Specialist Podiatrist

Job summary

Age UK Canterbury has anexciting new opportunity for a specialist Podiatrist in MSK and Biomechanics to join our progressive teamof Podiatrists and Royal College of Podiatry Assistant Practitioners.

Our service comprises of sevenfully equipped clinics together with lower limb vascular assessment facilitiesand MSK biomechanics laboratory, together with gait analysis equipment(Optogait and WinTrack). We also have a well-established home visiting service.

Age UK Canterbury worksalongside the University of Plymouth as a training workplace for ApprenticePodiatrists. All Podiatrists carry out the role of Clinical Educator for ourapprentices for both the MSc and BSc degrees.

In addition, Age UK CanterburyPodiatry Service is an accredited NHS AQP provider for Kent Community HealthNHS Foundation Trust.

The successful candidate willhold a degree in Podiatry, be registered with HCPC, you will be expected tomaintain a portfolio of development as all colleagues undertake regular CPD inhouse and also have regular attendance at the Royal College of Podiatry annualconference.

The postholder will need to be acar driver/owner since the role does include a key element of home visiting.

Main duties of the job

An exciting new opportunity has arisen for a Podiatrist with a specialist interest in MSK and Biomechanics to join and lead the introduction and development of our newly implemented MSK Service. The successful candidate will work alongside existing Podiatrists and The Royal College of Podiatry Assistant Practitioners to develop this very important service area. We have recently introduced a biomechanics laboratory with a range of the latest gait analysis equipment to support this development. The postholder will be fully supported in ongoing CPD.

About us

Age UK Canterbury is a localindependent charity providing social, health and wellbeing services to olderpeople in the Canterbury and surrounding areas both within our centre andwithin the community settings.

We have a friendly staff team of35 of which 12 are employed within the Podiatry Service.

The Podiatry Service has beenestablished for the last 10 years and in August 2023 was awarded the AQP NHScontract status to support Kent Community NHS Foundation Trust to providePodiatry.

Job description

Job responsibilities

JobDescription Specialist Podiatrist - MSK

Age UK Canterbury is committed to providing a high standardof services to older people. Our staffand volunteers make an important contribution to that standard.

Responsibleto: The Director of Podiatry Services

JobPurpose : To provide a Specialist MSK leadership role together withPodiatric Care in both the Age UK Canterbury clinic settings together with thehome visiting service in the community covering Canterbury and surroundingareas.

To support the Director of Podiatry Services in theleadership and development of both the MSK/Biomechanics Service and Foot HealthService. To support clinical educationin the workplace for both the Apprentice Podiatrists and the Royal College ofPodiatry Assistant Practitioners.

Age UK Canterbury Podiatry Service is an accredited NHS AQPProvider for Kent Community Health NHS Foundation Trust and the postholder willsupport this contract as and when required.

Responsibilities:

To treat and manage the care of podiatricpatients, utilising the full range of podiatric skills and knowledge andevidence-based practice to achieve satisfactory outcomes for service usersbased upon their individual needs.

To support the Directorof Podiatry in the development and management of the Foot HealthService.

To support the Director of Podiatry in thetraining, development and supervision of the Apprentice Podiatrists, AssistantPractitioners/Trainee Assistant Practitioners in line with the Royal College ofPodiatry guidelines and best practice programmes.

To work alongside the Director of Podiatry inassuring that the right continuous development programmes are both implementedand planned for the Apprentice Podiatrists, Assistant Practitioners or anyTrainee Assistant Practitioners within the service.

To provide treatment of patients to maintainmobility, independence, viability and to relieve discomfort.

To be an ambassador for the Age UK CanterburyFoot Health Service in extending multi-disciplinary team work in both primaryand secondary care.

To communicate effectively with a wide varietyof patients and carers to ensure understanding of their condition, utilizingskills such as gaining informed consent together with full explanation oftreatment plans required.

To be fully compliant with the policies andprocedures of Age UK Canterbury.

To be fully compliant with all GDPR,confidentiality and consent procedures at all times.

Training: Youwill be expected to attend specific courses as and when required. The list below is and example of thesetraining elements:

Basic and Emergency First Aid

Moving and Handling

Dementia Training

Adult Protection

Specifically, the Podiatrist will be supported to attendongoing Royal College of Podiatry CPD events The Annual Conference. As part of the individual appraisal process thePodiatrist will be fully supported to ensure that they are fully aware of thelatest developments and procedures within the Podiatry Service.

Regular in house CPD is undertaken alongside external CPDas required.

This Job Description will be revised and amended as requiredto keep pace with the changes within the internal and external environment.

Person Specification

Qualifications

Essential

BSc or MSc or Diploma in Podiatric Medicine HCPC Registered A specialist interest in MSK, Biomechanics and Orthoses.

Experience

Essential

Undergraduate or Postgraduate experience in a Podiatry Service. Aptitude for training and management development opportunities.

Desirable

Experience with working with a wide range of patients and disease/pathology conditions including the at risk and high-risk foot.

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