Occupational Therapist - Frailty and Ageing Well
Do you have an interest in Frailty and passionate about supporting older people to live life to the fullest? Do you thrive in a dynamic, person centred environment where your clinical skills and creativity can make a real difference?
We are looking for an enthusiastic and compassionate Occupational Therapist to join our team, specialising in frailty and older adults. This is a rewarding role where you will work closely with individuals, families, and the multidisciplinary team to promote independence, personalised care and minimise time away from home. In Somerset we have worked hard to transform Acute Occupational Therapy services and are committed to providing a workplace that helps you thrive.
You will:
* Deliver occupational focused assessments and interventions including home visits
* Support older people to maintain or regain independence in their daily lives
* Collaborate with health and social care professionals
* Contribute to service development and innovation in frailty care
We are looking for:
* HCPC registered Occupational Therapist
* A genuine interest in working with older people and those living with frailty
* Excellent communication and teamwork skills
* A proactive, flexible approach to problem-solving and service delivery
We offer:
* Supportive team environment with regular supervision and CPD opportunities
* Regular training opportunities and peer support group
* Opportunities to contribute to research, service improvement, and leadership
Main duties of the job
As a Band 6 Occupational Therapist, you will provide high quality, patient centred care to older adults on the acute older peoples wards, supporting their independence and facilitating timely hospital discharge.
You will provide an occupation focussed assessment to understand the patients problems in engaging in their essential occupations and provide treatment programmes and recommendations to address these. You will be required to assess patients both in the hospital environment but it will also be necessary to take some patients on a home visit to assess them in their home environment.
You will be able to articulate the problems and recommendations to facilitate leaving hospital, working closely with the patients support network and community services, often being required to create bespoke solutions to meet the patients needs and wishes.
You will work collaboratively with Front Door Frailty Teams, Hospital at Home services, and wider multidisciplinary teams to ensure a seamless and efficient patient journey.
If you are a dedicated Occupational Therapist looking for a role where you can make a meaningful difference, we would love to hear from you.
About us
At Somerset NHS Foundation Trust, we're committed to supporting our employees with a range of benefits designed to enhance your professional and personal life. We offer:
* Flexible working options to help you balance work and life
* NHS pension scheme for long-term financial security
* Generous annual leave allowance to recharge and relax
* A strong focus on career development to help you grow and achieve your potential
Additionally, you'll gain access to our Blue Light Card, unlocking exclusive discounts on shopping, dining, and leisure activities, as well as NHS-specific perks to support you both inside and outside of work.
We are proud to foster a diverse, skilled, and inclusive workforce, and we encourage applications from all backgrounds.
Why Somerset? Somerset offers the perfect blend of idyllic countryside, outstanding areas of natural beauty, and breathtaking coastlines, with vibrant cities like Bristol, Bath, and Exeter just a short drive away - and only two hours to London.
The region is home to excellent educational facilities, and with affordable housing compared to other parts of the country, it's a great place to build both your career and your future.
Somerset truly has it all - the peaceful countryside and cosmopolitan city life, with something for everyone to enjoy.
Job responsibilities
Prioritise caseload efficiently and effectively and support junior colleagues to do the same.
Undertake comprehensive occupation focussed, patient centred assessment of patients, including those with diverse or complex presentations and/or multiple pathologies both in the acute hospital setting and through home visits.
Make clinical judgements which require analysis, interpretation and comparison of a range of different interventions and treatment techniques, to optimise physical and cognitive occupational performance capabilities.
Formulate and deliver an individualised, patient centred occupational therapy treatment programme using appropriate assessment, clinical reasoning skills and knowledge of treatments and interventions with patients wishes at the centre.
To determine patients understanding of each therapy intervention in order to gain valid, informed consent and to be able to work within a legal framework with patients who lack capacity to consent to treatment.
To fully engage in learning objectives and development opportunities.
The post holder will undertake comprehensive Occupational Therapy assessments of patients by using both standardised and non standardised assessments to identify deficits and skills potentially impacting the patients occupational performance. The timing of the assessment will be driven by clinical need and with an awareness of targets. The post holder will be expected to use this assessment information to formulate treatment plans for patients and allocate treatment sessions as appropriate for both themselves and support staff. These decisions will take into account National standards for Treatment, Trust priorities and Occupational Therapy Department priorities.
Treatment plans will take into account patients own goals and those of the multi disciplinary team to predict achievable outcomes and recommend the best course of intervention. It will frequently require advanced communication and problem-solving skills. The post holder will be expected to evaluate treatment plans using outcome measures and make adaptation to the individual treatment programme as indicated.
The post holder will have advanced knowledge about health ageing and frailty, incorporating this into assessment and treatment for the acute episode of care as well as supporting the patient with considering factors that can influence extended time in optimum health and quality of life.
The post holder will be expected to make clinical judgements involving complex factors or situations, which require the analysis, interpretation and comparison of a range of options.
The post holder will be expected to advocate for the needs of the patients under their care.
Please see attached Job Description for full details.
Person Specification
Qualifications
* Diploma/Degree in Occupational Therapy
* HCPC Registration
* CPD in relevant clinical areas
* Supervision training
Experience
* Documented evidence of continuing professional development
* Experience in acute setting using positive risk taking
* Experience in supervision of junior and assistant staff
* Ability to work autonomously and set priorities for the team and service in the absence of a team leader
* Experience in clinical audit
* Experience in policy development and implementation
Additional Criteria
* Ability to analyse and interpret complex situations and needs and appraise options to meet needs.
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.
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