
engagement.

We expect all our staff to share the values that are important to the Trust, being Excellent, Kind,
Responsible & Respectful, and behave in a way that reflect these.

Main Duties/Key Results Areas:

Clinical

To undertake comprehensive assessments of patients with a diverse range of complex

presentations and multiple pathologies and to use investigative and analytical clinical
reasoning skills and manual assessment techniques requiring highly developed dexterity
and palpatory skills to make an accurate diagnosis, prognosis, intervention and discharge
plan.
To formulate and deliver specialised individual physiotherapy treatment programmes based
on evidence based practice and treatment options, using manual physiotherapy techniques,
acupuncture, electrotherapy equipment, patient education, exercise classes and other
alternatives tailored to the patients social circumstances. This may form part of a
multidisciplinary plan.
To educate and to monitor others, including patients / carers / other lower band staff, in the
delivery of treatment programmes and safe manual handling techniques.
To formulate management programmes for clients who are at risk of falling and require
complex case management across services with long term conditions, and to review these
regularly.
To formulate management plans for clients who have increased risk of fracture due to
compromised bone health ensuring that they minimise their risk of fracture in the future. This
will require knowledge of musculoskeletal physiotherapy, bone physiology, osteoporosis and
appropriate exercises for the maintenance of bone health
To tailor your intervention according to the patients social circumstances.
To undertake the measurement and evaluation of your intervention through the use of goal-
orientated treatment plans and outcome measures in order to progress treatment
programmes
To educate and inform patients and their carers about their condition, treatment and likely
prognosis.
To order, assess, assemble and adjust specialist equipment e.g. walking aids, standing
frames, orthoses and footwear, and provide training to patients / carers to ensure safe use.
To carry out Manual Handling Risk assessment for all clients on caseload.
To attend / contribute to multi disciplinary case conferences, goal planning meetings and
other clinical meetings as appropriate.
To provide falls and bone health advice to other health professionals within CSW
To use specialist knowledge to refer to other disciplines such as orthotics, Older Persons
Practitioner, dieticians, consultants as required.
To support the service lead with developments and relevant projects.

Professional
To be professionally and legally accountable for all aspects of your own work, including the
management of patients within your care.
To maintain up-to-date records of your intervention according to professional and
organisational standards, including goal setting, reporting writing and statistics
 To develop your clinical skills through participating in clinical supervision and the PDP
process with your line manager
To work collaboratively with other physiotherapists to identify group learning needs and plan
appropriate sessions.

Education and research

To be responsible for supervising undergraduate clinical education placements as
appropriate
To undertake and facilitate training, of more junior staff, assistants and technical
instructors/exercise instructors.
To keep up-to-date with relevant developments in Physiotherapy and attend appropriate
courses and study days, reporting back as appropriate.
To participate in clinical audit and service development projects in the team. To make
recommendations for service improvements based on the results of the projects.
To attend and regularly lead in service training
To maintain your own Personal and Professional Development and participate in the
organisations Personal Development Plan.
To contribute to research as/when opportunities arise and identify potential research areas.

Organisational
To effectively and efficiently organise and prioritise own caseload.
To contribute to the development of uni and multidisciplinary models of care within the
service areas.
To contribute towards initiatives for service development

Communication
To communicate both verbally and non-verbally with your patients and their carers to
maximise their rehabilitation potential. Some patients have specific communication
disorders such as dysphasia or deafness, others do not speak English, some have cognitive
difficulties and others have learning difficulties or mental health problems that will impact on
their ability to understand. To use skills of persuasion, motivation and explanation to
communicate clearly and effectively.
To convey complex information to patients regarding anatomy, neurology, physiology,
treatment techniques and prognosis in a sensitive manner and using language they
understand
To communicate effectively on a 1:1 basis with patients, and in small groups e.g. leading
classes and using audio visual aids.

Managerial
To be responsible for supervising and managing junior colleagues, by carrying out PDPs,
watched assessments, monitoring their performance, and providing appropriate teaching
sessions.
To delegate tasks as appropriate to more junior or administrative staff.
To deputise for the clinical leads in their absence.
To assist the team leader in achieving team objectives by attending and actively
participating in service meetings and team briefings as required.
To work with the team to achieve the team objectives as well as contributing to service
development and the day to day running of the team.
To take on specific management tasks e.g. setting up a journal club, a new exercise group,
and setting up competencies for health care support workers.

