Job overview
Working under the supervision and guidance of qualified therapists, the Therapy Assistant will play a key role in delivering person-centred rehabilitation and support to residents across various care homes. The post holder will assist in implementing therapy plans, encouraging residents to maintain or improve their physical and functional abilities.
The service operates Monday to Friday, 9:00am to 5:00pm. You will be expected to follow agreed treatment protocols and evidence-based practices to ensure safe, effective, and high-quality care.
Main duties of the job
·To work as a Therapy Assistant within the Care Home Support Team delivering care to residents within the homes
·To assist the Occupational therapist and Physiotherapist by carrying out delegated aspects of patient care without direct supervision and reporting back patient's progress or issues to the therapist.
·To manage own caseload of patients assessing, implementing and progressing
·Treatment programmes with agreement with the therapists and creating discharge plans.
·To be responsible for ensuring correct equipment is available for both services is available.
·To undertake specific skilled support work to aid the rehabilitation of patients.
Working for our organisation
St George’s, Epsom and St Helier University Hospitals and Health Group cares for a population of four million people in South West London and North East Surrey. Our sites include St George’s Hospital, one of 11 major trauma centres in the UK and the largest healthcare provider and major teaching hospital in the area; St Helier Hospital, home to the South West Thames Renal and Transplantation Unit and Queen Mary's Hospital for Children; and Epsom Hospital, home to the South West London Elective Orthopaedic Centre (SWLEOC).
After years of collaboration, our two Trusts became a hospitals group in 2021. While remaining as two separate Trusts, being a hospitals group will help us to collaborate more closely on research, and the development, education, and training of our 17,000-strong workforce.
Detailed job description and main responsibilities
·Provide physiotherapy and occupational therapy intervention as part of a specific treatment plan agreed and documented by physiotherapist/occupational therapist.
·Undertake tasks in delivering patient care and rehabilitation as directed by the service professionals in a range of settings.
·Work independently in the designated clinical area within the Care Home following an agreed treatment plan.
·Instruct patients and carers, providing direction and guidance on a range of physiotherapy or occupational therapy and mobility/functional activities, as directed by the physiotherapist or occupational therapist
·Undertake skilled support work with patients individually or in a group with or without supervision of a physiotherapist or occupational therapist.
·Follow departmental and Trust guidelines for obtaining consent and use diplomacy and gentle persuasion to enhance patients' compliance in treatment programmes.
·Work with family members, carers and support workers to enable them to carry out treatment programmes planned by the physiotherapist or occupational therapist.
·Manage own workload allocated by the physiotherapist or occupational therapist.
·Work as a member of the multidisciplinary team and liaise with the team effectively to ensure co-ordinated approach to patient care and attend meetings as delegated by senior clinicians/manager.
·Maintain comprehensive and accurate records of work undertaken, including documenting in line with Trust and service standards.
·Attend in-service training, clinical supervision and team meetings as required.
·Handle patients with mobility problems, in an enabling way. This may include the use of hoists, sliding sheets, wheelchairs, and mobility aids etc.
Person specification
Training and Qualifications
Essential criteria
1. Evidence of education, literacy and Numeracy (Maths and English GCSE Grade C or above or equivalent to complete patient records and designated clerical tasks)
Desirable criteria
2. Formal technical Qualification e.g. NVQ or Equivalent
3. Be able to demonstrate skills acquired through experience
4. Evidence of formal and/or informal learning relevant to the post
Experience
Essential criteria
5. Work experience Community/Care Home setting
6. Experience of working with people or in a customer facing role
7. Experience of team working
8. Experience of working in older people services
Desirable criteria
9. Previous experience as a Physiotherapy/OT assistant or equivalent
10. Work experience or shadowing in a therapy department
11. Experience of working as part of a multi-disciplinary team
Knowledge and Skills
Essential criteria
12. Understanding of the client groups and conditions treated by therapists in the community setting
13. Awareness of the role and scope of the work of Occupational Therapists and Physiotherapists
14. Computer skills, including email, letters, spreadsheets and scanning
15. Demonstrate competence in teaching practical skills to clients
Desirable criteria
16. Basic understanding of health and community services
17. Ability to record complex information accurately and concisely
18. Group work skills
19. Demonstrate a willingness to learn new skills and progress within the role and share skills with others
Your application: Please ensure that you have read the job description and person specification and that your supporting statement reflects these, as your application will be assessed and scored against these criteria.
References: You will be required to provide 3 years of employment/educational history. We do not accept references from personal email addresses such as Hotmail, Gmail etc. therefore please ensure you are providing professional working email addresses within your application form. If you are unable to provide professional email addresses and are invited to an interview, please ensure you advise the interviewers of this - otherwise, this may delay your pre-employment checks.
Closing date: In order to streamline recruitment within our Trust, we reserve the right to expire vacancies prior to the advertised closing date once we have received a sufficient number of applications.
Shortlisting: You will only be contacted via e-mail/SMS by the SWL Recruitment Hub if you are successfully shortlisted for this post. Please ensure that you check your Trac registered e-mail regularly.
DBS: We are committed to safeguarding children and adults who are at risk of abuse. As such, if this post will have access to children or vulnerable adults, you will be required to undertake an Enhanced Disclosure and Barring Service check. However, all employees have a responsibility for safeguarding children and vulnerable adults in the course of their duties and for ensuring that they are aware of the specific duties relating to their role.
______________________________________________________ Disability Advice Line: SWL Recruitment Hub is committed to promoting equity and equal opportunities for individuals with disabilities. We believe that greater diversity and inclusion will lead to an even more positive impact on the people we serve. For support with job opportunities and reasonable adjustments contact our Confidential Disability Advice Line at: Telephone: 02082963786 Text: 07501066267 Email: @. Our confidential answering service is available after 5pm. ______________________________________________________
Employer certification / accreditation badges
Applicant requirements
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.
Documents to download
Further details / informal visits contact
NameLucy WebberJob titleHead of Community ServicesEmail addressTelephone number07966 586 812