Job overview
We are looking for a band 7 Stroke OT to join our multi-disciplinary team providing community rehabilitation to people with stroke that are resident in Haringey.
You will have a strong clinical grounding in a variety of occupational therapy settings as a post graduate. This needs to include experience working with clients that have had a stroke. The successful applicant will act as an accredited clinical educator for occupational therapy students and provide effective supervision of rehabilitation assistants.
You will be a team player with proven clinical and interpersonal skills. Combined with a wide knowledge base you will have organisational ability and a commitment to service and staff development. You will also demonstrate a strong commitment to a person centred approach.
We will offer you:
1. Excellent management support and clinical supervision
2. The opportunity to be part of a dynamic team of permanent staff
3. Strong multi-disciplinary team support
4. Professional development
5. A chance to enhance service development skills
Please contact Lisa Penniall, Operational Lead on 07717513515 to discuss the role or arrange a visit.
We welcome applications from all sections of the community. People from black and ethnic minority communities and people with disabilities are currently under-represented in the team. The building is fully accessible.
Main duties of the job
6. To provide high quality effective Occupational therapy assessment and treatment/management programmes for adults presenting with stroke in Haringey, who require a domiciliary service or out-patient service
7. To use highly specialist Occupational therapy knowledge and skills to manage own complex caseload, as an autonomous practitioner.
8. To act as a source of expertise on Stroke conditions and Occupational therapy management of adults in the community; providing advice to patients, carers, all grades of Occupational therapists, other health care professionals, consultants, general practitioners and social services.
9. To produce accountable documentation detailing intervention with allocated patient group.
10. To be actively involved in evidence-based practice, Continual Professional Development and clinical audit.
11. To provide clinical supervision and mentoring to junior Occupational Therapists and to assistants and students where necessary. To be an active member of the team assisting in the management of the clinical team and supporting the operational function of the department.
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
CLINICAL
12. 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)
13. 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.
14. To be responsible for prioritising the occupational therapy referrals within the service to ensure that clients with urgent needs are seen within appropriate timescales.
15. 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).
16. 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.
17. 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.
18. To attend MDT clinical meetings and have close liaison with the acute stroke services (NMH, RFH and the Homerton) and the hyper acute service (HASU).
19. To work closely with the client/family/carers to encourage participation in the therapeutic process. To negotiate and agree decisions relevant to the client’s management whilst respecting their diversity. To identify and select with the client/family/carers the most appropriate intervention options, which balance the complex interactions of risk, safety, client choice, independence, areas of conflict, eligibility for services and cost effectiveness.
20. To develop specialised occupational therapy treatment programmes in collaboration with clients, carers and other involved professionals (e.g. physiotherapists, speech and language therapists, district nurses, clinical lead professionals, home care agencies) to be carried out in the client’s home or community as appropriate.
21. To plan, coordinate and deliver client-centred interventions on either an individual or group basis, using the principles of graded activity and a wide range of treatment techniques e.g. functional and remedial activities, splinting, equipment provision, education and health promotion.
22. To use specialised therapeutic moving and handling skills in the assessment for complex neurological conditions, recommending appropriate equipment in line with national and local guidelines; including providing advice and training to client/family/carers on correct handling techniques, having undertaken specialised manual handling risk assessments.
23. To provide specialist assessment for and provision of adaptive equipment such as specialist seating in line with national and local guidelines.
24. To provide assessments for and where indicated the construction of upper limb splinting for clients in order to promote joint integrity or facilitate function.
25. To challenge and improve current practice where appropriate, ensuring practice is evidence based.
26. To provide specialist advice on lifestyles, role, functional abilities, self care and the physical environment after taking account of the effects of any medical conditions on the individual and his/her family/carers, e.g. energy conservation, fatigue management.
27. To prescribe and coordinate interventions to be carried out by others, such as rehabilitation support workers or home carers, and to train them to carry out the therapeutic programmes as appropriate to the home or community environment.
28. To use advanced clinical reasoning, critical thinking and reflection to monitor, evaluate and modify treatment, evaluate outcomes and thus ensure effectiveness of interventions.
29. To provide verbal and written information to support the client’s discharge from the service which informs health and social care providers of the outcomes of interventions and of ongoing health and social care requirements.
30. To produce accurate and detailed reports, therapy programmes, care plans, advice and information as necessary in a timely manner, reflecting clinical expertise.
31. To identify and manage the potential difficulties and risks involved in working alone in a variety of community settings (e.g.verbal or physical aggression, challenging behaviour, working in unhygienic environments) and to do this for staff to whom work is delegated. To complete incident forms as necessary.
MANAGEMENT/ADMINISTRATION
32. To participate in service reviews and policy, guideline and protocol development and changes to service provision as required by Whittington Health and other services e.g. the stroke association.
33. To be responsible for the day-to-day management and provision of occupational therapy assessments and interventions in Haringey by reviewing the appropriateness of referrals, prioritizing referrals and managing junior staff on a day to day basis.
34. To identify opportunities for service development and role re-design
35. To support senior staff in the development and implementation of the Trust’s clinical governance strategy, participating in multidisciplinary audits, investigation of complaints, user involvement activity and other mechanisms of service evaluation and monitoring.
36. To ensure that the agreed professional and national quality standards of service are maintained by self and designated junior staff.
37. To collect relevant statistical information and activity data in accordance with Trust, professional and NCL requirements. To ensure that designated junior staff do likewise
38. To maintain accurate and up to date documentation (e.g. including comprehensive progress and discharge reports) in multi-disciplinary records which is consistent with legal, professional, organisational and NCL requirements. To be responsible for ensuring that designated staff maintain record keeping standards.
