Specialist Paediatric Physiotherapist

About the Organisation:

NHS Orkney is committed to delivering excellent care to our 22,000 residents. Whether you’re new to the NHS or bringing experience from elsewhere, your skills will make a real difference.

Our modern healthcare facility, The Balfour, brings together inpatient care, emergency services, outpatient clinics, diagnostics, GP practices and the Scottish Ambulance Service. We’re also investing in services across our outer isles, ensuring high-quality care reaches every corner of Orkney.

We are guided by our core values that shape everything we do – Open and honest, Respect and Kindness – from how we care for our patients to how we support each other as colleagues.

About Orkney:

With over 70 islands – 20 of them inhabited – Orkney offers a unique blend of natural beauty, close-knit community and an opportunity for adventure. From dramatic coastlines and rare wildlife to rich cultural traditions and active lifestyles, it’s a place where compassion thrives and every day brings something new. Regularly named one of the UK’s best places to live, Orkney offers a lifestyle that’s both fulfilling and inspiring.

The Position:

An exciting opportunity has arisen for a Highly Specialist Paediatric Physiotherapist to join our Children’s Health Services within NHS Orkney.

This is a rewarding and varied role offering the chance to make a real difference to children and young people across Orkney. You will manage a highly complex and diverse caseload, working across community, clinic, Island, education and home environments, and play a key role in shaping and developing paediatric physiotherapy services.

You will work as part of a supportive, integrated multidisciplinary team alongside Occupational Therapy, Speech and Language Therapy, Health Visiting, Education and wider partners, delivering high-quality, child and family-centred care.

You will:

• Provide advanced physiotherapy assessment, diagnosis and treatment for children and young people with complex needs
• Manage an independent caseload, including neurological, developmental and musculoskeletal conditions
• Develop and implement individualised treatment plans in partnership with children, families and other professionals
• Deliver therapy across a range of settings including clinics, schools, nurseries and home environments including the ferry linked isles.
• Provide specialist advice, training and support to families, carers and the wider workforce
• Work collaboratively within the integrated children’s services MDT to improve outcomes for children and young people
• Contribute to service development, audit and quality improvement initiatives
• Support the ongoing development of evidence-based practice within the service
• Work closely with and communicate with the Specialist Paediatric Physiotherapists in North of Scotland and Royal Aberdeen Children’s hospital paediatric staff as we do not have children’s inpatient facilities within Orkney.

The Candidate:

You will be a highly skilled, confident and compassionate paediatric physiotherapist who is able to work autonomously while contributing meaningfully to a small, integrated children’s service.

• Significant experience in paediatric physiotherapy, including children with complex neurological, developmental and musculoskeletal conditions
• Able to undertake advanced assessment, clinical reasoning and treatment planning independently
• Confident managing a complex caseload across a range of settings (clinic, schools, home, community)
• Committed to evidence-based practice and continuous professional development
• Familiar with using hydrotherapy as part of their treatment programme

• Child and family-centred in approach, with a genuine commitment to improving outcomes
• Highly developed communication and interpersonal skills, able to build strong relationships with children, families and partners
• Flexible and adaptable, able to respond to the varied demands of a remote/island service
• Resilient and solution-focused, particularly within a small team environment

• Strong experience of working within multi-disciplinary and multi-agency teams (e.g. AHPs, education, social care,…