Therapy Assistant

Herefordshire and Worcestershire Health and Care NHS Trust

The closing date is 19 January 2025

Job summary

We have an exciting opportunity for Therapy Assistant to join our therapy team at Malvern Community Hospital. The post is part time working 30 hours per week.

We are looking for a motivated and dynamic person who enjoys working with people and supporting patients to achieve their goals and return to the community. Malvern Community Hospital is a modern purpose-built unit with 24 inpatient beds.

You will work as part of an integrated physiotherapy and occupational therapy team, supporting qualified therapists to assess, treat and rehabilitate a wide variety of patients with a strong focus in frail older people and complex care. You will need to have excellent communication skills, the ability to work as part of a team as well as independently and be willing to learn new skills.

You will benefit from a robust supervision, appraisal and training model and work very closely with other assistants, newly qualified and very experienced senior therapists. We offer both on the job training as well as access to further education opportunities in related subjects or even apprenticeship to become a qualified therapist.

Previous experience in a health or care setting is desirable but not essential and you will receive training for manual handling, equipment and computer systems used.

Main duties of the job

The duties include:

  • Gathering information of social history, pre-admission abilities, and compiling documentation from a range of sources.
  • Assisting qualified therapists in assessments, using therapeutic techniques and principles of Occupational Therapy and Physiotherapy.
  • Have awareness of medical conditions, medical treatments and physical conditions and their potential impact on patients and their engagement in rehabilitation.
  • Monitor, assess and analyse patient progress within therapy interventions and effectively report back to qualified staff at regular intervals.
  • Work alone in environments where assessment and management of risk may be required. Once trained complete visits to patients homes to set up equipment.
  • Undertaking moving and handling tasks regularly supporting patients to safely mobilise/transfer after training.
  • Demonstrate awareness of discharge planning process from point of admission and actively assists with this.
  • Encourage patients to engage in planned interventions and take part in quality improvement projects as part of the therapy team and multidisciplinary team.
  • Organising and maintaining ward stock of equipment, updating handover documents and referrals.
  • Plan and prioritise own workload in accordance with departmental standards and in conjunction with the therapy team members

About us

At Herefordshire and Worcestershire Health and Care NHS Trust, we are working together to deliver outstanding care. We run community hospitals and community health services across Worcestershire and provide mental health and learning disability services across both Herefordshire and Worcestershire.

Our people (all 4500+ of them) provide services for people of all ages, experiencing both physical and/or mental health conditions from over 100 sites.

We will support you to thrive; offer flexible working options for a great work-life balance, help you fulfil your ambitions, and empower you to make positive changes within your team or service. We value diversity and encourage applications from people of all backgrounds, cultures, and ethnicities.

What we offer;

  • 27 days leave plus bank holidays, increasing up to 33 days with long service
  • Generous NHS pension and enhanced pay when you work unsocial hours
  • Flexible and agile working opportunities
  • Great maternity, paternity, and adoption support
  • Wide range of supportive staff networks
  • Health and wellbeing opportunities

If you would like to know more, please visit our website.

Sharing your data - As a data controller we may sometimes need to process your data to pursue our legitimate business interests, for example to request a survey from you (optional), to support the Trusts understanding of where you gained interest in working for the Trust.

Date posted

08 January 2025

Pay scheme

Agenda for change

Band

Band 3

Salary

£24,071 to £25,674 a year

Contract

Permanent

Working pattern

Part-time

Reference number

C9798-1079

Job locations

Malvern Community Hospital

185 Worcester Road

Malvern

Worcestershire

WR14 1EX


Job description

Job responsibilities

For full details of the duties and criteria for the role please refer to the job description and person specification attached.

Job description

Job responsibilities

For full details of the duties and criteria for the role please refer to the job description and person specification attached.

Person Specification

Knowledge

Essential

  • Basic knowledge of physical/ mental health conditions
  • Knowledge of Physiotherapy/ Occupational Therapy

Experience

Essential

  • Experience of working with people, preferably in a caring environment

Desirable

  • Previous experience in a therapy setting working alongside therapists
  • Previous experience working with dementia, frailty or elderly people.

Skills and abilities

Essential

  • Ability to communicate clearly and effectively in English in both verbal and written formats
  • Ability to prioritise, plan and organise own time
  • Able to meet the travel requirements of the role

Desirable

  • Ability to follow rehabilitation programmes presented by qualified staff

Qualifications

Essential

  • Level 3 qualification (e.g., A-level, NVQ3) in Care
  • or
  • Level 2 qualification (e.g., GCSE Grade A-C or Grade 9-4, NVQ2 or equivalent) in Care and will be expected to undertake the relevant Level 3 qualification on appointment to post
  • Will be expected to meet the Care Certificate standards within 12 weeks of commencing employment with the Trust.
  • I understand that I will be asked to provide original certificates to verify my qualifications at point of offer.
Person Specification

Knowledge

Essential

  • Basic knowledge of physical/ mental health conditions
  • Knowledge of Physiotherapy/ Occupational Therapy

Experience

Essential

  • Experience of working with people, preferably in a caring environment

Desirable

  • Previous experience in a therapy setting working alongside therapists
  • Previous experience working with dementia, frailty or elderly people.

Skills and abilities

Essential

  • Ability to communicate clearly and effectively in English in both verbal and written formats
  • Ability to prioritise, plan and organise own time
  • Able to meet the travel requirements of the role

Desirable

  • Ability to follow rehabilitation programmes presented by qualified staff

Qualifications

Essential

  • Level 3 qualification (e.g., A-level, NVQ3) in Care
  • or
  • Level 2 qualification (e.g., GCSE Grade A-C or Grade 9-4, NVQ2 or equivalent) in Care and will be expected to undertake the relevant Level 3 qualification on appointment to post
  • Will be expected to meet the Care Certificate standards within 12 weeks of commencing employment with the Trust.
  • I understand that I will be asked to provide original certificates to verify my qualifications at point of offer.

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.

Employer details

Employer name

Herefordshire and Worcestershire Health and Care NHS Trust

Address

Malvern Community Hospital

185 Worcester Road

Malvern

Worcestershire

WR14 1EX


Employer's website

https://www.hacw.nhs.uk/careers (Opens in a new tab)


Employer details

Employer name

Herefordshire and Worcestershire Health and Care NHS Trust

Address

Malvern Community Hospital

185 Worcester Road

Malvern

Worcestershire

WR14 1EX


Employer's website

https://www.hacw.nhs.uk/careers (Opens in a new tab)


For questions about the job, contact:

Therapy Matron

Joseph Fisher-Mellish

Joseph.fisher-mellish@nhs.net

07734371426

Date posted

08 January 2025

Pay scheme

Agenda for change

Band

Band 3

Salary

£24,071 to £25,674 a year

Contract

Permanent

Working pattern

Part-time

Reference number

C9798-1079

Job locations

Malvern Community Hospital

185 Worcester Road

Malvern

Worcestershire

WR14 1EX


Supporting documents

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