Job overview

University Hospital Southampton NHS Foundation Trust is delighted to offer a fantastic opportunity to work with us. 

Job Title: Specialist Physiotherapist - MSK IP and OP

Contract Type: Permanent 

This is an exciting opportunity to join our team as a Band 6 Specialist Physiotherapist with experience in both musculoskeletal out-patients and trauma orthopaedics to work in our large Therapy Services department, joining our established adult outpatient musculoskeletal therapy service in a part-time role. UHS is one of the largest acute hospitals in the UK and is fast paced and busy so if you are a dynamic and enthusiastic physiotherapist looking for a challenge, we would love to hear from you. 

You will be working with a team of experienced MSK physiotherapists up to and including Consultant physiotherapists and will have many opportunities to develop new skills and knowledge, through our in-service training programme, with access to regular supervision and a personal development plan. 

The department is open from Monday to Friday, and you will be expected to work over a 4-day working pattern. The post holder will also be involved in the provision of our orthopaedic weekend service, as well as participating in the evening /night respiratory on call rota. We are committed to providing any extra training and development required for the individual to achieve both competency and confidence in these areas. 

Working for our organisation

As one of the largest acute teaching Trusts in England, we offer learning and development opportunities to help you achieve the career you aspire to. UHS is rated ‘Good’ by the CQC and in the latest national NHS Staff Survey, we were in the top 10 acute trusts for staff engagement and for staff recommending the hospital as a place to work or receive care. 

 We support flexible working and will consider requests taking into account the needs of the service. UHS employees are able to access a range of NHS discounts, are entitled to a minimum of 35 days paid holiday (pro rata), and we offer a generous pension scheme.

 Southampton is an attractive place to live and work situated on the south coast, with an international airport and direct trains to London. The New Forest National Park and beaches of the Jurassic coast are also right on our doorstep. The city offers living costs 30% lower than London and 17 schools rated outstanding by Ofsted.

 We believe that using technology wisely shows strong time management and commitment to innovation. However, personalising your recruitment application to highlight your unique skills and experiences is crucial. Relying too heavily on generic, AI-generated content instead of drawing from your own strengths and accomplishments may lead to your application being rejected if multiple candidates present identical or similar information.

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

In this role, your key responsibilities will include clinical care of patients within the defined clinical area working under direction of their Clinical Team Lead and Divisional Therapy manager.

The postholder may work within one clinical speciality, or may work across various clinical areas, in a rotational capacity.

We are looking for a 0.73 wte (27.5 hours per week) B6 Physiotherapist with both musculoskeletal knowledge and skills, who is highly motivated and keen to further develop their expertise in this area.

Within the MSK Outpatient dept the clinician will rotate through different MSK specialities with appropriate training and supervision provided in each area. Currently those specialities involve hands, lower limb reconstruction, hydrotherapy, Emergency Dept and orthopaedics. This can involve cross-site travel to the Royal South Hants hospital where clinics are held.

For in-patient working you will be based on the Trauma and Orthopaedic wards, part of UHS working as a Major Trauma centre. This work involves both elective and trauma work, across 7-days according to the roster. 

As well as the person specification, for this B6 MSK Physiotherapist role we need the following:
 
ESSENTIAL:
•    At the START of your statement, you must personally read and respond to the following (within 150-200 words):
                 
Currently the role is split between both ward-based orthopaedics and a speciality within the out-patient department, with half your hours in the week spent between the respective areas. 

What do you feel the advantages and disadvantages of this working arrangement would be? 

•    This should be followed by your usual statement expressing clearly why you want to work as part of the Therapy services team at UHS.

Plus, you should have the following skills/experience:

Essential skills and qualifications:
•    Qualified Physiotherapist, with B5 experience and specific interest in MSK conditions
•    HCPC registered, or in the process of applying
•    Post graduate experience working within the NHS as a qualified physiotherapist in both the musculoskeletal outpatient and in-patient orthopaedic services
•    Recent experience working as part of an acute respiratory on-call rota, including adults, paediatrics and intensive care.
•    Specialist knowledge and clinical reasoning in the management of musculoskeletal and orthopaedic conditions
•    Ability to communicate effectively, both verbally and written
•    Excellent team working skills
•    Excellent time management skills
•    Evidence of self-development through post registration CPD
•    Experience of supervising staff / students

Desirable skills:
•    Clinical Educator’s course 
•    Previous experience of audit/service evaluation/Research

Please note:
•    Before applying, please ensure you will be able to attend an interview in person, as we will include practical assessments as part of our interviews. 
•    If you are invited to interview, please dress in smart, comfortable clothing for the practical asst.
•    The interviews will take place in person on 18th Dec.
•    No virtual interviews will be offered, please do not apply if you will be unable to attend in person.
•    We do not accept CV applications.
•    As part of these interviews, we may put names in reserve for similar B6 Physiotherapy posts, including other part-time, full time and fixed term opportunities.
•    Please be aware me may close the advert early if we get too many applications.
•    Due to the TRAC system, you will only be contacted if you are successfully shortlisted for interview

You will be working as part of the Therapy OP team as well as working alongside the therapy team and wider MDT team on the orthopaedic wards, both teams consisting of Physiotherapists, OTs, and Therapy support staff.

As this post is part of the wider Therapy services department, you will have many opportunities to develop new skills and knowledge through our in-service training. You will be part of a large department of over 300 wte Therapy staff including Occupational Therapists, Physiotherapists and Therapy support staff.

We provide a 7-day therapy service for our Trust and therefore you need to be able to work weekends and bank holiday, in a rota basis. For Physiotherapists this includes our acute respiratory out of hours service (On-call) at night and weekends which includes children and adults, acute wards and intensive care.

If you are interested in applying for this post and fulfil the essential criteria, please contact Kate Butler for further information on 023 8120 8317 or e-mail Matthew.ruane@uhs.nhs.uk. We look forward to hearing from you and would be happy to arrange an informal visit to the department and answer any questions you might have about the post, Trust or living and working in the Southampton area.

For other therapy opportunities please email: Annette.Purkis@uhs.nhs.uk