Rotational Musculoskeletal (MSK) Physiotherapist

This is a fantastic opportunity for those wanting to build a career in both MSK Outpatients and Orthopaedics In-Patients. This rotational post will rotate between the two departments on a 9-month basis., To be an autonomous physiotherapy practitioner providing a high standard of therapy in Musculoskeletal Outpatients. To manage patients with a wide range of musculoskeletal, neurosurgical and orthopaedic conditions, some of which may be complex, within the MSK outpatient physiotherapy services. This may involve working across different sites within North Bristol NHS Trust. The post holder will have access to advice and support from a more senior physiotherapist. Whilst on an in-patient rotation to carry a complex busy caseload on the ward and to participate with wider MDT on both assessment and ongoing rehabilitation and discharge planning of patients. This will involve attending board rounds and MDT discussions. To provide education and supervision to students and other Health Care Professionals. To provide patients and carers with relevant advice and information to enable them to manage their condition. To participate in the weekend orthopaedic rota; one weekend day every four weeks.,

• To be professionally and legally responsible and accountable for all aspects of own work, including the management of patients in their care
• To undertake a comprehensive examination and assessment of patients including those with diverse presentations/multi pathologies; use specialised clinical reasoning skills and manual examination techniques to provide an accurate diagnosis of their condition
• Based on the examination, assessment, diagnosis, and current best practice to clinically reason and formulate a physiotherapy treatment plan.
• To deliver an individual physiotherapy treatment programme, this could include manual physiotherapy techniques, patient education, exercise classes, electrotherapy, hydrotherapy, and other alternatives
• To constantly re-examine the patient's response to treatment and modify programme accordingly
• To formulate accurate prognoses, expected outcome, recommend best course of intervention, and develop comprehensive discharge plans
• To continually evaluate own clinical practice based on valid research evidence and audit including national and local clinical guidelines
• To motivate and encourage patients to actively participate in physiotherapy programme
• To identify and participate in suitable audit and research topics involving the University and multi-professional team to ensure effectiveness
• To organise and prioritise own workload and delegate responsibility as appropriate
• To take responsibility for managing patients with particular conditions, some of which are complex and be responsible for providing specialised physiotherapy input for patients with these conditions
• To communicate clinical findings to the patient, assess their understanding of treatment proposals, gain valid informed consent, and have the capacity to work within a legal framework with patients who lack capacity to consent to treatment
• To use a range of verbal and non-verbal tools to communicate effectively with patients and carers to progress rehabilitation and treatment programmes. This will include patients who may have difficulties in understanding or communicating e.g., patients who may be dysphasic, deaf, blind, or unable to accept diagnosis
• To provide patients and carers with relevant advice and information to enable them to manage their condition. To use effective problem-solving skills and patient centred goal setting to achieve the best outcome for the patient.
• To communicate effectively verbally and non-verbally with all members of multi-disciplinary team (MDT) e.g., Doctors, nurses, social workers, other AHPs, physiotherapy colleagues and outside agencies. This often involves membership of multiple MDTs
• To run exercise, advice, and education groups in the MSK outpatient department as required
• To be an active member of the physiotherapy 7 day working rota
Specific Duties and Responsibilities
• To manage clinical risk within own patient case load
• To work within Trust and CSP guidelines
• To monitor practice of juniors and support staff under-taking delegated tasks and advise/guide as appropriate
• To be responsible for maintaining accurate and comprehensive patient treatment records in line with Chartered Society of Physiotherapy (CSP) standards of practice
• To be responsible for the safe and competent use of all electrotherapy equipment, gym equipment and patient appliances and aids used by patients including manual handling equipment
• To be responsible for the supervision, education, and evaluation of performance of physiotherapy students to graduate standard of practice; and to ensure that teaching meets the standards set by the level of qualification
Professional
• To have professional and legal accountability in accordance with the CSP Core Standards of Physiotherapy Practice and the HCPC standards of proficiency, conduct, performance and ethics.
• To be responsible for maintaining own competency to practice through CPD activities and maintain a portfolio which reflects professional and personal development
• To continually evaluate own clinical practice based on valid research evidence, evidence-based practice and audit; including national and local clinical guidelines
• To participate in the staff appraisal scheme as an appraisee and be responsible for complying with the agreed objectives and personal development programme to meet set knowledge and competencies, plus service needs
• To participate in staff appraisal scheme as an appraiser of junior staff and assistants. To be responsible for agreeing objectives and personal development programme with appraisee to meet set knowledge, competencies and service needs
• To be an active member of the CPD training programme by participation in, in-service training programmes, tutorials, individual training sessions, external courses and peer review as appropriate
• To undertake as directed the collection of data for use in service audit and research projects
• To undertake the measurement and evaluation of practice within team through use of evidence-based practice projects, audit and outcome measures
• To ensure that your own practice and that of staff under your supervision meet the required professional standards of physiotherapy practice
• Deputise for the Band 7 in their absence, taking responsibility for operational management of the team, allocating and organising the work of junior and assistant staff to ensure service priorities are met
• To be responsible for organizing and planning own caseload to meet service and patient priorities, re-adjusting plans as situations change/arise on a day-to-day basis
Organisational
• To keep up-to-date and comply with Trust procedures and policies including Health & Safety, Fire Regulations, Equal Opportunities etc
• To maintain a high standard of confidentiality at all times
• To promote high quality communication and liaison across the whole Health and Social Care Community.
• To undertake any additional duties appropriate to the post as may be delegated
• To act as an ambassador for the service at all times.
• To participate in the Clinical Governance programme in its delivery.
• To deal with informal complaints in line with the Trust guidelines
Please note if we have large number of applications this post will likely close early

