Senior Physiotherapist Vascular & Emergency Surgery Team Lead

A Vacancy at Oxford University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust.

J summary

• To deliver high quality evidence-based physiotherapy to those presenting with acute and chronic complex vascular and surgical conditions.
• To lead the Vascular, Emergency Surgery and Gastroenterology physiotherapy team fostering a culture and approach that is supportive, person-centred and progressive.
• Effectively lead, supervise and develop physiotherapists, therapy assistants, and students within the team
• To conduct and supervise projects that seek to improve the quality and experience of clinical services offered by the team.
• To deputise for the clinical lead therapist to effectively support strategic, governance, and operational functions of the service and department with the band 7 OT team lead.
• To contribute to and participate in development of the senior management team.
• To work collaboratively with the clinical and managerial leaders within the OUH.
• To undertake clinical duties across 7 days a week, including overnight on call.

1.Clinical Care

Provide high-quality physiotherapy to patients with complex vascular and emergency surgical conditions, including post-ICU or acute illness. Assess, diagnose, treat, and review patients; develop individualised treatment and rehab plans, including discharge. Coordinate care with patients, carers, and the MDT. Deliver education and advice to patients, families, & professionals. Manage clinical risk and ensure safe practice within professional and legal frameworks. Participate in weekend, on-call, & 7-day services.

2 Leadership & Management

Lead the VES physiotherapy team, fostering a positive culture. Supervise and mentor staff and students. Support daily service operations with the OT lead, assist with recruitment, workforce planning, resource allocation, and deputise for the Clinical Lead Therapist when needed.

3.Service Development

Engage in audits, service evaluation, and quality improvement. Develop evidence-based pathways and standards. Use data to monitor and improve physiotherapy delivery and contribute to service planning.

4.Education and Training

Support staff and student development, deliver teaching to MDT, patients, carers, and students, and maintain professional development and evidence-based practice.

5.Professional Responsibilities

Ensure compliance with governance, safety standards, and Trust policies. Manage and report risks, incidents, and complaints, and represent physiotherapy in governance meetings while maintaining professional registration.

Oxford University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trustis one of the largest NHS teaching trusts in the country. It provides a wide range of general and specialist clinical services and is a base for medical education, training and research. The Trust comprises four hospitals - the John Radcliffe Hospital, Churchill Hospital and Nuffield Orthopaedic Centre in Headington and the Horton General Hospital in Banbury.

Our values, standards and behaviours define the quality of clinical care we offer and the professional relationships we make with our patients, colleagues and the wider community.

We call this Delivering Compassionate Excellence, and its focus is on our values of compassion, respect, learning, delivery, improvement and excellence.

These values put patients at the heart of what we do and underpin the quality healthcare we would like for ourselves or a member of our family. Watch how we set out to deliver compassionate excellence via theOUH YouTube channel.

In 2023 NHS England launched its first sexual safety charter, and our Trust proudly signed it. We pledge zero tolerance for inappropriate sexual behaviour and commit to theten core principles

Oxford University Hospitalspromotes a safe, respectful hiring environment.

If you want to make a difference with us, come and join our team. Together, we will uphold the highest standards of care and professionalism.

DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

Clinical

1. To undertake the role adhering to regulatory, professional and organisational standards of practice.

2. To undertake assessment, therapeutic intervention and management of patients, including those with highly complex presentations, deploying sound clinical reasoning and skills within the scope of the role.

3. To work with patients, carers and members of the MDT to form appropriate care and treatment plans utilising specialist skills, evidence-base knowledge and a range of treatment options.

4. To assimilate and analyse information to form therapy diagnoses, clinical problems and treatment plans in complex conditions

5. To formulate accurate prognoses and recommend best course of intervention, developing treatment and discharge plans

6. To evaluate and reassess patients to progress treatment and management plans.

7. To assess a patient's capacity to understand and to gain valid, informed consent for treatment. To work within a legal framework with patients who lack the capacity to consent or refuse treatment.

8. To advise and educate patient, carers, relatives, and other health professionals.

9. To demonstrate the ability to communicate complex and sensitive information to patients, carers and staff, where there may be barriers to communication e.g. non-English speaker or those with communication disorders).

10. To liaise with and advise other physiotherapists, occupational therapists, relevant medical and nursing staff, social workers and other health care professionals in clinical and operational matters.

11. To communicate effectively with all other disciplines involved in the patient's care both in the hospital and in the community thus ensuring a multidisciplinary approach and integrated service.

12. To identify, assess and manage clinical risk within the team’s work and engage with the governance structure of the department to minimise risk of harm.

13. To participate in weekend, and emergency on-call duties as part of the Trust’s seven day working and out of hours services.

14. To demonstrate physical ability to carry out physiotherapy assessment and interventions including manual therapy techniques and therapeutic handling.

Management

1. To effectively supervise, teach and appraise junior staff, assistants, and students to maximise their capabilities.

2. To be responsible for the daily operational leadership of the VES team alongside the B7 occupational therapist ensuring that the service is delivered against its specification and staff are supported in this endeavour.

3. To support the effective management of financial and physical resources to maximise the use of the Therapy department budget.

4. To be responsible for competent use and maintenance reporting of equipment used as part of the role and to ensure that all staff/students and assistants attain competency prior to use.

