Specialist Physiotherapist | South West London and St George's Mental Health NHS Trust

An exciting opportunity to join a team of mental health physiotherapists working across the Trusts adult mental health wards. This is a Specialist Physiotherapist Band 6 role and would ideally suit an experienced practitioner with a passion to work in a mental health setting to help address physical health complaints and address health inequalities for this population.

We are looking for a team player with excellent communication skills, proven clinical knowledge across physiotherapy specialities including but not limited to older adults, neurology, orthopaedics, respiratory and musculoskeletal. The ideal candidate would enjoy a challenge, can work flexibly and autonomously at times and has a professional and positive attitude.

Your main duties will be to provide physiotherapy assessment and treatment for working age adults, older people and adolescents in a mental health in-patient setting.

If successful, you will be recruited to work across sites include Springfield University Hospital and Tolworth Hospital. You will also have opportunities to work within the National Obsessive Compulsive Disorders Service alongside a well-established multidisciplinary team, learning disabilities, forensics and deaf services to name just some. Opportunities to gain a British Sign Language qualification is also possible.

You will be supported by the Band 8a Head of Physiotherapy and Band 7 Physiotherapy Team Lead in monthly supervisions, reflective practice sessions, dedicated CPD time and the option to attend Inservice training sessions with our colleagues at St Georges Hospital. You will be involved in supervision of junior members of staff in addition to carrying a clinical caseload. You will also contribute to the development of the future NHS workforce by hosting physiotherapy student placements from a variety of Higher Education Institutions. You will be actively supported in your professional and clinical development.

The Physiotherapy team are a small group of professionals who share the Trust Values of being respectful, open, compassionate, collaborative and consistent. We sit under the umbrella of Physical Therapies and work closely with our dietetic, speech and language, occupational therapy and exercise therapy colleagues.

Experience in mental health is advantageous but not essential.

Unless expressly stated in the job advert this role is not subject to sponsorship, please be advised that all offers of employment are subject to evidence of right to work in the UK.

We are Proud to Belong at South West London and St George’s Mental Health NHS Trust.

We have expert services, a rich history and a clear commitment to providing the best quality care for those with mental ill-health. The Care Quality Commission already rates our services as ‘good’ - we aspire to be ‘outstanding’.

This is a great time to join us. We are transforming the way we care for our communities to support our mission of Making Life Better Together. We have built two brand new mental health facilities at Springfield University Hospital, which are amongst the best in the world. More developments are planned across our sites and services as we invest a further £120m to upgrade and modernise our estate by 2027.

We are inclusive and diverse and strive to be actively anti racist. We want to attract people from all backgrounds and experiences to enrich the work we do together.We are proud to co-produce and involve our local communities in all that we do.

We offer flexible working, career development and a variety of benefits to enable a positive, welcoming environment in which our people and their careers can thrive.

Come and join our inclusive teams and help our patients on their recovery journey.

You will undertake advanced, holistic physiotherapy assessments and formulate comprehensive treatment plans for service users with complex mental health and physical health problems across several specialities and settings. You will need to be confident in your ability to complete musculoskeletal and neurological assessments while clinically reasoning your decisions.

You will have the responsibility for leading and managing the older people exercise class. You will also be involved in data collection and service improvement.

It is essential that the successful candidate have a high level of physiotherapy experience and knowledge gained through rotations at band 5 and 6 level in a variety of physiotherapy specialities. You will work in a setting where the demand can fluctuate and so will need to be highly organised and self-motivated to manage during these times. A high level of resilience will be required to handle some of the social and emotional components the role can entail. You will be supported during these times by the Head of Physiotherapy and the Wider Trust.

This is a wonderful opportunity to further develop your therapeutic, communication and clinical reasoning skills. We encourage informal visits and would be happy to discuss any questions that you may have.

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Please remember, your application is your opportunity to tell us about your skills, experience and motivation for the role. We encourage applicants to complete their application and supporting statement in their own words wherever possible. We recognise that AI tools can be helpful in supporting accessibility, and for improving spelling, grammar and structure.

Applications that rely heavily on AI-generated content can become generic and fail to accurately reflect an applicant's individual experience. Applications that clearly demonstrate your own voice, reflections and experiences are often the most effective and help us better understand your suitability for the role.

Please be aware that information provided in your application and supporting statement may be explored further during the selection process. It is important that all applications accurately represent your own knowledge, skills and experience.

This advert closes on Sunday 30 Aug 2026