Main duties of the job

• To work in an extended role beyond the usual physiotherapy scope of practice. This involves the clinical management of patients with complex knee conditions referred for a hospital outpatient opinion.
• As an autonomous physiotherapy practitioner, to be responsible for the examination, assessment and further management of patients designated by a Consultant Orthopaedic Surgeon within an outpatient setting.
• Complex patient management includes listing patients for surgery, referring patients for further tests and investigations (e.g. blood tests, X-rays, MRI scans and other diagnostic imaging) and referring to other healthcare professionals as appropriate.
• To liaise and work closely with Consultant Orthopaedic Surgeons and other healthcare professionals, including referring General Practitioners, Specialty Leads and Divisional Leads.
• To communicate effectively with patients and carers, explaining complex information relating to diagnosis, disease progression, prognosis, treatment options and management plans to support informed decision-making.

Working for our organisation

Bristol NHS Foundation Trust (BFT) was formed in July 2026 through the merger of North Bristol NHS Trust and University Hospitals Bristol and Weston NHS Foundation Trust, creating one of the largest NHS organisations in the country, with around 28,000 staff providing services across Bristol, North Somerset and South Gloucestershire.

At our Southmead Hospital site, we provide a wide range of regional and specialist services, including serving as the Major Trauma Centre for the South West and delivering nationally and internationally recognised specialist care.

Our ambition is to deliver outstanding, equitable and sustainable healthcare for our patients, while creating opportunities for our people to thrive and develop. We are committed to fostering an inclusive culture where everyone feels valued, respected and able to contribute.

We welcome applications from people of all backgrounds and are committed to being an inclusive employer that reflects the diverse communities we serve.

Detailed Job Description And Main Responsibilities

Full job description is attached which lists all the main duties of the role and working environment. You can also find the person specification within the Job Description.

Person specification

Essential Criteria

• Qualifications in JD

Desirable criteria

• Years of Experience
• Skills

Essential criteria

• Advanced specialist Skills

Desirable criteria

• Effective communication

We hope that you will decide to join us and become part of this exciting journey, helping us to shape our future together.

As an equal opportunities employer actively working towards a diverse workforce we aim to recruit and retain a workforce which represents the rich diversity of the local population at all levels and are committed to designing our services around the needs of individual patients and those around them. Anonymous information will be used from your application to ensure we’re meeting our pledge.

The Trust is committed to investing in and caring for all our staff. We will support you in maintaining and improving your health and wellbeing, as well as your career development through management and training support - developing exceptional people for exceptional careers.

BFT is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, young people, and vulnerable adults.

To comply with Part 7 of the Immigration Act 2016 all applicants must be able to speak fluent English to an appropriate standard which will be assessed at Interview.

If you require sponsorship for a visa to work in the UK, to avoid disappointment, please check to ensure you are eligible under the UKVI points based system.

The Trust uses electronic new starter forms on Trac to collect personal details. Information collected is securely stored and used to set up the employee record on the ESR HR system.

By applying for this post, you are agreeing to Bristol NHS Foundation Trust transferring the information contained in this application to its preferred applicant management system. If you are offered a job, information will also be transferred into the national NHS Electronic Staff Records system.

Please be aware of scams – unless specified above, we will only communicate with you via @recruit.trac.jobs or nhs.net e-mails and we will never ask you for any payments.

Important

Please note that if you apply for a position with this Trust, you may be contacted via Trac or via email. This includes invites for job interviews. We therefore recommend that you regularly check your Trac account and email accounts. We may also contact you by texting the mobile number, if provided, on the application form.

Due to the high number of applications that are received for some posts we may close this vacancy before the advertised closing date. Therefore, please apply for this post as soon as you can, if you are interested and you meet the requirements of the Person Specification.

Only those candidates who clearly demonstrate how they meet the person specification will be shortlisted for this job.

As a guide interviews should usually take place within 3 weeks of the closing date.

When providing employment reference details, please provide correct work-related email addresses so references can be sought promptly when we are looking to progress your application. Your referee must all be known to you in a line manager or professional lead capacity.