5. To effectively plan, organise and manage your time, patient caseload, meetings, training in line with operational pressures.

6. To be able to respond to unpredictable demands on your time and frequent interruptions whilst maintaining professionalism.

7. To assist in the planning of juniors, students and assistants’ timetables and deputise for the senior staff in organisational duties.

8. To take an active role in assisting senior colleagues with service development.

9. To contribute to the recruitment of staff, including short-listing of applicants and being a member of the interview panel.

10. To resolve informal complaints and to be well versed with the Trust’s formal complaints procedure. To ensure that the Clinical Lead Therapist is informed of complaints.

11. To support the Clinical Lead Therapist, when indicated, in the management of staff disciplinary matters.

12. To provide statistics and analysis reports utilising databases in an accurate and timely manner.

13. Education

1. To complete all statutory, mandatory and other necessary training requirements within the required timescales.

2. To contribute to the education of the MDT, patients, families and carers to ensure optimal care, treatment, health promotion and disease prevention.

3. To maintain an accurate and contemporary record of personal and professional development.

4. To oversee the design and delivery of an effective and clinically relevant training programme to support staff development.

5. To attend and actively participate in departmental education and development activities.

6. To maintain knowledge of evidence-based practice in emergency surgery and gastroenterology with awareness of developments within vascular care.

7. To provide expert teaching to undergraduate and post graduate students external to the Trust as required and agreed with the Clinical Lead Therapist.

8. To initiate and maintain contacts with local and national clinical interest groups, and to demonstrate the ability to share and disseminate knowledge with colleagues working in other care settings.

Research and governance

1. To lead and supervise clinical audit and quality improvement work aiming to improve the quality of the team’s practice.

2. To maintain clinically applied knowledge formed from contemporary science and evidence-based guidance and ensure this is integrated into the team’s clinical delivery by way of policy and procedure.

3. To lead the team’s governance arrangements ensuring that the team operates on the basis of openness and a just culture.

4. Represent the team at governance meetings held within the clinical group.

5. To develop local service standards based on good working knowledge of National Standards where they exist and on best evidence.

6. To ensure these standards are adhered to and monitored by all members of the team.

General

1. To carry out physiotherapy assessments and treatments on a daily basis, with moderate physical effort.

2. To comply with the Trust’s manual handling policy and local therapeutic handling guidelines.

3. To work in an environment where the work patterns may be disrupted by frequent demands from patients, clinical staff, students and administrative support staff.

4. To support qualified staff when indicated in the management of challenging patients.

5. To sensitively deal with distressing or emotional circumstances regarding patient care e.g. imparting news of challenging outcomes such as a life limiting or palliative prognosis, lifestyle adjustments (TPN/PEG feeds, long term drains/stoma’s) or chronic pain management.

6. To deal with patients suffering from debilitating acute conditions (e.g., necrotising pancreatitis) that may lead to disengagement, anxiety or aggressive behaviour.

7. To comply with all Trust policies, procedures and Health and Safety at Work Act, including universal precautions and infection control measures.

8. To participate in the Trust Appraisal Scheme as an appraiser and an appraisee.

9. To attend and be an active participant in departmental staff and peer group meetings.

This job involves frequent exposure to unpleasant working conditions on a regular / daily basis e.g. bodily fluids (including sputum, blood, vomit, urine, faeces), and occasional exposure to verbal and physical aggression.

Trust Statements

INFECTION CONTROL

Infection control is everyone’s responsibility. All staff, both clinical and non-clinical, are required to adhere to the Trust’s Infection Prevention and Control Policies and make every effort to maintain high standards of Infection Control at all times, thereby reducing the burden of Healthcare Associated Infections including MRSA.

All staff employed by the OUH Trust have the following key responsibilities.

• Staff must wash their hands or use alcohol gel on entry and exit from all clinical areas and/ or between each patient contact.
• Staff members have a duty to attend mandatory infection control training provided for them by the Trust.

Staff members who develop an infection (other than common colds and illness) that may be transmittable to patients have a duty to contact Occupational Health.

RISK MANAGEMENT

The management of risk is the responsibility of everyone and will be achieved within a progressive, honest and open environment.

Staff will be provided with the necessary education, training and support to enable them to meet this responsibility.

Staff should be familiar with the following

• Major Incident Policy
• Fire Policy

and should make themselves familiar with the ‘local response’ plan and their role with that response.

RESPONSIBILITIES FOR HEALTH & SAFETY

The post holder is responsible for ensuring that all duties and responsibilities of this post are carried out in compliance with the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974, Statutory Regulations and Trust Policies and Procedures. This will be supported by the provision of training and specialist advice where required.

FURTHER INFORMATION AND GUIDELINES

This post is subject to obtaining satisfactory clearance in respect of Disclosure of Criminal Convictions. A Disclosure Application Form will be sent to all new appointees with their appointment letter and the completed form must be submitted for verification on the first day of employment.

All physiotherapists must be registered with the Health Professions Council prior to commencing work and produce the registration document on their first day of employment. Staff must then ensure their registration is maintained according to Trust Policy.

This post is one of continual development. The job description is intended as a guide to the duties and responsibilities of the post. Responsibilities will be reviewed periodically in line with service priorities, and may change, or new duties be introduced after consultation with the post holder.

This advert closes on Friday 12 Jun 2026

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