Main area Occupational Therapy Grade NHS AfC: Band 4 Contract Permanent Hours Full time - 37.5 hours per week (includes weekend working on a rota) Job ref 409-7218351
Employer Mersey and West Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust Employer type NHS Site Southport District General Hospital Town Southport Salary £26,530 - £29,114 per annum Salary period Yearly Closing 29/06/2025 23:59 Interview date 09/07/2025
Assistant Practitioner- Stroke/ Early Supported Discharge team
NHS AfC: Band 4
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Job overview
We have an exciting opportunity for a Band 4 Therapy Assistant Practitioner to join our established Stroke Service at Southport & Ormskirk Hospitals.
As part of this role you will work both within therapy across the acute inpatient stroke service and the early supported discharge team. The service operates across the North Sefton and West Lancashire localities and facilitate discharges from the hospital and provides rehabilitation within the community.
You will be part of a friendly and experienced multi-disciplinary team, working across Physiotherapy, Occupational Therapy, Speech and Language Therapy and Dietetics to provide excellent patient-centred care. There will be opportunities to work both within the hospital setting and within the community.
Main duties of the job
Main duties of the job
* You will be encouraged, and required, to further develop your skills and knowledge related to our client group to enable you to provide high quality holistic care.
* This position would suit a candidate in possession of an assistant practitioner foundation degree or equivalent qualification.
* The position will be supported through supervision from one of our senior clinicians.
* The post holder should have experience in acute stroke rehabilitation and understand community delivery.
* The post holder will be expected to work flexibly and to support weekend working and may include participation in weekend/Bank Holiday rotas.
Working for our organisation
Mersey and West Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust serves a population of over 600,000 with a workforce of over 10,500 dedicated and skilled staff across 21 sites.
We strongly believe that the communities we serve should all have access to Five Star Patient Care.
Our services:
Acute Care
Providing emergency and maternity services at Whiston, Southport and Ormskirk hospitals, and medical and surgical specialties across all our sites.
Primary Care
Providing primary care services at Marshalls Cross Medical Centre situated in St Helens Hospital.
Community Services
Providing adult community services for St Helens and a wheelchair service in Chorley, South Ribble, and West Lancashire. Our inpatient unit at Newton Community Hospital is where patients needing acute hospital beds can continue rehabilitation. We also provide urgent care at our Urgent Treatment Centre located in St Helens town centre.
Specialist Regional Services
We provide the Mersey Regional Burns & Plastic Surgery Unit at Whiston Hospital and the Spinal Injuries Unit at Southport Hospital to more than 4 million people across the whole of Merseyside, West Lancashire, Cheshire, Isle of Man and North Wales.
Achievements:
* Rated Outstanding by CQC Inspection August 2018
* Top 100 places to work in the NHS (NHS Employers & Health Service Journal)
* National Preceptorship Accreditation (2023) for Nursing & AHP Preceptorship Programme
Detailed job description and main responsibilities
KEY DUTIES
* To establish a therapeutic relationship with patients and under the direction of the Therapists, carry out assessments and modify the treatment where necessary.
* To report back to supervising staff regarding the individual needs/abilities of patients and carers suggesting modifications, as appropriate and adapt treatment as necessary.
* To liaise with members of the Multi-Disciplinary Team and external agencies to ensure the effective management of patients care, communicating patient information in relation to their care as required.
* To accept responsibility and manage a delegated caseload which will include clinical and admin responsibilities, ensuring patients are seen in a timely manner.
* When instructed by HCPC registered therapists undertake environmental or follow-up visits within the community for the provision and fitting of adaptive equipment.
* To assist senior members of the team with home visits within the community.
* Safely assess, maintain and issue equipment to the patient as appropriate ensuring they are trained and competent in its use.
* Able to interpret and contribute to individualised treatment plans and escalate any issues to the qualified therapist as indicated.
* To communicate condition related information to patients and carers about their treatment and care plan in a sensitive manner.
* To maintain appropriate documentation in line with Department and Trust policies.
* The post holder will work within and suggest changes to departmental policies and procedures.
* Ensure the safe use of appropriate medical devices required to carry out treatment in line with departmental procedures.
* To participate in shift patterns to support the delivery of 7 day service as required.
ADMINISTRATIVE RESPONSIBILITIES
* To process referrals for equipment and co-ordinate the operation of the onsite Satellite Store for equipment as directed by the service needs, including stock maintenance and collection/cleaning of equipment.
* To develop and maintain accessible patient information, equipment and resources to complement Rehabilitation.
* To be responsible for the timely and accurate collection of such statistics / records as are required nationally and departmentally and to ensure that confidentiality is maintained.
* To undertake general administration duties such as photocopying, filing, faxing and achieving.
TRAINING & DEVELOPMENT
* To develop knowledge and skills in specific therapy fields practice through a competency based programme led by the team leader.
* To contribute to the Induction, development and training of therapy assistants students and other colleagues as appropriate and as advised by the clinical supervisor.
* To participate in service training, keeping up to date with relevant practice and maintaining CPD portfolio.
* To identify own personal development needs with supervisor through supervision and Personal Development Plans.
