Complementary Therapist

The Royal Marsden complementary therapy team have an exciting and rarely available opportunity for a qualified complementary therapist to join our well established team working within therapies rehabilitation at this world renowned cancer specialist hospital. The Royal Marsden has two hospital sites, one in central London and one in Sutton, which is easily accessible from central London. The post is a cross site role.
The complementary therapy team play a vital role in patient rehabilitation and work closely with clinical colleagues in physiotherapy, occupational therapy, speech and language, dietetics and lymphoedema as well as the wider clinical teams.
Candidates must have membership, or be eligible to join, the CNHC and hold a recognised qualification in aromatherapy and recognised qualifications in one or preferably both of massage therapy and reflexology. Applicants who have completed additional CPD training in scarwork will have the opportunity to use that training within this team.
Due to the specialist nature of this work applicants must be able to demonstrate that they have demonstrable experience of working in a healthcare setting and an understanding of the adaptations necessary to work safely with patients.

To make an informal enquiry or to visit us, please contact Elaine Charlesworth, Clinical Lead Complementary therapy on 020 808 2759 or email elaine.charlesworth@rmh.nhs.uk

1.1 The Band 5 complementary therapist is an active member of a team that provides a high quality; evidence based complementary therapy service for the patient with cancer.
2.1 The band 5 complementary therapist is expected to have skills enabling them to be a source of advice and expertise for hospital staff, relatives and patients and answer questions from the general public relating to the complementary therapy service at the Royal Marsden Hospital.

The Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust is a world-leading cancer centre. Our role is to offer our patients the best cancer care available anywhere in the world, and to continue to make a global contribution to finding better ways of diagnosing and treating cancer. We employ over 4,500 staff in a diverse range of careers including nursing, medical, science, radiography, pharmacy, occupational therapy, finance and administrative services. We have two hospitals – one in Chelsea, London, and one in Sutton, Surrey – as well as a Medical Daycare Unit in Kingston Hospital.
At The Royal Marsden, we deal with cancer every day, so we understand how valuable life is. When people entrust their lives to us, they have the right to demand the very best. That's why the pursuit of excellence lies at the heart of everything we do.
At the heart of the hospital is our dedicated team. We offer a stimulating and dynamic working environment, a wide range of staff benefits, learning and development opportunities and clear career pathways. There are opportunities to work flexibly across a range of areas and specialities and we welcome flexible working requests from point of hire to support employees work life balance. We are looking for employees who aspire to excellence, share our values and can play a crucial role in our on-going achievements.

For further information on this role, please see the attached detailed Job Description and Person Specification.

2.1 Provide a holistic, advanced, therapeutic assessment of patients with a cancer diagnosis. These patients may present with complex physical, emotional and psychological needs as a result of their cancer diagnosis and its treatment with surgery, radiotherapy and chemotherapy.

2.2 Provide a complementary therapeutic assessment, to develop and deliver individualised treatment programmes and make appropriate referrals to other disciplines.

2.3 Hold responsibility for own caseload, working without direct supervision. Access to advice and support from the Complementary therapy lead is available. Clinical supervision either one to one or in a group supports this practice and takes the form of formal training, reflective practice and clinical reasoning.

2.4 Be a source of knowledge and expertise relating to complementary therapies practiced for patients, relatives and colleagues of all disciplines within the Trust. The post holder works closely with all members of the multi-disciplinary team to provide specialist input to a planned programme of co-ordinated care.

2.5 The post holder has a responsibility to share best practice and answer or direct queries from health care professionals, patients and carers.

2.6 Undertake evidence-based audit and research projects, in conjunction with the Complementary therapy lead and the Therapies lead, to further clinical practice within the service and contribute to development of the service by identifying opportunities for improvement to the service.