Go back Guy's and St Thomas' NHS Foundation Trust
Senior Specialist Hand Therapist
The closing date is 06 July 2025
9 month maternity leave cover: Senior Specialist Hand Therapist (band 7) Full time (37.5 hours). An exciting opportunity has arisen for a hand therapist (either Occupational Therapist or Physiotherapist) to join our well-established and dynamic multi-disciplinary team to provide maternity leave cover. We seek an individual who is autonomous, forward thinking and enthusiastic.
We are a large team of thirty therapists supported by three assistants. We are a busy service supporting our plastic and orthopaedic hand surgery colleagues with elective and trauma activity as well as managing patients referred from rheumatology and the community.
This position offers an important opportunity and challenging career move for you to advance your clinical and leadership skills. Your role will include supporting junior staff, delivering education and assisting with quality improvement and research. We pride ourselves in supporting our team through education, training and development opportunities.
Does this sound like the challenge that you are looking for?
Main duties of the job
You will manage a clinical caseload of non-surgically and surgically managed patients with traumatic and elective hand and upper limb injuries. Additionally you have the opportunity to assess and manage patients with non-surgical conditions referred from the community.
As a senior specialist hand therapist you will be involved with triaging referrals, formulating and discussing management plans with therapy and surgical colleagues and assisting with problem solving on an ad hoc basis. As such we are looking for someone with excellent communication skills that can be flexible and responsive and who is a strong team player.
About us
We are a large, busy but very supportive team that work across the Guys and St Thomas' hospital sites. We strive to provide an excellent service that we would be happy to recommend to our friends and family and put patient care at the heart of everything that we do.
Hand Therapy is part of the Therapies Directorate with a supportive and progressive management structure. Departmental objectives are founded upon the core principles of the clinical governance framework and Trust Core Values. Research activity, robust evidence based practice and national guidelines drive forward our vision and direct service delivery.
Job responsibilities
* Performs an advanced musculo-skeletal assessment of plastic surgery/hand patients including those with highly complex presentations and from this formulates a diagnosis and treatment plan, which is carried out as an autonomous practitioner.
* Takes a lead role in the supervision, teaching and appraisal of senior, junior and assistant physiotherapists / occupational therapists, physiotherapy /OT students (including those at Masters level) and other members of the multi disciplinary team.
* As team leader, is responsible for operational management and overall development of designated team especially in regard to all aspects of clinical governance and deputises for service manager as required.
* Supervises, initiates and participates in evidence based projects and is responsible for implementing changes within designated team/area and setting and monitoring standards of practice
Person Specification
Skills
* Skilled in assessment and management of surgically and non-surgically managed Hand Therapy patients
* Skilled in the fabrication of splints for a broad range of conditions
* Skilled in exercise prescription for upper limb conditions
Experience
* Experience of supervising and managing junior hand therapy staff
* Experience of supervising hand therapy students
* Experience of working in pressured environment with strict time management
* Involvement in research process in subject relevant to HT
* Involvement in Hand Therapy service development
* Involvement in departmental audit (ideally HT)
* Attendance of management courses in a clinical setting
* Attendance of clinical educator courses
* Published research within HT/upper limb field
* Led service development or audit within HT/upper limb service
Qualifications
* BSc Physiotherapy/BSc Occupational Therapy (or equivalent)
* Post Registration Hand Therapy/Upper Limb MSK CPD
* HCPC Registration
* BAHT Membership
* MSc level study in relevant area
* Accredited Hand Therapist
* Post registration CPD in splinting or exercise prescription within Hand/Upper Limb
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.
Guy's and St Thomas' NHS Foundation Trust
£54,320 to £60,981 a yearp.a inclusive of HCA
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