Job overview
Rotational Occupational Therapist, Band 6
The vacancy is for an experienced Occupational Therapist to join a mixed rotation at Whittington Health. Previous experience of working in the acute setting is desirable and prior experience/a working knowledge of the UK healthcare system.
The successful candidate will have excellent communication, be organised and ready to face the challenge of working in a fast paced environment.
The rotations available are:
1. Acute General Medicine
2. Care of Older People/Neurology
3. Rapid assessment and Early Discharge
4. Orthopaedics
5. Hand Therapy
6. Community Rehabilitation
If you are an existing Band 5 looking to develop as a senior therapist then this is an excellent opportunity to develop in a well supported setting. We are a friendly and supportive team. We offer access to in house training opportunities, and external training to promote your learning and skill development.
Main duties of the job
The post holder will:
Undertake Occupational Therapy assessment of patients with often complex physical, psychological and social presentations. With advanced clinical reasoning skills provide a treatment plan and deliver appropriate interventions .
Be responsible for managing own caseload and in some cases work without direct supervision.
Supervise Band 5 rotational staff, students and support staff and provide therapy related information advice to other health care professionals in the specific clinical area.
Undertake activities which contribute to own continuing professional development which may include, audit, evidence based learning and quality improvement projects to further own and teams clinical practice.
On occasion, lead on the implementation of specific changes to practice or contribute to development of service protocols.
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
MAIN DUTIES
At all times to be professionally and legally accountable for all aspects of own work.
7. Clinical
Work as an autonomous practitioner, to assess and treat own caseload of patients, including those with complex presentations. In each rotation treatment decisions will be underpinned by specialist knowledge gained from post graduate study of evidence based treatments and from previous experience.
To quickly and accurately screen, establish priority for patient referrals for Occupational Therapy intervention some of which maybe complex and require a multi-disciplinary approach.
To carry out an assessment of patients, including those with complex presentations. Draw on a wide range of information sources and use clinical reasoning skills to determine an accurate diagnosis. To identify an appropriate Occupational Therapy care plan from treatment options available.
To formulate and deliver occupational therapy treatment programmes in a variety of settings. Settings include: hospital, community, and patients’ home, home visits, as part of a team and as a sole practitioner.
To work collaboratively to prevent inappropriate hospital admissions and to facilitate hospital discharge in order to minimize hospital stays.
To develop comprehensive discharge plans in conjunction with the multi-disciplinary team members.
To make recommendations to support a patients discharge including care support and rehabilitation opportunities.
Undertake referrals to internal and external services when deemed appropriate/of benefit to the support or progression of the patient. e.g. community rehabilitation, social services, voluntary agencies
To have the ability, knowledge and skills required for moving and handling people in community environments.
To be physically able to install specialist occupational therapy equipment in client homes applying safe manual handling at all times, especially when doing so in restricted spaces
To work with patients and their carers when appropriate in such a way as to promote their self-management strategies.
To represent the service at multi-disciplinary team meetings. This will include discussion of patient care, progress and involvement in discharge planning and continued rehabilitation needs.
To keep accurate treatment records, which fulfill legal and statistical requirements and which are in accordance with HCPC/CSP/Trust/departmental standards.
To provide comprehensive progress and discharge reports to relevant personnel to inform on action taken or actions required
Demonstrate the ability to seek guidance and support when needed or when treatment required is not within scope of professional knowledge or skill.
To manage clinical risk within own patient caseload at all times.
To work flexibly in order to provide cover to other clinical areas when required.
2 Communication
To gain valid informed consent and have the capacity to work within a legal framework with patients who lack the capacity to consent to treatment.
To be able to motivate and persuade others through effective communication skills, with the benefit of verbal and non-verbal skills, for example, patients with communication difficulties, hearing or sight impairments, memory loss, mental illness or those who may be unable to accept their diagnosis.
To be able to communicate complex and sensitive information to patients, carers and other staff members when required accepting that there may be barriers to communication i.e. non-English speaking patients, use of interpreters, excess noise or lack of privacy.
