Junior Orthotist

To provide an efficient and effective clinical orthotic service within the Department’s, Division’s, and Trust’s objectives and local health delivery plans. To provide this service to the Trust’s purchasers. To accept consultant and healthcare professional referrals to the service for patients' orthotic management. To undertake clinical examination and assessment of patients and provide orthoses in a timely appropriate suitable manner including highly specialist technical/clinical prescriptions. The orthoses are to be sourced/procured by best value practice. To maintain HCPC as an orthotist and work within professional best practice guidelines at all times ensuring planned achievement of outcome measures for patients' orthotic management

The Royal Wolverhampton NHS Trust is looking for a motivated junior orthotist. This is an exciting opportunity to join our research-active team. Our orthotic service provides both in and out-patient interventions, specialist clinics which include complex paediatric services, high-risk diabetes, and rehabilitation clinics.

**We can offer applicants**:
A dynamic service with a commitment to the delivery of high-quality patient care.

A flexible and supportive environment.

Good collaborative multi-professional working.

Encouragement for continued professional development and regular personal development reviews

Post Graduate Training encouraged

Preceptorship and mentoring

Highly skilled and valued support staff both administrative and clinical within the services.

Accept referrals from medical and healthcare professionals and undertake clinical assessment and examination of patients to provide suitable orthotic clinical technical prescriptions, including triage and prioritisation of patient need. Accept as an individual the legal responsibility for patients’ orthotic care.

Use measurement and data acquisition techniques in recording all pertinent information to ensure the accuracy of patient prescriptions.

Specify the design, componentry, materials, fabrication method, and suppliers of orthoses and order individual items to meet the patient’s clinical needs.

Perform risk assessments in the selection of components for customised devices to ensure patient safety.

Perform mechanical and technical adjustments to orthoses.

Evaluate the completed device on the patient to ensure the desired quality of body-device interface, functional alignment comfort, cosmetic appearance and mechanical integrity and safety.

Re-evaluate the above following an agreed time interval to meet patient needs or requirements of a care plan (review appointments).

Provide verbal, visual and written department information, explanation and highly specialised clinical advice to the patient and/or carers at every stage of device provision for informed consent including complex devices.

Report patient adverse incidents related to the provision of orthoses to maintain patient safety and engage in national reporting and monitoring procedures for specialised medical devices.

Provide written updates to the referrer as to orthotic treatment and status and refer patients to other disciplines to ensure appropriate care.

Give clinical and professional advice to the multidisciplinary team regarding appropriate orthotic provision for patients.

Advise and maintain effective liaison with technical support personnel including assistance with training in order to ensure best current technical practice in meeting patients’ needs.

Ensure excellent written and verbal communications are maintained with patients, carers, relatives, and members of the health and social care teams; convey complex and sensitive information at appropriate levels of understanding.

Use excellent negotiate and counselling skills and other tools to ensure the effective communication of complex, sensitive and emotional information and to overcome barriers to understanding in an empathic way. Such persons will include those ‘at risk’, the terminally ill, the vulnerable, those such as stroke patients, the learning disabled, the deaf and hard of hearing and those possessing poor communication skills. Also non-English speakers and those who speak some English but who have a different first language.

Be able to negotiate care plans with patients and carers using motivational and supportive skills to overcome any differences in opinions and understanding to ensure cooperation from a range of orthotic management options.

Agree and document outcome measures in patients’ treatment plan.

Record accurately up-to-date patient activity as required by the Department of Health for performance monitoring for the department and its purchasers.

Maintain professional registration with the Health Professions Council.

Abide by the Statement of Conduct for Prosthetists/Orthotists of the Health Professions Council.

Maintain patient clinical records in accordance with the regulations of the Health Professions Council and local guidelin