Job overview
·To undertake a team leader role on a day-to-day basis to manage the therapy staff in the Haringey Locality Therapy Falls service including physiotherapists, occupational therapists and rehab assistants.
·To work closely with the Clinical Rehab Lead in planning, co-ordinating, delivering and evaluating the Locality Falls service provided to adults referred to the team for rehabilitation, participating in the design and implementation of audit and policy.
·To be responsible for an allocated caseload, delegating duties when appropriate but maintaining overall responsibility for patient caseload.
·To be competent in undertaking all stages of the Occupational Therapy process with
Patients referred to the community service.
·To be actively involved in evidence-based practice, Continual Professional Development and clinical audit.
·To provide support and clinical supervision to OTs, rehabilitation assistants and students on placement.
Main duties of the job
Please see the Job Description and the Persons Specification for further details about the job role. If you are unable to access the PDF, the details of the job description can also be found in the 'Detailed Job Description and Main responsibilities' section.
Working for our organisation
Whittington Health serves a richly diverse population and works hard to ensure that all our services are fair and equally accessible to everyone. Nowhere is this more obvious than in the way we look after our staff. We aim to employ a workforce which is as representative as possible of this population, so we are open to the value of differences in age, disability, gender, marital status, pregnancy and maternity, race, sexual orientation, and religion or belief. The Trust believes that as a public sector organisation we have an obligation to have recruitment, training, promotion and other formal employment policies and procedures that are sensitive to these differences. We think that by doing so, we are better able to treat our patients as well as being a better place to work
Detailed job description and main responsibilities
GENERAL
·To provide specialised client-centered occupational therapy falls interventions to clients/patients (aged 18 or over) who are resident in the Haringey community and are referred due to a physical and mental health disability/illness/condition. This includes clients who may present with complex physical, cognitive, psycho-social and housing needs as a result of a wide range of medical conditions.
·To be an influential member of the multi-disciplinary team, providing expert, integrated, client- centered, goal- orientated rehabilitation for clients.
·To work as an autonomous practitioner in managing a defined caseload of complex cases, in a community falls setting. To evidence high levels of problem solving and clinical reasoning skills in line with evidence based/client-centered principles. To formulate a diagnosis and treatment plan designed to reduce the impact of disability from a comprehensive assessment of the client’s needs.
·To take a lead role in the supervision, teaching and appraisal of junior occupational therapists, rehabilitation support workers, students and other members of the multi-disciplinary team.
·To work collaboratively with members of the multi-disciplinary team in the planning, development and evaluation of the Locality Therapy Falls Service, taking a lead for designated projects. To continually engage with and develop the provision of occupational therapy within community services.
SPECIFIC RESPONSIBILITIES
CLINICAL
1.To be professionally and legally responsible for all aspects of own professional activities. To adhere to and apply The College of Occupational Therapists’ Code of Ethics and Professional Conduct (College of Occupational Therapists 2015)
2.To independently manage a caseload of complex cases, providing specialist occupational therapy assessment and interventions to clients with complex physical, cognitive and psycho-social needs arising from their medical conditions. To provide this service in the most appropriate setting to the client, e.g. clients’ homes, workplace and other community settings, working closely with the client, his/her family/carer and other professionals in doing this.
3.To be responsible for prioritising the occupational therapy referrals within the service to ensure that clients with urgent needs are seen within appropriate timescales.
4.To establish excellent therapeutic relationships with clients/family/carers to gain their participation in the therapeutic process by employing advanced interpersonal skills (e.g. communication, reasoning, negotiation skills, motivational tactics) and overcoming any barriers to communication (e.g. different languages, lack of understanding of the spoken word, visual or hearing impairments, fear, anxiety).
5.To assess for and diagnose any functional, physical, cognitive, perceptual, psychological and sensory deficits using functional assessments together with specialised standardised and non-standardised assessment batteries.