To communicate effectively providing and receiving complex information in relation to patients care including but not limited to liaising with:
8. Other members of the Multi-disciplinary team (Consultants, General Practitioners, medical staff, Nurses, Occupational Therapists, Speech and Language therapists, Dietitians, Social Workers etc) to develop and agree management programmes for the patients in your care adopting and developing effective interpersonal skills to ensure comprehensive management.
9. Relatives or carers to gain the best possible understanding of each patient and give suitable guidance and support
10. And to arrange and participate in case conferences with patients who have complex physical, psychological and social presentations.
To produce written, electronic and verbal reports for the MDT other Health or Social care providers and be able to convey this to the patient in an accessible and meaningful manner using the correct terminology, often in the face of communication barriers.
To build a network of professional contacts across a range of professions in various settings such as community services, social services and other acute hospitals.
To attend Therapy staff meetings and other meetings when necessary.
3 Education and Training
Maintain and develop current knowledge of evidence-based practice, developing specialist knowledge of particular conditions and patient types.
To contribute to the education of multidisciplinary groups, patients, families and carers as appropriate.
To, be actively involved in induction and education of new staff, rotating staff and students.
To be responsible for and actively record own professional development and maintain a CPD portfolio which reflects the same.
To be pro-active in organizing, teaching and actively participating in the in-service and post-registration education programme within every clinical area. Attendance of other outside courses/lectures is encouraged.
To ensure yearly attendance/participation in Mandatory training requirements.
See Job description and Personal specification full details
Person specification
Qualifications & Training
Essential criteria
11. Recognised degree or diploma in Occupational Therapy
12. HCPC Registered
13. Recent post graduate training relevant to the post applied for
14. IELTS Level 7 or above for overseas candidates
Desirable criteria
15. Member of the Royal College of Occupational Therapists
16. Member of relevant clinical special interest groups/sections
Knowledge & Experience
Essential criteria
17. Minimum of 18 months post qualifying work experience in an NHS or Social Care setting
18. Work or recent placement experience in an in-pt acute physical work setting
19. Experience gained through rotations at band 5 level in at least 3 settings
20. Experience of working in an Occupational Therapy Team or a Joint therapy team within a wider MDT
21. Knowledge of a range of assessments and interventions for patients presenting with both physical and cognitive impairments
22. Knowledge of relevant legislation and clinical guidelines relating to the role of an OT in acute care and rehabilitation
23. Working knowledge of the role of other professions in health and social care and inter agency working
Desirable criteria
24. Experience of supervising Band 5, support staff or students and completing/contributing to the appraisal/marking process
25. Knowledge and understanding of cultural diversity and how to apply this in practice
Skills & Abilities
Essential criteria
26. Evidence of clinical application of core Occupational Therapy skills in practice
27. Ability to organise, prioritise and delegate work appropriately to manage a busy and varied caseload
28. Excellent communication skills both written and verbal
29. Ability to work as an autonomous practitioner and act on own initiative
30. To demonstrate effective team working skills and good understanding of what makes an MDT work well
31. Skills in therapeutic handling and the ability to undertake risk assessment in relation to service users handling requirement. Safe and effective use of moving and handling equipment
32. Deliver and contribute to the clinical education of others less including experienced staff, students or assistants.
33. Be able to to carry out moderate to intense physical effort throughout the working day and carry out concurrent activities
34. IT skills to the level required to undertake the role - Word, Excel, Email.
35. Demonstrate the ability to use professional language, verbally, in clinical note writing, reports and referrals
Desirable criteria
36. Undertake duties additional to the clincial role to support the department when requested
Other qualities
Essential criteria
37. To act responsibly and professionally at all times
38. Demonstrate reliability and motivation in day to role.
39. Be able to work safely and within organizational and regulatory professional body standards and policies e.g. Confidentiality, Lone working, maintain own CPD for registration
40. Be able to work flexibly to meet the demands of the service i.e. weekend working, late shift in the 37.5 hour week as required by the service
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:
41. 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.
42. Ensure you are familiar and comply with the London Multi Agency Safeguarding Vulnerable Adults Pan London Procedures.
43. Ensure you are familiar and comply with local protocols and systems for information sharing.
44. Know the appropriate contact numbers and required reporting lines.
45. Participate in required training and supervision.
46. 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.