The Hertfordshire Community NHS Trust MSK Clinical Assessment and Treatment Service (MSKCATS) is a community-based team responsible for managing Orthopaedic, Pain, and Rheumatology referrals from GPs across East and North Hertfordshire. The Advanced Practice Physiotherapist (APP) serves as the first point of contact, providing expert triage, assessment, diagnosis, and treatment for patients presenting with complex, multi-pathological musculoskeletal conditions that would typically be managed in consultant outpatient clinics. This role requires advanced clinical reasoning and decision-making skills to manage conflicting opinions and ensure appropriate patient care.
Main duties of the job
The Advanced Practice Physiotherapist (APP) is responsible for triaging patients between primary and secondary care, ensuring timely prioritisation, discharge, and identification of serious pathologies. Acting as a musculoskeletal specialist resource within the service, the APP provides expert clinical guidance and support on MSK conditions to colleagues across the Trust, including GPs and hospital medical staff, to maintain the highest standards of clinical practice and patient outcomes. This includes identifying and referring patients with serious or urgent surgical and medical needs directly into secondary care. Additionally, the APP undertakes highly specialised and comprehensive assessments of patients, including those presenting with complex and multifaceted conditions that would not typically be managed within a standard Physiotherapy service.
Job responsibilities
* To demonstrate highly developed dexterity, coordination, and palpatory skills for the expert assessment and manual treatment of patients with complex musculoskeletal conditions.
* To apply advanced clinical reasoning and evidence-based knowledge to develop appropriate treatment plans in collaboration with patients, implementing specialist interventions within the MSK multidisciplinary team or referring to other services when required.
* To initiate and interpret specialist investigations such as X-rays, ultrasounds, and MRIs to support diagnosis and treatment planning, and prescribe or administer therapeutic injections (e.g., corticosteroids and local anaesthetics) for diagnostic or treatment purposes.
* To provide expert advice and second opinions to medical and healthcare professionals by analysing complex clinical and non-clinical data, formulating accurate prognoses, and developing comprehensive discharge and care plans.
* To lead in the development of integrated, evidence-based care pathways, clinical standards, and protocols in collaboration with the MSK management team, ensuring quality standards, clinical effectiveness, and patient safety are continually monitored and improved.
* To maintain accurate, evaluative, and comprehensive clinical documentation, manage clinical risk within the caseload, and ensure effective planning, organisation, and security of stock and resources.
Qualifications
* HCPC registered.
* Degree in Physiotherapy or equivalent.
* Specialist post-graduate qualifications relevant to the role.
* Minimum of 5 years post-registration experience in a specialist musculoskeletal role.
* Experience of reading x-rays and laboratory tests. (Desirable)
Disclosure and Barring Service Check
This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (Exceptions Order) 1975 and as such it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service (formerly known as CRB) to check for any previous criminal convictions.
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