Job summary: 37.5 hours per week. With Devon's coastline and Dartmoor nearby, Plymouth offers the perfect blend of career challenge and lifestyle. At Livewell Southwest, you'll join a progressive organisation that values innovation, collaboration, and staff wellbeing as much as patient care.
Role
We are seeking an experienced Prosthetist, who in the role of clinical lead will shape the future of prosthetic care in the Southwest. This role combines leadership, mentorship, and clinical expertise in a vibrant coastal city.
Responsibilities
* Manage a caseload with scope to expand into specialist areas
* Mentor prosthetists, graduates, and students
* Collaborate with technical teams and colleagues to deliver patient solutions
* Drive governance, evidence-based practice, and service development
* Represent the service locally and nationally
* Contribute to strategic growth
Leadership and Clinical Responsibilities
* Provide line management to a variety of Prosthetists, 2 Specialist Physiotherapists and support them in their line management of Prosthetist, Specialist Nurse and Assistants, including absence approval, career development, training programmes, appraisals, performance monitoring, grievance or discipline, reorganising staff or clinics to provide adequate cover, and generally resolving queries (e.g. leave entitlement, vacancies).
* Maintain personnel files and paperwork; Escalate any particular difficulties to the Service Manager.
* Take part in the process of clinical supervision and provide support and reflective practice for team members.
* Lead on recruitment and selection of new staff and be the lead on interview panel.
* In the absence of the service manager, be responsible for day‑to‑day management of the team and patient care.
* Ensure awareness of budgetary constraints when planning and carrying out care and promote this within the team.
* Develop, maintain and manage the implementation of robust prescription guidelines to maximise budget for all patients based on individual needs.
* Oversee and authorise prosthetic equipment and components, ensuring maintenance and repair is upheld.
* Act as arbiter for approval of components requested outside prescription guidelines.
* Ensure safe and efficient use of stock and equipment; report any defects; advise stores person if low stock noted.
* Exercise duty of care in relation to use of organisational equipment and resources cost‑effectively.
* Maintain effective working relationships with multidisciplinary team and deliver a cost‑effective quality service to patient/carers.
* Contribute to resource governance through knowledge and appropriate prescribing decisions.
* Maintain accurate and comprehensive documentation in line with legal and service requirements; communicate assessment and clinic outcomes via reports and letters.
* Maintain patient clinical records in accordance with HCPC policy and local guidelines.
* Report any accidents, complaints, defects, near misses, untoward incidents following Trust procedure.
* Support the Service Manager in recording accurate clinical activity data for NHSE data capture.
* Ensure line management and appraisal documentation is completed for the team members for which they hold manager responsibility.
* Act as the NICE lead for the prosthetic service ensuring new guidance is shared and policies implemented.
* Ensure incident reporting is carried out by team members; provide answers to incident forms promptly.
* Carry out risk assessments and record on the organisation's risk register; maintain and update risks regularly.
* Have joint clinical responsibility for the prosthetic profession within the organisation.
* Provide lead prosthetic clinical input to the MDT; give clinical and professional advice regarding appropriate prosthetic provision.
* Be the ultimate arbiter within the prosthetist team for second opinions, etc.
* Facilitate the implementation of relevant care pathways within the prosthetic profession.
* Identify, develop and implement relevant clinical competency frameworks and essential training for the prosthetic service.
* Accept referrals from medical and healthcare professionals; undertake clinical assessment and examination of patients to provide suitable highly specialist prosthetic prescriptions.
* Draft, consult upon and complete clinical procedures, protocols, guidelines and policies that support evidence-based practice; revise and maintain such documents.
* Specify design, componentry, materials, fabrication method and suppliers of prostheses; order individual items to meet patient needs.
* Perform mechanical and technical adjustments to prostheses.
* Evaluate completed device on patient to ensure quality of body‑device interface, functional alignment, comfort, cosmetic appearance and mechanical integrity and safety.
* Provide verbal, visual and written information, explanation and highly specialized clinical advice to patient and/or carers for informed consent.
* Report patient adverse incidents related to prostheses to maintain safety and engage in national reporting and monitoring procedures.
* Use negotiation and counselling skills to ensure effective communication of complex information and overcome barriers; address patients at risk, terminally ill, vulnerable, learning disabled, mental illness, linguistic differences.
* Be accountable for direct delivery of service, providing holistic evidence-based practice to patients and carers, ensuring maximum independence and quality of life.
* Utilise specialised clinical skills appropriate to individual patients; exercise judgement, discretion and decision making in clinical care.
