Advanced Paediatric Occupational Therapist

Job description

Job responsibilities

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES

1. To co-lead the mainstream school service and manage the clinic pathways within the Paediatric OT Service. She/he will contribute to the development of these specialist services in relation to other clinical pathways and related policies.

2. To work as an autonomous practitioner and provide highly specialist assessment and intervention for children and young people (CYP) with complex special educational needs (including global developmental delay, autism, social communication disorders, developmental coordination disorder etc.) in the following areas according to the CYPs stage of development and specific needs with consideration of the social and cultural needs of the CYP and family:

a. Within individual and/or in groups, as part of multi-disciplinary team, in a variety of health, educational and community settings.

b. To use sound clinical reasoning and appropriate outcome measurement.

c. To actively contribute to the overall diagnostic process within the multi-disciplinary team for children with highly complex needs.

d. To demonstrate specialist knowledge in clinical specialism underpinned by current evidence-based practice.

e. To facilitate optimal and increased independence of CYP in -

i. Participation in self-care and activities of daily living, e.g. feeding, toileting, dressing, personal hygiene etc.

ii. Participation in productive activities, e.g. school-based tasks, regulation of attention, organisation of behaviour, fine manipulation of tools etc.

iii. Participation in play and leisure activities, e.g. joint engagement, turn-taking, gross motor task performance, motor-coordination.

3. To manage own caseload independently and prioritise according to the CYPs needs and departmental policies on service delivery, and to ensure that intervention is meeting the needs of CYP, families and / or carers. Access to support and supervision will be provided as necessary.

4. To coordinate and deliver the National Autistic Societys EarlyBird Programme jointly with the Speech and Language Therapist in Ealing (if commissioned). This would include:

a. Maintaining the record keeping system to track referrals.

b. Liaison with other professionals and agencies as appropriate.

5. To carry out community visits (e.g. home, school etc.) to provide specialist advice, recommendations and training to parents/carers/other professionals on home safety adaptations, intervention and/or handling activities as necessary. To also provide minor and / or major adaptation recommendations for environmental modification if required.

6. To recommend special seating/positioning systems and/or splinting to support functional use of upperlimb as necessary.

7. To contribute specialist advice towards Education, Health and Care Plans (EHCPs) as part of the Code of Practice for statutory assessment of Education, Health and Social Care needs in line with national and local policies and procedures when requested.

8. To provide advice and support families and other professionals involved with the CYPs care in order to implement strategies.

9. To work collaboratively with multi-agency professionals and parents/carers to develop and implement comprehensive specialist intervention packages for CYP, including planning and delivering specialist training to other OTs, professionals and parents/carers.

10. To use specialist knowledge to refer children and families to other services / professionals as necessary after getting appropriate consent e.g. CAMHS etc.

11. To act as the main contact and spoke person for the OT service in the designated specialist area and / or clinical setting.

12. Take a lead role in clinical audit, research and service development related to the specialist areas or clinical settings at least once a year.

13. To supervise other junior staff working in own specialist area.

14. To provide one clinical education placement to Occupational Therapy student as lead educator at least once a year.

15. To contribute to the management of physical and on-line resources, in line with contractual and professional standards.

Person Specification

Education & Qualifications

Essential

• oRegistration with Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC) as an Occupational Therapist and has professional indemnity arranged.
• oRecognised Occupational Therapy degree qualification or equivalent, i.e. DipCOT/BSc OT.
• oEvidence of continuous professional development (e.g. attendance of journal clubs, conferences, professional specialist interest activities) in the field of OT.

Desirable

• oRegistered member with relevant professional bodies e.g. RCOT, RCOT CYPFSS.
• oMSc in OT.
• oEvidence of successful completion of specialist training courses e.g. CO-OP, Sensory Integration Foundation Module, working with autism, Bobath Foundation Course, seating assessment, School AMPS, leadership, change management, team development, staff supervision etc.

Knowledge & Experience

Essential

• oHas significant post graduate working experience in Occupational Therapy, with high level of specialist clinical experience and knowledge in paediatric occupational therapy including working with different neuro-developmental disabilities including autism, ADHD, learning disabilities, DCD etc.
• oHave high level of clinical skills and experience in assessing and providing intervention to children with complex special education needs (e.g. contribution for appeals or tribunals etc.).
• oSubstantial experience in working within a multidisciplinary team and also working across different agencies by using different models of practice and frames of reference, e.g. education and social services.
• oPostgraduate experience of developing and delivering training.
• oPostgraduate experience of developing and delivering group interventions.
• oIn-depth and working knowledge of national policies, legislation and procedures relevant to the paediatric practice.
• oIn-depth knowledge of principles of clinical governance and experience in service development in different clinical governance activities, e.g. clinical audit.
• oExperience in providing consistent supervision and support to staff members who may have different ways of working and/or who may require capability management.

Desirable

• oBand 7 working experience within a related field.
• oBand 6 working experience within paediatric OT.
• oKnowledge and experience in the Education Health and Care Plan (EHCP) process.

Skills, Abilities & Attributes

Essential

• oAbility to be a good team member, assume leadership responsibilities and facilitate team working within the team and across disciplines or agencies.
• oDemonstrate flexibility and adaptability when leading team and supervising others.
• oExcellent interpersonal and communication skills including observation, listening and empathy skills using various modes e.g. face-to-face, emails, phone calls, record keeping, documentation, report writing etc.
• oExcellent presentation skills, both written and verbal.
• oDemonstrate advanced negotiation, conflict resolution and problem solving skills with confidence.
• oDemonstrate good personal organisational skills, with the ability to prioritise effectively, manage time efficiently and work under pressure.
• oDemonstrate independent analytical and reflection skills to evaluate own practice.
• oDemonstrate resilience to manage stress and well-being of own self and others.
• oHas competent IT skills e.g. managing data on spreadsheet, presentation of information etc.
• oAbility to attend work in person.

Desirable

• oAbility to act as spokesperson for the team or service.
• oExperience of deputising or providing cover for team or service lead.
• oAbility to speak up or act appropriately when encountering incivility in the work place.

Disclosure and Barring Service Check

This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (Exceptions Order) 1975 and as such 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.

Certificate of Sponsorship

Applications from job seekers who require current Skilled worker sponsorship to work in the UK are welcome and will be considered alongside all other applications. For further information visit the UK Visas and Immigration website (Opens in a new tab).

From 6 April 2017, skilled worker applicants, applying for entry clearance into the UK, have had to present a criminal record certificate from each country they have resided continuously or cumulatively for 12 months or more in the past 10 years. Adult dependants (over 18 years old) are also subject to this requirement. Guidance can be found here Criminal records checks for overseas applicants (Opens in a new tab).

UK Registration

Applicants must have current UK professional registration. For further information please see NHS Careers website (opens in a new window).

Employer details

Employer name

Central and North West London NHS Foundation Trust

Address

Carmelita House

21-22 The Mall

Ealing

W5 2PJ

Employer's website

https://www.cnwl.nhs.uk/work (Opens in a new tab)