6.Based on the analysis of the assessment and a risk analysis, to determine occupational therapy aims and treatment goals as part of the overall care plan, and then to formulate intervention options which reduce the impact of disability.
please see the Job description and Persons Specifications for further details about the job role
Person specification
Qualifications
Essential criteria
1. Degree or Diploma in Occupational therapy
2. Registration with the Health Care Professions Council
3. Attendance on courses related to Falls
Desirable criteria
4. Higher degree/MSc. relevant to the area of practice.
5. Member of the College of Occupational Therapists and relevant Clinical Interest Group
Experience
Essential criteria
6. At least 5 years post-registration experience, including extensive rotational experience and evidence of dedicated clinical practice and post-graduate professional development in relevant areas of Occupational therapy.
7. At least 2 years experience working with falls at a Band 6 or above.
8. Experience of working in the NHS.
9. Experience of working within a community setting
Skills & Abilities
Essential criteria
10. Essential IT skills, including Word and PowerPoint.
Experience
Essential criteria
11. Experience of running groups
12. Experience of taking Occupational therapy students on clinical practice placements.
13. Experience of organising, writing and delivering in-service training programmes.
14. Experience of supervising junior and non-qualified staff, including participation in personal development reviews.
15. Experience of involvement in clinical governance/service improvement initiatives
Knowledge
Essential criteria
16. Knowledge of current NHS priorities and policy
17. Understanding of clinical governance activity and its application to Occupational therapy Services and practice.
18. Knowledge of other medical conditions which you may encounter including, but not exclusively, mental health, cognitive deficits and conditions of old age.
19. Advanced knowledge of the audit cycle and its uses.
Skills & Abilities
Essential criteria
20. Able to communicate highly complex and sensitive information in written, verbal and presentational form to patients, carers and staff within the Trust and across other organisations.
21. Able to lead, motivate and influence a team, and to describe strategies to support effective team working.
22. Able to apply problem-solving skills to highly complex situations, which may include clinical or organisational issues.
23. Highly skilled ability and competency in using a range of therapeutic skills including but not exclusively, various assessment techniques, handling skills, manual handling techniques, exercise therapy, and splinting.
Other Qualities
Essential criteria
24. Commitment to holistic patient management and the promotion and progression of Occupational therapy in the community.
Knowledge
Essential criteria
25. Up to date and advanced knowledge of a variety of Occupational therapy concepts and approaches, and of current best practice.
26. Knowledge of falls management
27. Knowledge of outcome measure tools relevant to community Occupational therapy, and ability to select and justify their use.
28. Demonstrate an understanding of responsibilities under the Health and Safety at Work Act and of assessing risk within clinical work.
Skills & Abilities
Essential criteria
29. Highly developed clinical reasoning skills with an ability to develop client centred, realistic and achievable goals.
30. Understanding of issues involved in offering a service to a diverse community, and of practical ways to ensure that the service is culturally appropriate and accessible.
31. Able to identify and recognise when to seek advice and support concerning clinical, managerial, professional or organisational issues.
32. Able to identify your own and staff’s training and development needs.
33. Well-developed and effective communication, motivational and persuasive skills.
34. Well developed counselling and advocacy skills to support staff, patients and carers.
35. high level of organisation and planning skills and ability to prioritise caseloads and identify areas of unmet need
Other Qualities
Essential criteria
36. Ability to work in the community in patient’s homes and to travel around the borough.
37. Willingness to work on any site as service requirements dictate, and as appropriate.
SAFEGUARDING CHILDREN AND ADULTS
To comply with the Trust’s Safeguarding Children and Adults policies, procedures and protocols. All individual members of staff (paid or unpaid) have a duty to safeguard and promote the welfare of children, young people and vulnerable adults This will require you to:
38. Ensure you are familiar with and comply with the London Child Protection Procedures and protocols for promoting and safeguarding the welfare of children and young people.
39. Ensure you are familiar and comply with the London Multi Agency Safeguarding Vulnerable Adults Pan London Procedures.
40. Ensure you are familiar and comply with local protocols and systems for information sharing.
41. Know the appropriate contact numbers and required reporting lines.
42. Participate in required training and supervision.
43. Comply with required professional boundaries and codes of conduct
Whittington Health is committed to safeguarding all children and vulnerable adults and expects all staff and volunteers to share this commitment.