Children’s Specialist Respiratory Physiotherapist

NHS; Torquay; On-site; GBP 47,000 - 55,000; Full time

Job summary

A healthcare organization in Torquay seeks a Children’s Specialist Respiratory Physiotherapist to manage the paediatric respiratory pathway. This role involves supporting families, facilitating early discharge, and leading the team in providing expert care. Candidates should have a Physiotherapy Degree, relevant training in respiratory care, and strong leadership skills. The salary ranges from £47,810 to £54,710 per annum pro rata, reflecting the importance of delivering specialized care to children with complex health conditions.

Qualifications

• Advanced training in respiratory and ventilation care.
• Experience in audit and quality improvement.
• Ability to perform advanced Physiotherapeutic assessments.

Responsibilities

• Manage the paediatric respiratory physiotherapy pathway.
• Work with acute physiotherapy teams to facilitate early discharge.
• Provide expert respiratory input to neurodisability pathways.

Skills

Effective team leadership skills

Experience of safeguarding vulnerable adults and/or children

High level of knowledge of relevant conditions

Knowledge of clinical guidelines

Education

Physiotherapy Degree or Graduate Diploma

Registration with HCPC

Masters degree in related subject

AHP prescriber

Job description

Children’s Specialist Respiratory Physiotherapist

Go back Torbay and South Devon NHS Foundation Trust

The closing date is 28 December 2025

At Children and Family Health Devon, we are dedicated to improving the physical and mental health of children and young people across Devon and Torbay. We aim to create an environment where children and young people can thrive and are committed to reducing health inequalities and providing specialised support.

We are looking for a specialist respiratory physiotherapist within the CFHD South community.

You will manage the paediatric respiratory physiotherapy pathway and hold a caseload of children with complex health conditions, delivering expert assessment, investigations and treatment.

Support a team of CFHD Physiotherapy staff, across Torbay and South Devon to deliver respiratory care for children with complex health conditions.

Strive to prevent admission by improving home care, and when needed providing in-reach care to enable early discharge.

Main duties of the job

To work with the acute physiotherapy team to facilitate early discharge for children with complex disability and respiratory conditions and to hand over for on call at the weekends and evenings.

Providing support for children and families for them to manage their respiratory conditions at home.

About us

Why Work With Us

We would like the people who work for Children and Family Health Devon to be understanding, patient and respectful. They should be trustworthy and make us feel safe and comfortable. It is important that they use their skills and experience to listen carefully in a non-patronising and-judgemental way. When staff are positive and friendly, they help to create an environment that is informal and without pressure.

We are an alliance of NHS organisations led by Torbay and South Devon NHS Foundation Trust in partnership with Devon Partnership Trust. We are a group of professionals including psychologists, psychiatrists, occupational therapists, speech and language therapists, physiotherapists, nurses and many other professions.

We are currently entering into a formal consultation process to move all Children and Family Health Devon (CFHD) staff to a single provider. As part of this process, staff currently employed by Torbay and South Devon NHS Foundation Trust will transfer to Devon Partnership NHS Trust on 1 April 2026. Please note that this may result in some differences in recruitment documentation and processes during this transition period.

Job responsibilities

Working in liaison with paediatricians, community nursing and acute hospital staff to provide rapid response to prevent admission.

Work with the acute physiotherapy team to facilitate early discharge for children with complex disability and respiratory conditions and to hand over for on call at the weekends and evenings.

Provide clinics alongside for children with primary respiratory disorders. Provide expert respiratory input to neurodisability and neuromuscular pathways.

Working with CFHD physiotherapy staff to identify and refer children with complex needs onto the respiratory pathway. To act as a source of expertise on their specialist clinical area.

Advocate on behalf of CYP and to be at the forefront of clinical development within their specialist clinical area.

Lead the paediatric respiratory physiotherapy pathway.

Old deliver excellent care including developing extended scope assessment, investigation, diagnostic and treatment skills for a caseload of children with neurodisability, neuromuscular and chronic respiratory conditions.

Maintain electronic diary of own work and the team, to allow booking and rescheduling appointments by others.

Perform advanced Physiotherapeutic assessment of children who present with developmental problems, long term conditions and may have severe communication impairment, learning disability, complex and severe physical and sensory disability.

Use advanced questioning and communication, manual assessment techniques and clinical reasoning skills to provide a diagnosis and prognosis enabling the delivery of an individualised physiotherapy treatment programme. This includes the appropriate selection of referrals for inclusion in a range of treatment and management options, including neuro developmental, manual therapy, hydrotherapy, the provision of specialist equipment and orthotics.

Supervision takes the form of annual appraisal with line‑manager plus planned management supervision, clinical supervision on a planned regular basis. work is not routinely evaluated. Access to advice and support is available from peers, the paediatric team and clinical manager.

Lead on implementation of Care Pathways and specific changes/development of evidence based practice.

Provide clinical mentorship to senior physiotherapy staff. To coordinate the training needs for registered and unregistered physiotherapy staff to maintain clinical competencies. To participate in research projects and audit to develop the teams highly advanced clinical skills.

Person Specification

Qualifications

• oPhysiotherapy Degree or Graduate Diploma
• oRegistration with HCPC
• oMasters degree in related subject
• oAHP prescriber

Knowledge

• oAdvanced clinical management of care pathway
• oSound knowledge of child development
• oEvidence of advanced training in respiratory and ventilation care
• oEvidence of audit and quality improvement training

Skills

• oEffective team leadership skills including triage, line management and clinical supervision
• oExperience of safeguarding vulnerable adults and/or children
• oHigh level of knowledge of a broad range of relevant conditions and proven experience of delivering evidence based practice.
• oKnowledge of the clinical guidelines, and experience of implementing these recommendations in practice.

Disclosure and Barring Service Check

This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (Exceptions Order) 1975 and as such it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service (formerly known as CRB) to check for any previous criminal convictions.

Torbay and South Devon NHS Foundation Trust

£47,810 to £54,710 a yearper annum pro rata