Job Description

This vacancy is part time. The hours are 30 hours a week.



Gloucestershire Wheelchair Assessment Service is looking for an Assistant Wheelchair Practitioner to join our team. If you are keen to develop your technical skills and are interested in wheeled mobility equipment you may be just what we're looking for! If you're successful we will provide you with the structured support and training you need to flourish.



We are a multi-disciplinary team providing a countywide service. We're also in the unique position where we cover clients of any age. We've worked hard over the last couple of years to develop and innovate to ensure we provide a prompt, efficient and effective service for our clients, while also developing a friendly, kind and supportive team culture. We complete holistic assessments with our clients considering their mobility needs as part of the bigger picture of how they want to live their life and working with them to achieve their mobility goals.



If you're proactive, keen to achieve the best with your patients and looking for a new opportunity this could be just the role for you.



There will be a practical element to the interview, therefore all interviews will be held face to face at the Independent Living Centre, Cheltenham.



The qualification, training & experience requirements for the role are underlined in the /Person Specification.



You will carry your own caseload which will be a mixture of low and medium needs wheelchair and accessory assessments. You will also be responsible for handing over equipment assessed for by the therapy and rehab engineering team. You will need to be practical and happy to use a range of hand tools and some power tools to do this.



The service is provided in a range of settings including clinics, home and educational environments and is county wide. We are an all age, all disability service so offer the unique opportunity to work with children and adults.



Our philosophy is to keep the patient at the heart of everything we do. We look for people who are willing to go the extra mile and are committed to being part of a team that delivers an excellent caring service to our patients. This is a countywide role and therefore the successful applicant must hold a full UK driving license and have access to a car for work purposes, as well as be happy to drive the wheelchair service vans.



We have a skilled and dedicated workforce of over 5000 colleagues working in a diverse range of services over 55 sites and within people's homes. We strive to enable a welcoming workplace culture that builds and celebrates civility, inclusivity and diversity, while providing a sense of belonging and trust.



Annual staff surveys, regular Pulse surveys and other engagement opportunities provide our people with lots of opportunity to tell us about their experiences of working with us. In the latest staff survey, 61% of colleagues gave us their views. It was great to hear that:



72% of colleagues would recommend the Trust as a place to work, ranking us 1st for Provider Trusts in the South West region on this question.

76% would recommend the standard of care provided in our services if a friend or relative needed treatment, also ranking us 1st in the South West region.

81% said that care of patients and service users is the Trust's priority, compared with an average in comparable NHS Trusts in England of 64%.



This high-level overview shows we are in a healthy position, with higher scores than average for comparable organisations, alongside a great response rate, indicating good staff engagement. However, we also know we have plenty of room for improvement in many areas. To that end, we continue to prioritise and invest in our commitment to genuinely becoming a Great Place to Work with consistent top-quartile performance in the annual staff survey and Pulse surveys.



Please refer to the Additional Information attachment before submitting your application.



We provide a Multi-professional preceptorship programme that is aligned to the National Preceptorship Framework for Nursing and have been awarded the Interim quality mark from NHS England. Our programme is provided to all Newly Qualified; Nurses, Nursing Associates, Internationally Educated Practitioners, Allied Health Professionals and Return to Practice Practitioners. In addition to the programme we also offer all preceptees the opportunity of enrolling and completing the level 7 (Masters) 15 credit validated module "Preceptorship for Healthcare" (AP7026).



Newly qualified Social Workers are offered the Assessed and Supported Year in Employment programme (ASYE) which is similar to a preceptorship programme.



This role is not eligible for sponsorship as per the Government's UK VISA and Immigration Rules and Regulations. For more information please visit https://www.gov.uk/browse/visas-immigration/work-visas