* Triage and accept routine and urgent referrals directly from other disciplines, patients, carers, or public; refer to other agencies where appropriate.
* Undertake comprehensive risk assessments for patient safety.
* Work with risk management, service manager and workshop manager to analyze incidents and implement learning.
* Identify, assess and manage risk across the profession; update risk register; review risks regularly.
* Develop, review and audit guidelines, protocols, policies for specific aspects within organisation; ensure compliance with NICE, best practice guidance.
* Lead the development and implementation of a clinical governance framework across the profession.
* Proactively support and advise operational managers with service improvements, innovations and approaches to clinical excellence.
* Collaborate with locality managers, professional leads to review and evaluate skills mix; implement innovative models of service delivery.
* Participate in development of job descriptions, person specifications, interview questions; participate on interview panels.
* Facilitate development of service objectives within area, considering relevant guidelines and needs of organisation.
* Support investigation of complaints with Operational Manager, Service Manager, Customer Services Department.
* Monitor emergence of new evidence; implement and evaluate research-based recommendations to improve patient care.
* Lead practice innovation and implementation of change within own area.
Person Specification – Qualifications
* BSc Hons Prosthetics/Orthotics or equivalent
* HCPC Registration
* Postgraduate education/CPD relating to specialist prosthetic provision – some to MSc level
* An up‑to‑date CPD Portfolio
Person Specification – Desirable
* MSc in relevant subject
* Member of BAPO
Person Specification – Experience
* Significant & relevant postgraduate in clinical prosthetics practice.
* Demonstrable exposure to a wide range of highly specialist clinical prosthetic practice.
* Training of clinical and technical staff.
* Managing a clinical & manufacturing caseload that includes complex cases and a range of age groups.
* Use of relevant outcome measures.
* Experience of effective multidisciplinary working.
* Demonstrate involvement in quality issues or service improvement.
* Service redesign or involvement in change.
* Experience of audit/research.
Person Specification – Desirable – Experience
* Significant & relevant post‑qualification clinical practice.
* Student mentoring and line management experience.
Person Specification – Skills
* Ability to work without supervision, use own initiative but within professional guidelines.
* Highly Specialist Clinical assessment skills to enable clinical diagnosis and onward referral.
* Excellent communication skills; written, verbal and IT based.
* IT Skills.
* Excellent time management & organisational skills.
* Ability to work under pressure and respond to change.
* Ability to maintain accurate and legal clinical records.
* Ability to communicate complex information to patients and carers including children and those with learning disabilities, mental illness or psychological distress/disturbance.
* Ability to communicate verbally and in writing patient information and professional knowledge effectively to all levels of healthcare professional and support staff.
* Basic engineering workshop hand and machine skills.
* Ability to be empathetic.
* Ability to travel across the Livewell footprint. Reasonable adjustments will be considered as per the Equality Act.
Person Specification – Knowledge
* Highly Specialist knowledge of prosthetic theory, prescription, manufacture and delivery.
* Expertise in problem solving for complex prosthetic cases.
* Detailed knowledge of medical device products and technologies relevant to clinical practice.
* Fully competent in all areas of Prosthetic clinical practice.
* Knowledge of current practice of medical and other relevant Healthcare practitioners.
* Knowledge of Quality Assurance Systems.
* An awareness of national or local issues affecting prosthetics services/provision.
Person Specification – Desirable – Knowledge
* Working knowledge of ISO9000 quality management system.
Additional Information
Disclosure and Barring Service Check: This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (Exceptions Order) 1975 and a submission to the Disclosure and Barring Service (formerly CRB) is required to check for any previous criminal convictions.
Certificate of Sponsorship: Applications requiring Skilled Worker sponsorship are welcome and will be considered alongside other applications. For further information visit UK Visas and Immigration website.
UK Registration: Applicants must have current UK professional registration. For further information please see NHS Careers website.
Further Information
Learn more about relocating to work for Livewell Southwest: https://livewellsouthwest.pagetiger.com/bzxtcjs/1
Pay, Contract and Location
Pay scheme: Agenda for change
Band: Band 7
Salary: £47,810 to £54,710 a year pro‑rated.
Contract: Permanent
Working pattern: Full-time, Part-time, Job share, Flexible working
Reference number: B9832-2025-PTB-852
Date posted: 24 November 2025
Job locations: The Thornberry Centre, 1 Brest Way, Derriford, Plymouth, PL6 5XW
Employer Details
Livewell Southwest – The Thornberry Centre, 1 Brest Way, Derriford, Plymouth, PL6 5XW
Website: https://www.livewellsouthwest.co.uk/
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