We are looking for a physiotherapist who is passionate about delivering a high quality, evidence-based physiotherapy service to patients following orthopaedic surgery, neurosurgery or with musculoskeletal conditions/injuries. You should have evidence of time spent working at band 5/6 level or equivalent and experience of working in a musculoskeletal outpatient setting & orthopaedic in-patient setting. The post holder will need to be a versatile, adaptable team player who has good organisational skills and be competent using multiple computer systems.

North Bristol NHS Trust (NBT) and University Hospitals Bristol and Weston NHS Foundation Trust (UHBW) are working towards merging as one organisation from July 2026., Working for our organisation North Bristol NHS Trust employs over 12,000 staff providing healthcare to the residents of Bristol, South Gloucestershire and North Somerset from our award-winning hospital building at Southmead. We are the regional Major Trauma Centre, and an internationally recognised centre of excellence in a range of services and major specialities. Our vision is that by enabling our teams to be the best that they can be, we will provide exceptional healthcare, personally delivered. North Bristol NHS Trust values all people as individuals. We aim to be an anti-discriminatory organisation and are committed to building a team that represents a variety of backgrounds, perspectives, and skills. We welcome applicants from all underrepresented groups., If you apply for this vacancy and have not received a communication from North Bristol NHS Trust within three weeks of the closing date, please assume that on this occasion your application has been unsuccessful. Please note that North Bristol NHS Trust does not reimburse travel expenses relating to interview attendance. If you feel you meet the requirements of the Disability Act / Two Ticks scheme and require further support/advice, please contact us on tel . North Bristol NHS Trust are committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people and expects all staff and volunteers to share this commitment. The successful applicant(s) will normally commence at the minimum of the scale unless they have previous NHS service at the same band. Progression through the scale is by annual increments. At North Bristol Trust (NBT), we know diverse and inclusive environments lead to happier and healthier teams and improved patient care and outcomes. We are committed to equality of opportunity, to being fair and inclusive, and to being a place where we all belong. We therefore particularly encourage applications from candidates who are currently underrepresented in NBT's workforce at Band 8a and above. These include people from Black, Asian and minority ethnic backgrounds, disabled people and LGBTQIA+ people. Please note that stringent pre-employment checks are undertaken on all successful applicants prior to commencement in post.

This will create an exciting future that brings together the best of both organisations. As a single, strong and sustainable organisation, we will not only be able to deliver better outcomes for our patients and fairer care for our population, but it will also provide greater opportunities for our people. Should you join NBT as an employee prior to our organisations merging, your employment will be automatically transferred across to UHBW. Should your employment begin after our two Trusts merge, you will be employed directly by UHBW and therefore UHBW terms and conditions of service will apply Our job adverts may close as soon as sufficient applications have been received. Considering this, if you are interested in this role, please do apply as soon as you can. Generative artificial intelligence (AI) describes algorithms that can be used to produce new content, including audio, code, images, text, simulations, and videos. It is developing all the time and is now being used as a support mechanism for all kinds of content-based creations. Please note the use of AI is monitored and if applicants have used it then they are required to declare this., We have a well-established induction and in-service training programme. You will supervise other members of the team and students. The post holder will participate in the weekend rota working on the trauma and orthopaedic wards, working one weekend shift, no more than 1 weekend in 4; alternating between Saturdays and Sundays. (Cont'd under Detailed job description and main responsibilities)