Physiotherapy Pathway Lead

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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.

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

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Job Overview

An exciting opportunity has arisen to lead the Neurosciences Pathway within North Bristol NHS Trust on a fixed term/ secondment basis.

We are looking for an enthusiastic, motivated and forward-thinking Physiotherapist with relevant leadership experience to lead our Physiotherapy service within Neurosciences.

The Physiotherapy Pathway Lead provides professional, clinical, performance and operational leadership to physiotherapy staff working within this Pathway. To achieve this, the post holder works in close collaboration with the Head of Physiotherapy and the other Pathway Leads.

The post holds responsibility for providing strategic development of physiotherapy services within this specialty. The post holder will develop partnerships and work closely with all service stakeholders both within and beyond the Trust to ensure a safe, evolving, fit for purpose and cost-efficient service is provided. The post holder will contribute to wider strategic planning to facilitate enhanced quality of patient care within the physiotherapy service.

The post holder leads a rolling programme of education, clinical evaluation, audit and research across the specialty.

The postholder is responsible for developing partnerships with key strategic leads both internally within the Trust and externally.

Main duties of the job

To be responsible for the management and daily running of the pathway.

• To co-ordinate and manage the provision of the therapy service, providing clinical direction and leadership to the team.

To development the Neurosciences physiotherapy service, striving to ensure best practice, maximum efficiency and productivity and cost effectiveness.

To lead and engage the team demonstrating compassion through effective relationships based on empathy, respect and dignity.

To nurture a supportive and empathetic approach to teaching, supervision and appraisals.

To work as an autonomous practitioner, within scope of practice and deliver a quality clinical service; meeting the clinical and strategic needs of the hospital.

To provide highly specialised assessment and intervention for a varied caseload within your specialty, including patients who may have highly complex presentations.

To develop and foster productive relationships with key stakeholders e.g. Consultants, GPs, patient groups and other links.

To develop and promote a positive, dynamic image and culture to both internal and external stakeholders. At all times striving to reflect and encourage the hospital’s values.

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.

Detailed Job Description And Main Responsibilities

Please find the detailed job description attached - this will include the full list of main roles and responsibilities

Person specification

Education/Training/Qualifications

Essential criteria

• Diploma/Degree Physiotherapy
• HCPC Registration
• MSc level learning or equivalent experience
• Appropriate Leadership course/training
  
  

Desirable criteria

• MCSP
• MSc in related Subject
  
  

Experience

Essential criteria

• Wide ranging post graduate physiotherapy experience including having held senior position in relevant speciality
• Experience in leading and completing audit and evidence based projects.
• Experience of supervision and appraisal of physiotherapy staff and students with ability to give constructive feedback and performance management when necessary
• Evidence of actively participating in in-service training and presenting to large MDT groups, undergraduate and postgraduate staff and evaluating effectiveness of training
• Evidence of leading change management and innovation in clinical practice
  
  

Desirable criteria

• Previous experience at band 8 level
• Research experience including publication in recognised journal.
• Presented at national level or external courses relevant to subject area
• Actively involved in developing research links with other academic institutions
  
  

Knowledge and Skills

Essential criteria

• evidenced based physiotherapy for designated specialist pathway
• national guidelines and standards pertaining to specialist pathway and physiotherapy
• understanding of clinical governance and its implication for physiotherapy
• advanced clinical reasoning in the management of highly complex cases
• Able to communicate at advanced level including complex information to patients, Carers, team and other health professionals.
• Excellent time management skills with ability to organise, prioritise and delegate

Demonstrates excellent leadership ability and motivational skills

Ability to collect and present data for service performance information

Please note that if you apply for a position with North Bristol NHS Trust, you may be contacted via TRAC or via email. This includes invites for job interviews. We therefore recommend that you regularly check your TRAC Account and email accounts including junk and spam folders.

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 0117 414 1151.

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.