Assistant Practitioner

Mersey Care NHS Foundation Trust

The closing date is 22 October 2024

Job summary

Mersey Care are looking for an enthusiastic, hardworking Band 4 Assistant Practitioner to join their innovative and dynamic team within Liverpool Wheelchair Service.

The position could be suitable for an existing Assistant Practitioner or a Health Care Assistant with the right level of experience and qualifications.

The role involves working in clinic and within the community in the assessment, prescription and provision of wheelchairs and pressure care. You will hold your own caseload and support the therapists to assess and prescribe wheelchairs, specialist buggies and powered wheelchairs.

The service has a fleet of vans to support the timely provision of wheelchairs in the community.

Main duties of the job

The successful candidate will provide assessment and provision of wheelchairs and pressure management to clients of all ages with a wide variety of medical conditions across the diverse city of Liverpool under the supervision of a qualified practitioner.

We are an innovative service with a goal of providing a high quality service to our patients to achieve their mobility goals and enable their independence. We are looking for a forward thinking assistant practitioner who will add to the team's dynamic approach and be committed to their own continuing professional development. An effective team player with excellent organisational and communication skills is required to work in a busy service.

We are a friendly, supportive and proactive team looking to provide the best experience and service provision possible for our patients.

The service works collaboratively with many other services around Liverpool and are always open to new ways of working together to ensure safe and effective equipment is provided in a timely manner.

Liverpool Wheelchair Service will provide relevant training necessary to enable you to have the skills and knowledge to provide the high quality service we aim for. There will be plenty of opportunities to gain experience in this specialist area of practice, through shadowing and learning from others.

About us

Mersey Care is one of the largest trusts providing physical health and mental health services in the North West, serving more than 1.4 million people across our region and are also commissioned for services that cover the North West, North Wales and the Midlands.

We offer specialist inpatient and community services that support physical and mental health and specialist inpatient mental health, learning disability, addiction and brain injury services. Mersey Care is one of only three trusts in the UK that offer high secure mental health facilities.

At the heart of all we do is our commitment to 'perfect care' - care that is safe, effective, positively experienced, timely, equitable and efficient. We support our staff to do the best job they can and work alongside service users, their families, and carers to design and develop future services together. We're currently delivering a programme of organisational and service transformation to significantly improve the quality of the services we provide and safely reduce cost as we do so.

Flexible working requests will be considered for all roles.

Date posted

18 September 2024

Pay scheme

Agenda for change

Band

Band 4

Salary

£26,530 to £29,114 a year Per Annum

Contract

Permanent

Working pattern

Full-time

Reference number

350-CC6648109

Job locations

Lifehouse, Brunswick business Park

Summers Road

Liverpool

L3 4BL

Job description

Job responsibilities

The successful candidate will be responsible for their own caseload as well as working jointly with other members of the team to assess and provide wheelchairs and pressure care.
To complete assessments in a variety of locations including clinics, patient homes, schools and hospitals.
To have a basic understanding of pressure management and 24 hour posture and pressure management.
Provide clear advice and assess patients against eligibility criteria.
To ensure patients are provided with a holistic assessment.
Document assessments with clear clinical reasoning of intervention.
Take accurate measurements to enable prescription of appropriate wheelchairs and accessories.
To complete powerchair driving practice sessions.
To facilitate hospital discharges through timely provision of wheelchairs.
Support clinicians with moving and handling to enable postural assessments.
To complete basic adjustments of wheelchairs and accessories to ensure appropriate prescription.
To facilitate smooth running of clinics by ensuring equipment is readily available and working with the warehouse team to allocate equipment when required.

Job description

Job responsibilities

The successful candidate will be responsible for their own caseload as well as working jointly with other members of the team to assess and provide wheelchairs and pressure care.
To complete assessments in a variety of locations including clinics, patient homes, schools and hospitals.
To have a basic understanding of pressure management and 24 hour posture and pressure management.
Provide clear advice and assess patients against eligibility criteria.
To ensure patients are provided with a holistic assessment.
Document assessments with clear clinical reasoning of intervention.
Take accurate measurements to enable prescription of appropriate wheelchairs and accessories.
To complete powerchair driving practice sessions.
To facilitate hospital discharges through timely provision of wheelchairs.
Support clinicians with moving and handling to enable postural assessments.
To complete basic adjustments of wheelchairs and accessories to ensure appropriate prescription.
To facilitate smooth running of clinics by ensuring equipment is readily available and working with the warehouse team to allocate equipment when required.

Person Specification

Qualifications

Essential

Foundation Degree or equivalent or equivalent work based experience.

KNOWLEDGE/EXPERIENCE

Essential

Understanding local and national influences on health care delivery, including Public Health.
Experience of previous work in health care
Clinical Governance and Risk Management
Actively involved in professional development
Knowledge of Health Promotion strategies

Desirable

Knowledge of developing self-care skills in patients/ clients.

VALUES

Essential

Continuous Improvement
Accountability
Respectfulness
Enthusiasm
Support
High professional standards
Responsive to service users
Engaging leadership style
Strong customer service belief
Transparency and honesty
Discreet

KNOWLEDGE/SKILLS/ABILITIES

Essential

Excellent communication, organisational and interpersonal skills
Ability to travel, for work purposes
Assessing, planning and implementing individualised programmes of care

Person Specification

Qualifications

Essential

Foundation Degree or equivalent or equivalent work based experience.

KNOWLEDGE/EXPERIENCE

Essential

Understanding local and national influences on health care delivery, including Public Health.
Experience of previous work in health care
Clinical Governance and Risk Management
Actively involved in professional development
Knowledge of Health Promotion strategies

Desirable

Knowledge of developing self-care skills in patients/ clients.

VALUES

Essential

Continuous Improvement
Accountability
Respectfulness
Enthusiasm
Support
High professional standards
Responsive to service users
Engaging leadership style
Strong customer service belief
Transparency and honesty
Discreet

KNOWLEDGE/SKILLS/ABILITIES

Essential

Excellent communication, organisational and interpersonal skills
Ability to travel, for work purposes
Assessing, planning and implementing individualised programmes of care

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.