Physiotherapy Team Lead in Learning Disability

A Vacancy at South West London and St George's Mental Health NHS Trust.

An exciting opportunity has arisen for a Band 7 Physiotherapist with proven clinical and leadership skills to join the Wandsworth Learning Disability Physiotherapy Team at Southwest London and St Georges Mental Health NHS Trust. You will be joining a friendly community multidisciplinary team that will allow you to explore your full potential as a leader and highly specialised clinician. Are you ready for the opportunity to make a significant impact for individuals aged 18 years old and above with learning disabilities?

You will encounter patients from both the Physical Health and Mental Health Learning Disability pathways working across the physiotherapy specialities including but not limited to; Musculoskeletal, Neurology, Respiratory and Older people. The role will also include postural management and dysphagia management.

You will be supported by the Head of Physiotherapy as well as the Deputy Team Lead for Wandsworth Learning Disabilities Healthcare Team in yearly appraisals and monthly clinical supervisions sessions. The successful candidate will join the Mental Health Physiotherapy team for monthly in-service training sessions as well as develop and contribute to the Learning Disability Physiotherapy Team specific Inservice training sessions for the team. It is expected that the successful candidate will actively participate and contribute to the Physiotherapy Development forums led by the Head of Physiotherapy.

The successful candidate will undertake advanced, holistic physiotherapy assessments and formulate comprehensive treatment plans for service users with learning disabilities with or without mental health considerations. You will need to be confident in your ability to complete musculoskeletal and neurological and respiratory assessments while clinically reasoning your decisions.

A large part of the role will include involvement in involved with 24-hour postural management, dysphagia management, mobility assessments falls prevention and developing and reviewing exercise programmes. Assessment and intervention will take place in a variety of community settings including client’s own homes, supported living facilities, registered case homes and community day services.

You will also take on a leadership role within the team. You will assist with organising and delivering in-service training sessions, supervision and service development projects with the support of the Head of Physiotherapy and Deputy Team Lead.

It is essential that the successful candidate have a high level of physiotherapy experience and knowledge gained through rotations at band 5 and 6 level in a variety of physiotherapy specialities including learning disabilities. You will work in community settings where the demand can fluctuate and so will need to be highly organised and self-motivated to manage during these times.

We are Proud to Belong at South West London and St George’s Mental Health NHS Trust.

We have expert services, a rich history and a clear commitment to providing the best quality care for those with mental ill-health. The Care Quality Commission already rates our services as ‘good’ - we aspire to be ‘outstanding’.

This is a great time to join us. We are transforming the way we care for our communities to support our mission of Making Life Better Together. We have built two brand new mental health facilities at Springfield University Hospital, which are amongst the best in the world. More developments are planned across our sites and services as we invest a further £120m to upgrade and modernise our estate by 2027.

We are inclusive and diverse and strive to be actively anti racist. We want to attract people from all backgrounds and experiences to enrich the work we do together. We are proud to co-produce and involve our local communities in all that we do.

We offer flexible working, career development and a variety of benefits to enable a positive, welcoming environment in which our people and their careers can thrive.

Come and join our inclusive teams and help our patients on their recovery journey.

• · Undertake the assessment and appropriate Physiotherapy management of an agreed caseload of service users with complex mental health and physical health problems.
• · Collaboratively plan & deliver individual and group interventions.
• · To act as autonomous practitioner, with full responsibility for the Physiotherapeutic management of the agreed caseload.
• · Lead by example, setting and maintaining a high standard of clinical practice.
• · Evaluate the effectiveness of Physiotherapy interventions and quality of clinical decisions in conjunction with service users/carers and other professionals.
• · To identify any significant clinical risk factors in line with local policies, with support from senior managers.
• · To be responsible for equipment used ensuring that all departmental policies are adhered to, ensuring safe use by other staff and clients.
• · Act as a resource for problem solving and specialist clinical skills for Physiotherapists working within the Trust.
• · Act as a resource for any individual, professional body or outside agency that may seek specialist clinical knowledge, or information about Physiotherapy in Mental Health Learning Disability.
• · To adhere to any clinical standards and guidelines produced by the Chartered Society of Physiotherapy, Health and Care Professionals Council (HCPC) or other relevant Special Interest Groups (e.g. CPMH / AGILE).

This advert closes on Sunday 5 Oct 2025