Communications and working relationships

 To work collaboratively with other members of the Physiotherapy team, the wider therapy
team, external agencies and other health care professionals to provide optimum care for the
patients, and to promote good working relationships.
To communicate with own patients and their carers on a daily basis.
To facilitate clinical reasoning sessions

Job dimensions/accountabilities
To be accountable for your own professional practice.
To be responsible for delegating appropriate tasks to more junior staff.
To have responsibility for supervising more junior member of staff.

Other
To have responsibility for the Health, Safety and Welfare of self and others and to comply at
all times with the requirement of the Health and Safety Regulations.
To ensure confidentiality at all times, only releasing confidential information obtained during
the course of employment to those acting in an official capacity in accordance with the
provisions of the Data Protection Act and its amendments.
To work in accordance with the Trusts Equal Opportunities policy to eliminate unlawful
discrimination in relation to employment and service delivery.
To ensure skills are up-to-date and relevant to the role, to follow relevant Trust policies and
professional codes and to maintain registration where this is a requirement of the role.
To comply with St. Georges Healthcare No Smoking Policies.
To undertake such duties as may be required from time to time as are consistent with the
responsibilities of the grade and the needs of the service.

This job description is not an exhaustive document but is a reflection of the current
position. Details and emphasis may change in line with service needs after consultation
with the postholder.

St Georges Healthcare NHS Trust is an Equal Opportunities employer and operates a No

Smoking Policy.
Person Specification - Band 7 physiotherapist Essential / Means of
Integrated Falls Service Desirable testing (see key
below)

Education, formal training, and qualifications

Graduate Diploma / Degree in Physiotherapy E AO
Registered with Health Professions Council E AO
CSP membership D AO
Evidence of relevant in depth post graduate study or E AIO
qualification to a level of a masters where this is
available
Clinical Educators training E AI

Previous experience
Minimum of 4 years post graduate experience E AIR
including 2 years in a relevant clinical area such as
orthopaedics, elderly rehabilitation, musculoskeletal,
respiratory, neurology
Experience at Band 6 level within Musculoskeletal E AI
service or other relevant area
Knowledge or previous experience in older peoples E AI
rehabilitation/ Falls prevention
Previous experience in/ enthusiasm to develop E AI
expertise working with bone health patients and
those with vertebral fractures
Experience of working within the NHS E AI
Experience of developing others through CPD / PDP E AI
/ Clinical supervision
Experience of line management of staff E AI
Experience of performance management of staff D AI
Experience of working with and management of E AI
support workers
Experience of clinical supervision of students E AI
Experience of leading a team project or service E AI
development
Knowledge
Required to work at masters level or equivalent in E I
terms of knowledge, training and experience
In depth knowledge of the management of Falls and E I
Bone Health including an understanding of
community issues and available services
Understanding of clinical governance, audit and E I
evidence based practice
Awareness of current developments in health and E I
social care
 Effective communication skills in multidisciplinary E IR
setting
Skills and Abilities
Ability to work effectively as part of a team E IR
Effective communication skills in multidisciplinary E IR
setting
Ability to lead and motivate others E I
Ability to balance management and clinical work E I
Ability to prioritise and organise own workload E I
effectively and facilitate others to do the same
Ability to facilitate learning in others E I
Ability to delegate tasks to others E I
Drive and enthusiasm for clinical excellence using E I
evidence based practice and clinical networks
IT skills including working knowledge of word, excel E I
and outlook
Experience of audit E I
Personal Qualities
Membership of relevant Clinical / Specialist Interest D AI
Group
Flexible approach E I
Ability to work with change E I
Ability to work under pressure E I
Able to work harmoniously with a diverse workforce and E I
to deliver a quality service to people from different
backgrounds, by including and embracing their varied
needs.
Any Other Factors
Own transport (Car / Bike / Moped) E AI
Hold a valid driving license and adequate insurance E O
cover if using car as transport
Satisfactory clearance at enhanced level from Criminal E O
Records Bureau
Able to work harmoniously with a diverse workforce and E I
to deliver a quality service to people from different
backgrounds, by including and embracing their varied
needs.

Key

E Essential
D Desirable
A Application form
I Interview
O Original documentation