* To actively contribute to Trust/Departmental activities in relation to Clinical Governance and audit in service area as requested by clinical supervisor
Person specification
Knowledge and Experience
* • Previous demonstrable experience working as a therapy assistant or health care assistant within a health / social / personal care setting
* • Awareness of confidentiality and data protection procedures in relation to the recording of patient information
* • Awareness of health and safety issues relevant to role and reporting mechanisms
* • General understanding of clinical conditions relevant to team specialty
* • Demonstrate understanding of this role and how it may contribute to clinical outcomes
* • Awareness of current NHS issues and Trust Policies
* • Awareness of external agencies including Voluntary and Social Services
* • Knowledge of stock control and referral processes for therapy equipment
* • Demonstrate a commitment to personal development and the development of others
* • Competent to work autonomously within the designated therapy role
* • Competent in carrying out basic assessments as delegated by the HCPC therapist
Skills and Abilities
* • Understanding of information technology and administrative systems.
* • Good interpersonal skills with effective written and verbal communication skills
* • Ability to work independently and as part of a team
* • Demonstrate a professional approach to their duties
* • Maintain confidentiality in relation to patient identifiable information in line with policies and data protection
* • Ability to demonstrate problem solving approach and use of initiative
* • Good organisational skills and ability to plan and manage own time
Other
* • Ability to carry out moving and handling with patients and equipment.
* • Frequent periods of concentration required to obtain patient information that will inform the treatment plan
* • Ability to cope with and assist in situations that could be unpleasant e.g. bodily fluids
* • Ability to fulfil the travel requirements of the post
Thank you for considering an application to work for Mersey West Lancashire NHS Trust. MWL is an exciting and forward-thinking NHS Trust who are one of the best places to work for in England.
Given sometimes we receive a high volume of applications to work for us, please be aware, that we may close a vacancy earlier than stated should a sufficient number of applications be received from which a shortlist can be confirmed. Therefore, you are advised to apply at your earliest convenience.
The Trust may contact you during the recruitment process for your feedback on your experience. We always aim for continuous improvement in our practice.
Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion
We actively cultivate a professional environment of fairness, equality, dignity, and respect for all individuals. We welcome individuals from all backgrounds and value the unique skills, perspective and experience you bring. We are grounded in the belief that diversity enhances our collective strength, fostering innovation and excellence within our workforce. We welcome all applications irrespective of people’s race, disability, gender, sexual orientation, religion/belief, age, gender identity, marriage and civil partnership, pregnancy/maternity and in particular those from under- represented groups.
As a Disability Confident Leader, we commit to offering an interview to all disabled applicants who meet the minimum criteria for the job (the essential criteria) listed in the personal specification. If you wish to apply under this Guaranteed Interview Scheme, please indicate this on the online application form.
If you are having difficulty completing an online application, or require any disability reasonable adjustments, to the application process, please contact Recruitment@merseywestlancs.nhs.uk
We also commit to offering an interview to all armed forces veterans who meet the minimum criteria for the job (the essential criteria) listed in the personal specification. If you wish to apply under this Guaranteed Interview Scheme, please indicate this on the online application form.
The Trust operates anonymous shortlisting where no personal information about you, including your name or personal details are shared with the recruiting manager. No equality information is shared at any time during the recruitment process with the recruiting manager or other people involved in the decision-making process.
The equality monitoring information you provide is used in the following situations: to review our recruitment practices; where a job is limited to a specific person to verify their eligibility to apply; and to offer disability reasonable adjustments to the recruitment process.
Following the recent update on UK immigration policy for those on a Health and Care Visa or Skilled Worker Visa, please click here to check your eligibility before applying for this post as we may be unable to provide sponsorship.
Disclosure and Barring Service Check
If this post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (Exceptions Order) 1975 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.
Please note if applicable, applicants will be required to pay for their DBS check. Costs are deducted from salary following appointment.
If you have not already done so, you are therefore encouraged to enrol for the DBS Update Service to which a small annual fee of £13 per year applies.
Flexible Working
We actively support flexible working patterns throughout MWL. Changes made to the NHS Terms and Conditions of Service Handbook mean that:
· All employees have the right to request flexible working from day one of employment.
· There is no limit on the number of requests they can make.
· Employees have the right to make requests, have them considered, regardless of the reason.
At Mersey and West Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust, we will consider requests for flexible working. We would also encourage you to also discuss flexible working options at interview stage.
Working for Team MWL
Staff recognition is especially important to us; as well as performance reviews and appraisals, we recognise staff through Employee of the month. Along with supporting you to achieve your career goals we offer a generous pension scheme, unsocial hours payments (where applicable), 27 days annual leave on commencement (pro rata) and access to a range of NHS discounts. Our Staff Health and Wellbeing programme offer a variety of services.
The Trust is a non-smoking across all our sites. Failure to follow this rule could lead to disciplinary action. For more information, see the Smoke Free NHS website
You must ensure that your application, including personal statements and behaviour examples, are truthful and factually accurate. Please note plagiarism can include presenting the ideas and experience of others, or generated by artificial intelligence, as your own.
The Trust will not accept applications which are found to be AI generated and will check all applications against AI detection software.
Additional Information
Before applying, we encourage you to review the Trusts Values and Behaviours which are We are KIND, We are OPEN, We are INCLUSIVE, which can be found here .
An applicant guide to help and support you with your application and what to expect during your recruitment journey can be accessed in the supporting documents.
Good luck with your application. We hope to welcome you to Team MWL very soon.
Employer certification / accreditation badges
This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (Exceptions) Order 1975 (Amendment) (England and Wales) Order 2020 and it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service.
Name Katie Hinds Job title Clinical Therapy Manager Email address katie.hinds@merseywestlancs.nhs.uk Telephone number 01704705115 Additional information
For further details or to arrange an informal visit please contact Katie Hinds, Clinical Therapy Manager on 01704 705115
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