39. To attend and participate in team and professional clinical governance meetings, undertaking tasks which result from these meetings.
40. To provide clinical leadership to other occupational therapists in the team. To be involved in recruitment and take responsibility for professional support, supervision and appraisal.
EDUCATION AND TRAINING
41. To maintain, develop and update own professional knowledge and skills in relation to occupational therapy in the field of Stroke and neurological rehabilitation.
42. To access further education programmes to develop knowledge and skills, and to share learning with the wider team.
43. To provide highly specialised advice to Occupational therapy colleagues working in other clinical areas regarding the management of adults with stroke/neurological conditions in the community.
44. To participate in staff and service development through attendance at meetings and in-service training sessions, including taking a lead responsibility for designated sessions.
45. To undertake management and leadership training as required to meet the needs of the post.
46. To participate in mandatory training
47. To actively participate in regular clinical supervision and yearly appraisal using reflection and analysis to inform practice, develop skills and identify training needs in relation to the needs of the service and personal development.
48. To provide leadership, support, guidance, teaching, clinical supervision and appraisal to senior/junior occupational therapists and rehabilitationTechnicians.
49. To act as a Professional Practice Educator and support senior/junior staff with students, providing training and education for occupational therapy students on professional practice placements and to provide written reports for the relevant academic institution regarding the student’s performance.
50. To be responsible for maintaining a CPD portfolio which clearly demonstrates that competencies required within the post are achieved and maintained.
COMMUNICATION
51. To communicate effectively and work collaboratively with therapy colleagues as well as other community services to ensure the delivery of a coordinated multi-disciplinary service.
52. To communicate simple and complex information verbally and non verbally with the client/family/carers during assessment and treatment sessions
53. Ensure information is understood e.g. where the client does not speak English, has a hearing impairment, altered emotional state, cognitive/learning/emotional disability, or where the client does not understand or accept a clinical decision.
54. To work with advocacy and interpreting services for families where English is not the first language
55. To adhere to Trust, professional and local policies and standards in relation to confidentiality.
56. To work in partnership to develop innovative ways of working, with colleagues within Whittington Health NHS Community services and other organisations (NCL Network).
RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT
57. To support in the monitoring of the effectiveness of the community therapy service through the collation and correlation of data for ongoing audit.
58. Contribute to the evaluation of research findings and disseminate them appropriately, including presentations at study days or conferences
59. To support the monitoring of adherence to the stroke strategy within Haringey (Whittington Health) and local audits on neurological conditions.
Person specification
Qualifications
Essential criteria
60. Degree or Diploma in Occupational therapy
61. Attendance on courses related to Neurological Occupational therapy e.g. Basic Bobath course, AMPS
Desirable criteria
62. Higher degree/MSc. relevant to the area of practice.
63. Member of the College of Occupational Therapists and relevant Clinical Interest Group e.g. COT SS – neurological practice
Experience
Essential criteria
64. Band 5 post-registration experience, including extensive rotational experience and evidence of dedicated clinical practice and post-graduate professional development in relevant areas of Occupational therapy.
65. Band 6 experience working in a specialist neurological setting
66. Experience of working in the NHS.
67. Experience of running groups
68. Experience of taking Occupational therapy students on clinical practice placements
69. Experience of organising, writing and delivering in-service training programmes.
70. Experience of supervising junior and non-qualified staff, including participation in personal development reviews
71. Experience of involvement in clinical governance/service improvement initiatives
Desirable criteria
72. Experience of working within an outpatient neurology setting
73. Experience of working within a community setting
Knowledge
Essential criteria
74. Knowledge of current NHS priorities and policy
75. Understanding of clinical governance activity and its application to Occupational therapy Services and practice.
76. Up to date and advanced knowledge of a variety of Occupational therapy concepts and approaches, and of current best practice.
77. Knowledge of neurological conditions and pathologies and their management.
78. Knowledge of other medical conditions which you may encounter including, but not exclusively, mental health, cognitive deficits and conditions of old age.
79. Knowledge of outcome measure tools relevant to community Occupational therapy, and ability to select and justify their use.
80. Demonstrate an understanding of responsibilities under the Health and Safety at Work Act and of assessing risk within clinical work.
81. 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.
Skills and Abilites
Essential criteria
82. 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.
83. Essential IT skills, including Word and PowerPoint.
84. Able to lead, motivate and influence a team, and to describe strategies to support effective team working.
85. Able to apply problem-solving skills to highly complex situations, which may include clinical or organisational issues.
86. Highly developed clinical reasoning skills with an ability to develop client centred, realistic and achievable goals.
87. Well-developed organisational, planning and prioritisation skills.
88. Able to identify and recognise when to seek advice and support concerning clinical, managerial, professional or organisational issues.
89. 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.
90. Able to identify your own and staff’s training and development needs.
91. Well-developed and effective communication, motivational and negotiation skills
92. Well developed counselling and advocacy skills to support staff, patients and carers.
Other
Essential criteria
93. Ability to work in the community in patient’s homes and to travel around the borough.
94. Willingness to work on any site as service requirements dictate, and as appropriate
95. Commitment to holistic patient management and the promotion and progression of Occupational therapy in the community.
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:
96. 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.
97. Ensure you are familiar and comply with the London Multi Agency Safeguarding Vulnerable Adults Pan London Procedures.
98. Ensure you are familiar and comply with local protocols and systems for information sharing.
99. Know the appropriate contact numbers and required reporting lines.
100. Participate in required training and supervision.
101. 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.