Mersey Care NHS Foundation Trust
Specialist Musculoskeletal Practitioner and First Contact Practitioner
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About the Role
The post holder will provide a specialist physiotherapy role and operate as a team member within the MCAS team for Mersey Care Foundation Trust which will allow for the assessment, diagnosis, and pathway assignation of patients with musculoskeletal conditions. This post will also involve the opportunity to work as a First Contact Practitioner (FCP) in Primary Care in the St Helens role, providing clinical expertise, making decisions about the best course of action for patients' care (including in relation to undifferentiated conditions). This will involve seeing patients, without prior contact with their GP, in order to establish a rapid and accurate diagnosis and management plan.
Key Responsibilities
- Provide advanced assessment, diagnosis, and management of complex musculoskeletal conditions, working with a high level of autonomy.
- Act as a First Contact Practitioner, assessing and triaging patients without prior GP assessment and directing them to the most appropriate care pathway.
- Make high-level clinical decisions, including requesting and interpreting diagnostic investigations and identifying when onward referral is required.
- Deliver person-centred care, supporting self-management, goal setting, and early intervention to improve outcomes and reduce reliance on medication.
- Streamline musculoskeletal pathways to ensure patients access the right service at the right time, reducing pressure on GP services and secondary care.
- Work collaboratively within multidisciplinary teams across primary care and community services to coordinate patient care.
- Provide specialist advice, clinical leadership, and supervision to other physiotherapy staff and health professionals.
- Contribute to service development, quality improvement, audit, and research to support evidence-based practice.
- Fulfil education and training responsibilities, including supporting learners and less experienced staff.
- Uphold Trust values, promote inclusive, safe care, and maintain accurate clinical records in line with professional and organisational standards.
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About Mersey Care
Mersey Care is one of the largest trusts providing physical health and mental health services in the North West, serving more than 1.4 million people across our region and are also commissioned for services that cover the North West, North Wales, and the Midlands.
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We offer specialist inpatient and community services that support physical and mental health and specialist inpatient mental health, learning disability, addiction, and brain injury services. Mersey Care is one of only three trusts in the UK that offer high secure mental health facilities.
At the heart of all we do is our commitment to ‘perfect care’ – care that is safe, effective, positively experienced, timely, equitable, and efficient. We support our staff to do the best job they can and work alongside service users, their families, and carers to design and develop future services together. We’re currently delivering a programme of organisational and service transformation to significantly improve the quality of the services we provide and safely reduce cost as we do so.
Flexible working requests will be considered for all roles.
Contact Information
- Name: Lorna Owens
- Job title: Clinical Team Manager St Helens
- Email address: Lorna.Owens@merseycare.nhs.uk
- Telephone number: 07570771357
- Working Days: Monday & Tuesday, Thursday morning
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