Overview
A Vacancy at Calderdale and Huddersfield NHS Foundation Trust.
Are you an experienced physiotherapist with a passion for Rheumatology and musculoskeletal care? We are looking for a dynamic, proactive and skilled clinician to join our MSK therapy service as clinical lead in rheumatology.
Key Attributes
* Well organised and confident in communication and problem solving.
* Proven experience in Rheumatology Conditions and Physiotherapy.
* Enthusiastic about improving service and supporting the growth of others.
Eligibility
* Undergraduate and/or postgraduate experience in the NHS as a Physiotherapist.
* Specialist interest in Rheumatology and connective tissue disorders, advancing clinical practice in this area and taking a lead in embedding the evidence base into practice.
Responsibilities
* Perform highly specialist assessment and treatment of all MSK patients, particularly those with Rheumatology and connective tissue disorders.
* Determine clinical diagnosis, develop, deliver, implement, evaluate and modify individualised treatment programmes and/or provide highly specialist advice, ensuring appropriate pathways of care and communication with other agencies as required.
* Manage own highly specialist caseload.
* Establish relationships with other stakeholders and services involved in the care of rheumatology and connective tissue disorder patients.
* Support and advise other services, eg Pain Clinic, on the delivery of the service.
* Educate and train Physiotherapists and qualified and non‑qualified healthcare/social services/education staff including medical staff.
* Work autonomously within Trust policies and standards of professional practice, maintaining accurate and comprehensive up‑to‑date records.
* Assist the Team Leader in the daily operational management of the Out‑Patient Physiotherapy Team.
* Lead, coordinate and develop effective clinical interventions for all msk patients, particularly within Rheumatology and connective tissue disorders.
* Have highly specialist assessment and treatment skills in areas such as physical rehabilitation through manual therapy, exercise and function, pain relief (acupuncture, injection therapy, electrotherapy, etc.), complex bio‑psychosocial assessment, assessment for assistive equipment, splinting and adaptations, MDT approach, cognitive and perceptual understanding of condition/person, and falls assessment.
* Apply evidence‑based knowledge within the highly specialist clinical area, acquired through in‑depth experience and academic study to a highly specialist postgraduate level.
* Act as a resource to provide advice for relevant members of staff about assessment, treatment, management and care of patients with Rheumatology, connective tissue disorders and/or complex psychosocial needs.
* Collaborate with other providers involved in patient care, including medical and surgical consultants, health and social care community and acute colleagues.
* Take a lead and work with staff to ensure effective care pathways and transfer of care.
* Proactively facilitate a seamless transfer of care and continuing therapeutic management of physiotherapy outpatient patients between care settings.
* Work collaboratively in an interdisciplinary manner, debating the blurring of boundaries if appropriate.
* Develop highly specialist programmes of assessment, treatment and intervention for physiotherapy patients in particular those with Rheumatology pathologies, connective tissue disorders and any non‑rheumatology patients.
* Manage and prioritise own clinical workload, delegating according to training and competency levels of other team members.
* Participate in the supervision process with staff daily and for students as required.
* Ensure a high standard of patient care, implementing and reviewing clinical standards relevant to the work undertaken.
* Provide highly specialist assessment and advice for the Calderdale and Huddersfield Health Economy.
* Use networks locally, regionally and nationally to share information and good practice.
Professional Duties
* Comply with and, along with the team leader, write, develop and implement protocols, procedures and guidelines both clinical and service specific, giving feedback on policies when required.
* Participate in governance initiatives on a regular basis, measuring and evaluating individual and the Out‑Patient Physiotherapy team’s clinical practice, e.g., CPD, clinical effectiveness, clinical audit and service activity data and research and development.
* Ensure specialised treatments are based on the best available clinical evidence, keeping up to date with literature, implementing research tools and liaising with other practitioners.
* Be responsible for safe use of equipment and adhere to service policies.
* Generate, collect, analyse and disseminate data with the Team Leader/Advanced Practitioner.
* Lead, develop and actively undertake clinical audit, some of it complex.
* Support team members to meet objectives and development needs.
* Assist the Team Leader/Advanced Practitioner to manage performance of physiotherapy and assistant staff.
* Identify, develop and evaluate a training programme for out‑patient physiotherapy addressing the needs of the service and the wider multidisciplinary team.
* Organise, participate and lead in‑service training programmes.
* Undertake appropriate development opportunities and incorporate acquired knowledge into practice.
* Participate in the Trust’s supervision process and peer review, maintaining a CPD portfolio.
* Participate in the Trust appraisal process and comply with a personal development plan.
* Give highly specialist advice, teaching and training to patients, carers, volunteers and other health professionals.
* Supervise and educate student physiotherapists to graduate level in the role of clinical educator.
* Supervise and educate students from other professional groups as required.
* Make links with HEI and influence undergraduate and postgraduate training within Out‑Patient Physiotherapy.
Managerial Duties
* Support and advise on delivery of the Out‑Patient Physiotherapy service across the Calderdale and Huddersfield Health Economy.
* Provide advice to the Team Leader/Advanced Practitioner in planning and development of the service and identify potential areas for service and quality improvement.
* Ensure adequate staff cover within the team by managing annual leave, study leave and reporting sickness absence.
* Assist the Out‑Patient Therapies Service Manager/Team Leader in achieving the service objectives.
* Actively participate in the professional development programme of the Physiotherapy service.
* Assist in monitoring professional, clinical and departmental standards and implementing change as appropriate.
* Comply with national, professional, Trust and service policies and participate in reviewing and updating processes.
* Participate in staff recruitment and retention issues.
* Maintain confidentiality of patient identifiable information in line with Trust policies.
* Initiate discussions with the Team Leader about circumstances that could prevent post holder or other staff from fulfilling job requirements.
* Work in accordance with Trust policies and procedures.
* Attend induction and regular update training on risk management policies and procedures.
* Identify risks in department or community during service delivery.
* Provide incident reports and support documentation for unexpected events or incidents, working with the Team Leader on complaints and incidents.
Financial Duties
* Support the Head of Therapies/Outpatient Therapies Service Manager/Team Leader in identifying ways to best utilise staffing and financial resources within the wider team.
Other Information
Interviews will be held in person on Tuesday 27th January 2026.
This advert closes on Sunday 18 Jan 2026.
CHFT is an integrated Trust of 6,500+ colleagues providing hospital and community services to patients and communities across Calderdale and Kirklees. We are rated as ‘Good’ by the Care Quality Commission, are a top performing Trust for Elective Recovery, Emergency and Cancer Care and widely acknowledged as a national digital lead when it comes to caring for people across our local and regional systems.
Our people are at the core of everything we do, hence our commitment to One Culture of Care. Our focus is to care for and support each other in order to provide outstanding compassionate care to our patients. That is why we are looking for an inclusive collaborative, creative, innovative and compassionate leader to join us in this role.
#J-18808-Ljbffr