Job summary
We are excited to announce we have an opportunity for a Band 3 Occupational Therapy Assistant post to join our Acute Stroke Team at Worcestershire Royal Hospital, Worcester.
This 30-hour post would be ideal for jobseekers looking to develop an exciting career in Occupational Therapy, whether in further assistant roles in the future or embarking on OT training at university.
Our Band 3's play a vital role and therefore are required to support the OTs with assessment and treatment of patients that have experienced a Stroke, working within an acute ward setting. You will be delegated specific OT tasks and will be required to conduct community visits to support ongoing OT needs like equipment provision and fitting in order to facilitate patient discharges from hospital.
We are looking for highly motivated individuals that will be able to demonstrate a safe and effective patient centred approach to care. You need to be professional, self-motivated with excellent communication skills and the ability to work both autonomously and as part of a team.
You will be part of a large OT team consisting of Clinical Strategic Leads, Clinical Specialist OTs, Senior OTs, Rotational OTs and other OT Assistant Practitioners and OT assistants.
Acute Stroke is a very fulfilling specialty, and you will work with patients that have experienced a Stroke and need assistance with recovery to get home or for further rehabilitation.
Main duties of the job
- The post holder will work under the supervision of an
Occupational Therapist but work independently toprovide Occupational Therapy assessment and intervention to
patients referred to the OT service on an individual or group basis within the hospital or out-patient
clinics and community setting.
- You will be responsible
for representing the Occupational Therapy team as required by attending board
rounds and/or multidisciplinary patient meetings on specific wards. At these
meetings you will be responsible for feeding back to the team, patients
treatment progress and highlighting patients who are still being seen by
Occupational Therapy and those who have been discharged.
- Following appropriate training and attaining the agreed
level of competency to provide and supervise therapeutic activity. This will
include working unsupervised to a specified level providing individual
treatments to patients primarily within urgent and speciality medicine.
- To
be responsible for the preparation of the patient and the environment for
an assessment or treatment activity.
About us
Our purpose is simple - Putting Patients First. We are looking for exceptional colleagues who can help us achieve this.
Worcestershire Acute Hospitals NHS Trust is a large acute and specialised hospital trust that provides a range of local acute services to the residents of Worcestershire and more specialised services to a larger population in Herefordshire and beyond.
The Trust operates hospital-based services from three sites in Kidderminster, Redditch and Worcester
Our workforce is nearly 6,800 strong, and our caring staff are recognised as providing good and outstanding patient-centred care. You could be one of them.
We are committed to recruiting the best people to work with us to achieve our Vision - working in partnership to provide the best healthcare for our communities, leading and supporting our teams to move 4ward. Our 4ward behaviours, which we ask all staff to demonstrate, underpin our everyday work and remain firmly at the heart of all we do.
Our objectives are simple:
- Best services for local people
- Best experience of care and best outcomes for our patients
- Best use of resources
- Best people
Better never stops, and our Clinical Services Strategy provides a clear future vision for our Trust, our hospitals, our services and our role in the wider health and care system.
We are proud to have achieved Timewise accreditation - this means we are committed to embedding flexible working within our organisation as a flex positive employer.
Job description
Job responsibilities
- To
assess and deliver specified assessments and treatments under the
direction but not direct supervision of an Occupational Therapist.
- These
treatments include personal care activities and daily living tasks to
enable the patient to reach an optimum functional level post illness. This
will include monitoring the effectiveness of the treatment plan using
acquired clinical knowledge to progress treatment within defined
protocols, under the guidance of a qualified Occupational Therapist
- This
will include the collection of patient status information from nursing
staff; allowing for triaging in the department of the referrals by senior
staff. To maintain any required records or data.
- To
assist in information gathering, e.g. initial interviews and admin
processes concerning referred patients according to own competency and in
line with standards of practice and policies and procedures for the
designated team.
- To
be responsible for reviewing inpatients status daily, particularly those
who are not yet medically fit for Occupational Therapy intervention. To be
responsible for then alerting the qualified staff when a patient becomes
medically fit to be assessed and ensure the referral is then actioned.
Job description
Job responsibilities
- To
assess and deliver specified assessments and treatments under the
direction but not direct supervision of an Occupational Therapist.
