Job summary
Employer heading
Band 7 Occupational Therapist - Falls Team Lead
NHS AfC: Band 7
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Job overview
The Haringey and Islington Locality Teams are integrated teams consisting of specialist community rehabilitation therapists and district nurses that work together in an integrated way to support the long-term health needs of adult Haringey and Islington patients.
The Band 7 Occupational Therapy Falls lead will undertake a team lead role for the Haringey Locality Falls Service, as well as managing a clinical caseload, and will support the Clinical Rehabilitation Lead in planning, modernising and transforming pathways. This role is underpinned by clinical practice, area specific clinical competence, leadership and management, and education.
Main duties of the job
Please see the Job Description and the Persons Specification for further details about the job role. If you are unable to access the PDF, the details of the job description can also be found in the 'Detailed Job Description and Main responsibilities' section.
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
GENERAL
· To provide specialised client-centered occupational therapy falls interventions to clients/patients (aged 18 or over) who are resident in the Haringey community and are referred due to a physical and mental health disability/illness/condition. This includes clients who may present with complex physical, cognitive, psycho-social and housing needs as a result of a wide range of medical conditions.
· To be an influential member of the multi-disciplinary team, providing expert, integrated, client- centered, goal- orientated rehabilitation for clients.
· To work as an autonomous practitioner in managing a defined caseload of complex cases, in a community falls setting. To evidence high levels of problem solving and clinical reasoning skills in line with evidence based/client-centered principles. To formulate a diagnosis and treatment plan designed to reduce the impact of disability from a comprehensive assessment of the client’s needs.
· To take a lead role in the supervision, teaching and appraisal of junior occupational therapists, rehabilitation support workers, students and other members of the multi-disciplinary team.
· To work collaboratively with members of the multi-disciplinary team in the planning, development and evaluation of the Locality Therapy Falls Service, taking a lead for designated projects. To continually engage with and develop the provision of occupational therapy within community services.
SPECIFIC RESPONSIBILITIES
CLINICAL
1. To be professionally and legally responsible for all aspects of own professional activities. To adhere to and apply The College of Occupational Therapists’ Code of Ethics and Professional Conduct (College of Occupational Therapists 2015)
2. To independently manage a caseload of complex cases, providing specialist occupational therapy assessment and interventions to clients with complex physical, cognitive and psycho-social needs arising from their medical conditions. To provide this service in the most appropriate setting to the client, e.g. clients’ homes, workplace and other community settings, working closely with the client, his/her family/carer and other professionals in doing this.
3. To be responsible for prioritising the occupational therapy referrals within the service to ensure that clients with urgent needs are seen within appropriate timescales.
4. To establish excellent therapeutic relationships with clients/family/carers to gain their participation in the therapeutic process by employing advanced interpersonal skills (e.g. communication, reasoning, negotiation skills, motivational tactics) and overcoming any barriers to communication (e.g. different languages, lack of understanding of the spoken word, visual or hearing impairments, fear, anxiety).
5. To assess for and diagnose any functional, physical, cognitive, perceptual, psychological and sensory deficits using functional assessments together with specialised standardised and non-standardised assessment batteries.
6. Based on the analysis of the assessment and a risk analysis, to determine occupational therapy aims and treatment goals as part of the overall care plan, and then to formulate intervention options which reduce the impact of disability.
7. To work closely with the client/family/carers to encourage participation in the therapeutic process. To negotiate and agree decisions relevant to the client’s management whilst respecting their diversity. To identify and select with the client/family/carers the most appropriate intervention options, which balance the complex interactions of risk, safety, client choice, independence, areas of conflict, eligibility for services and cost effectiveness.
8. To develop specialised occupational therapy treatment programmes in collaboration with clients, carers and other involved professionals (e.g. physiotherapists, speech and language therapists, district nurses, clinical lead professionals, home care agencies) to be carried out in the client’s home or community as appropriate.
9. To plan, coordinate and deliver client-centred interventions on either an individual or group basis, using the principles of graded activity and a wide range of treatment techniques e.g. functional and remedial activities, splinting, equipment provision, education and health promotion.
10. To use specialised therapeutic moving and handling skills in the assessment and treatment of clients, including providing advice and training to client/family/carers on correct handling techniques, having undertaken specialised manual handling risk assessments.
Person specification
Qualifications
Essential criteria
- Degree or Diploma in Occupational therapy
- Registration with the Health Care Professions Council
- Attendance on courses related to Falls
Desirable criteria
- Higher degree/MSc. relevant to the area of practice.
- Member of the College of Occupational Therapists and relevant Clinical Interest Group
Experience
Essential criteria
- At least 5 years post-registration experience, including extensive rotational experience and evidence of dedicated clinical practice and post-graduate professional development in relevant areas of Occupational therapy.
- At least 2 years experience working with falls at a Band 6 or above.
- Experience of working in the NHS.
- Experience of working within a community setting
Skills & Abilities
Essential criteria
- Essential IT skills, including Word and PowerPoint.
Experience
Essential criteria
- Experience of running groups
- Experience of taking Occupational therapy students on clinical practice placements.
- Experience of organising, writing and delivering in-service training programmes.
- Experience of supervising junior and non-qualified staff, including participation in personal development reviews.
- Experience of involvement in clinical governance/service improvement initiatives
Knowledge
Essential criteria
- Knowledge of current NHS priorities and policy
- Understanding of clinical governance activity and its application to Occupational therapy Services and practice.
- Knowledge of other medical conditions which you may encounter including, but not exclusively, mental health, cognitive deficits and conditions of old age.
- Advanced knowledge of the audit cycle and its uses.
Skills & Abilities
Essential criteria
- Able to communicate highly complex and sensitive information in written, verbal and presentational form to patients, carers and staff within the Trust and across other organisations.
- Able to lead, motivate and influence a team, and to describe strategies to support effective team working.
- Able to apply problem-solving skills to highly complex situations, which may include clinical or organisational issues.
- Highly skilled ability and competency in using a range of therapeutic skills including but not exclusively, various assessment techniques, handling skills, manual handling techniques, exercise therapy, and splinting.
Other Qualities
Essential criteria
- Commitment to holistic patient management and the promotion and progression of Occupational therapy in the community.
Knowledge
Essential criteria
- Up to date and advanced knowledge of a variety of Occupational therapy concepts and approaches, and of current best practice.
- Knowledge of falls management
- Knowledge of outcome measure tools relevant to community Occupational therapy, and ability to select and justify their use.
- Demonstrate an understanding of responsibilities under the Health and Safety at Work Act and of assessing risk within clinical work.
Skills & Abilities
Essential criteria
- Highly developed clinical reasoning skills with an ability to develop client centred, realistic and achievable goals.
- Understanding of issues involved in offering a service to a diverse community, and of practical ways to ensure that the service is culturally appropriate and accessible.
- Able to identify and recognise when to seek advice and support concerning clinical, managerial, professional or organisational issues.
- Able to identify your own and staff’s training and development needs.
- Well-developed and effective communication, motivational and persuasive skills.
- Well developed counselling and advocacy skills to support staff, patients and carers.
- high level of organisation and planning skills and ability to prioritise caseloads and identify areas of unmet need
Other Qualities
Essential criteria
- Ability to work in the community in patient’s homes and to travel around the borough.
- Willingness to work on any site as service requirements dictate, and as appropriate.
Applicant requirements
You must have appropriate UK professional registration.
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
- Name
- Neetu Jain
- Job title
- Clinical Rehabilitation Lead
- Email address
- [email protected]
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