Detailed job description
and main responsibilities
· To work as part of the multi-disciplinary team to provide a Therapy service to patients by managing a caseload of patients from specified diagnostic groups.
· To organise and be responsible for own caseload on a daily basis.
· To carry out functional assessments to determine the patient’s level of independence and commencing discharge planning including referrals to external service providers.
· To assess for and provide equipment in the patient’s home environment to promote independence and safety.
· To identify patients who require a home assessment. Completing these visits as appropriate under guidance of qualified therapist or referring those with more complex needs to a qualified Therapist.
· To cover for the other Therapy Support staff within the team and carry out Therapy Interventions on the wards as required.
· To ensure all assessments, treatments and discharge planning is discussed with a qualified therapist
Person specification
Qualifications
Essential criteria
1. Foundation Degree in health or assistant practitioner qualification equivalent.
2. Or another relevant qualification.
Desirable criteria
3. Attainment of competencies gained from multi-professional team working
Experience
Essential criteria
4. Previous work as a Therapy Assistant or equivalent
5. Working with adult patients with chronic disease or multiple pathologies
Desirable criteria
6. Previous experience working in an acute setting
7. Working within a multidisciplinary team.
8. Experience of evaluation, standard setting and evidence based practice within a healthcare/ rehabilitation setting
Technical Skills Competencies
Essential criteria
9. Ability to assess a patient with specific objective assessment tools, sometimes without supervision
10. Ability to work independently on own initiative with guidance/supervision from qualified staff, mainly at a distance.
11. Effective time management and organisational skills.
12. Ability to manage own caseload when necessary
13. Basic computer literacy.
14. Ability to act on own initiative, eg responding to an emergency situation
Knowledge
Essential criteria
15. General knowledge of Elderly care pathologies.
16. The effects of physical and cognitive impairment, on skills abilities and lifestyle
17. Basic rehabilitation techniques.
18. Exercise prescription and monitoring eg of physiological signs during exercise
19. Health and safety responsibilities.
20. Data protection and patient confidentiality
Desirable criteria
21. General knowledge of relevant medical conditions.
22. Risk assessment.
23. Audit
24. Service development
Other requirements specific to the role
Essential criteria
25. Ability to drive, hold a clean driving license and access to a car for work purposes.
26. Ability to move and handle patients and equipment using approved techniques.
Personal Attributes
Essential criteria
27. Flexible attitude.
28. Well motivated.
29. Able to work independently when required with rational, safe clinical reasoning skills.
30. Able to take direction from senior staff and work well within a team
31. Empathy with older people.
32. Ability to recognize boundaries of own job role.
33. Highly organised with excellent time management skills and able to organize own workload on a day to day basis.
34. Good verbal communication skills both face to face and over the telephone.
35. Ability to document results of interventions clearly and concisely.
36. Ability to establish rapport.
37. Basic teaching skills.
38. Ability to engage, motivate and inspire patients.
39. Confident in dealing with difficult situations e.g. aggressive behaviour, conflict.
Language requirement
Essential criteria
40. Be able to speak English as necessary to undertake the role