- These
treatments include personal care activities and daily living tasks to
enable the patient to reach an optimum functional level post illness. This
will include monitoring the effectiveness of the treatment plan using
acquired clinical knowledge to progress treatment within defined
protocols, under the guidance of a qualified Occupational Therapist
- This
will include the collection of patient status information from nursing
staff; allowing for triaging in the department of the referrals by senior
staff. To maintain any required records or data.
- To
assist in information gathering, e.g. initial interviews and admin
processes concerning referred patients according to own competency and in
line with standards of practice and policies and procedures for the
designated team.
- To
be responsible for reviewing inpatients status daily, particularly those
who are not yet medically fit for Occupational Therapy intervention. To be
responsible for then alerting the qualified staff when a patient becomes
medically fit to be assessed and ensure the referral is then actioned.
Person Specification
Experience
Essential
- Experience of working with people with a variety of Conditions.
- Experience of managing own time and prioritising activities.
- Experience of self- development demonstrated by CPD portfolio.
- Experience of contributing to running groups
- Experience of helping other staff to develop
- Experience of working independently
- Experience working with equipment/ manual handling
- Experience of working within a hospital healthcare setting with direct patient contact
Desirable
- Experience of working in ITU/Critcal Care and or out-patients or community setting
Other Qualities
Essential
- Demonstrable interpersonal skills within individual and group situations
- Problem-solving skills
- Experience of adapting to new demands
- Reliable and responsible
- Motivated to direct own workload and workload of others
- The ability to move between sites within the Trust or patients homes as demanded by the job role.
- Experience of coping with distressing or emotional situations
- Able to cope with occasional exposure to challenging work
- environments
Qualifications
Essential
- GCSE Maths and English
- Communication skills in written and verbal format to level 3 standard
- Knowledge and application of Microsoft Word, PowerPoint and Outlook
- Evidence of attendance at short condition specific courses e.g. Dementia awareness, stroke specialist seating, Parkinsons, palliative
- care, cognition and perception.
Desirable
- Health and/or Social Care Qualification
- Access Course
Knowledge and Skills
Essential
- Specific understanding of the needs of the service-user in the service area.
- Positive attitude to disability
- Ability to transfer knowledge across practical situations
- Knowledge of a range of OT interventions
- Understanding of grading activities
Other Job Requirements
Essential
- Car Driver The post holder must have a full driving licence and have access to a vehicle, as conducting community visits is an essential part of the role.
Person Specification
Experience
Essential
- Experience of working with people with a variety of Conditions.
- Experience of managing own time and prioritising activities.
- Experience of self- development demonstrated by CPD portfolio.
- Experience of contributing to running groups
- Experience of helping other staff to develop
- Experience of working independently
- Experience working with equipment/ manual handling
- Experience of working within a hospital healthcare setting with direct patient contact
Desirable
- Experience of working in ITU/Critcal Care and or out-patients or community setting
Other Qualities
Essential
- Demonstrable interpersonal skills within individual and group situations
- Problem-solving skills
- Experience of adapting to new demands
- Reliable and responsible
- Motivated to direct own workload and workload of others
- The ability to move between sites within the Trust or patients homes as demanded by the job role.
- Experience of coping with distressing or emotional situations
- Able to cope with occasional exposure to challenging work
- environments
Qualifications
Essential
- GCSE Maths and English
- Communication skills in written and verbal format to level 3 standard
- Knowledge and application of Microsoft Word, PowerPoint and Outlook
- Evidence of attendance at short condition specific courses e.g. Dementia awareness, stroke specialist seating, Parkinsons, palliative
- care, cognition and perception.
Desirable
- Health and/or Social Care Qualification
- Access Course
Knowledge and Skills
Essential
- Specific understanding of the needs of the service-user in the service area.
- Positive attitude to disability
- Ability to transfer knowledge across practical situations
- Knowledge of a range of OT interventions
- Understanding of grading activities
Other Job Requirements
Essential
- Car Driver The post holder must have a full driving licence and have access to a vehicle, as conducting community visits is an essential part of the role.
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.
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).
Additional information
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).
