We are currently recruiting for 3 qualified Occupational Therapists to join our client in Cornwall. The 3 posts are to cover East, West and Mid Cornwall.
Job Purpose
The post holder is an autonomous practitioner within a county wide service and local team structure, working within a highly complex and challenging environment to advise, assess, plan, develop, deliver and evaluate services to adults with disability in order that they can maintain, develop and maximise their independence. This includes:
* Working with a caseload of people living in the community, using client-centred approaches to produce holistic solutions to the problems and challenges they encounter in their daily living
* To provide oversight, direction and support to a range of colleagues, on a day-to-day basis, to enable multi-disciplinary approaches to resolve the daily experiences of people with disabilities
* To assist colleagues in identifying, planning and implementing the development and evaluation of services within the community
* To communicate effectively and work collaboratively with a range of colleagues across health, social care, local authority, voluntary agencies and any other relevant agencies as necessary
* To maintain and uphold professional standards and conduct and to adhere to the College of Occupational Therapy Code of Ethics
Functional Competencies
* To assist in the monitoring and prioritisation of referrals received by the Occupational Therapy team. This will include advising, Social Workers, Technical Officers, Case Co-ordinators, other Adult Social Care staff and other agencies as to the most appropriate response to referrals and requests for service. This will include analysing and making judgements based upon a complex range of potential options.
* To be a point of contact for advice and to share responsibility in providing information and responding to specific enquiries relating to community occupational therapy services, to service users, carers, organisations and other professionals.
* To be responsive to the appropriate allocation of referrals and requests for service, via the Therapy Management system. This will involve specialist assessments and interventions provided by the Occupational Therapist and to direct other less experienced workers to undertake required tasks.
* To undertake complex assessments including risk assessments and ensure the provision of appropriate rehabilitation programmes specialised equipment, minor and major adaptations, by working within a clear professional framework of accountability and responsibility. This is done through the development of excellent working relationships with service users, carers, other professionals and agencies and in line with the development of guidance from professional bodies and other national standards in order to manage changes to working practices, cost effective use of available budgets and through negotiation with budget holders and agencies to meet service user’s needs.
* To manage, with the assistance of the Band 7 OT’s, a complex caseload of service users who live in the community. This will involve the appropriate, self-directed prioritisation of appointments and workload, including working within an environment subject to conflicting and contradictory demands.
* To undertake home visits in order to assess, plan, deliver and evaluate the holistic provision of services and agreed outcomes with service users, carers and other professionals.
* To undertake training, education and guidance with individual service users, their carers and families to adapt and modify aspects of their lifestyle in order to maximise their opportunities for independent living.
* To work with service users with complex needs and to be accountable for the direct delivery of the specialist service. This will include physical and learning disabilities, mental health problems or terminal illness, and to maintain and continually develop specialist knowledge and awareness.
* To meet the assessed needs of service users through consideration of environmental design, ergonomic principles and technical feasibility of major adaptations.
* To make recommendations for the provision of adaptations, including all aspects of its assessment, technical feasibility and service user and carer use.
* To undertake comprehensive risk assessments for the fitting and demonstration of items of community equipment. This will Include the provision of instruction for safe service user and carer use.
* To respond to and be professionally accountable for meeting the needs of urgent referrals and requests for service, via the Care Management system.
* To develop, deliver and evaluate programmes of staff development and awareness-raising on a wide range of key issues, such as programmes of induction, Case Co-ordinator training and Manual Handling training and to provide support to colleagues.
* To identify and develop innovative and creative solutions to workload and other organisational pressures.
* To maintain accurate, contemporaneous written and electronic records and performance information.
* To provide and receive highly complex, sensitive and occasionally contentious information by using the highest levels of interpersonal and communication skills. This will include producing reports and professional assessments in line with the nature and complexity of the work undertaken.
* Undertake generic and specialist training as required and maintain an ongoing commitment to continuing professional development (CPD).
* To undertake the measurement and evaluation of current practice through the use of evidence based practice, audit and outcome measures either individually or with your manager. To make recommendations for change.
* To assist in the recruitment process as required by the Disability Manager, this will include short-listing and interviewing candidates for a range of posts within the Department.
* Work at all times within the code of requirements of the Health and Safety at Work Act and other relevant legislation.
* To work at all times within an equality of opportunity framework, recognising difference and diversity and to conduct themselves in an appropriate anti-discriminatory manner
* Any other duties appropriate to the post as required.