Job responsibilities
Phyllis Tuckwell
JOB DESCRIPTION
POST: Specialist Occupational Therapist
ACCOUNTABLE TO: Lead Occupational Therapist
JOB PURPOSE:
The Occupational Therapist (OT)
will work alongside other team members to provide a specialist palliative care OT
service to Phyllis Tuckwell patients (PT). They will work across a range of
settings including the inpatient unit, living well and the community, including
the recently established responsive service to community patients who are in an
unstable phase of illness with rapidly changing needs. This role will assess
the patients immediate palliative and end of life care needs, provide feedback
to the broader team, develop a plan and work with patients and their families
to optimise the patients level of functional independence, facilitate
adaptation to change, and enhance
quality of life. The role will involve identifying what is important to that
person and enabling them to live according to their choice and goals.
The OT will enable timely
access to assessment, intervention and equipment, enabling patients to safely
remain in their own homes and avoid unnecessary hospital admissions. It will
also involve out-patient and group work for our living well with illness
service. The OT will work as a member of the Phyllis Tuckwell
multi-professional team across the localities
or Northeast Hants and Farnham (NEHF), Surrey Heath, Guildford and Waverley.
RESPONSIBILITIES:
1.0
Clinical
1.1
To assess, plan, implement, evaluate and modify OT interventions with a
focus of palliative rehabilitation.
1.2
To have the knowledge and skills to provide holistic OT Care to palliative
care patients and their families referred to Phyllis Tuckwell (PT).
1.3
To hold clinical responsibility for managing own caseload, accessing regular
supervision, and mentoring.
1.4
To prioritise and respond to referrals in a timely manner.
1.5
To work with PT colleagues and community services responding to family
and patient change and deterioration.
1.6
To be a resource to others by maintaining current theoretical OT knowledge
base and clinical reasoning for patients with palliative and end of life care
needs.
1.7
To be able to prioritise conflicting demands on own time.
1.8
To be able to analyse and interpret clinical and social information
from a range of sources, communicating in a detailed timely and accurate way using
suitable verbal and written communication.
1.9
To assess, prescribe and review equipment to enable safety and
independence in activities of daily living, especially where there are manual
handling difficulties.
1.10
Use a range of therapeutic interventions and approaches with
individuals and groups to promote management of symptoms e.g. fatigue, anxiety,
breathlessness, sleep difficulties, pain.
1.11
To engage
patients and their families enabling them to adjust to their physical, cognitive, psychological, and social
losses and plan for future changes
in their functional ability.
1.12
To be able to communicate complex, sensitive, distressing or
contentious information to patients and families who may be highly emotional
and distressed, adapting your communication style to the situation.
1.13
To assess patients mental capacity, acting in the patients best
interests where they lack capacity and identifying any safeguarding issues.
1.14
To assess and manage clinical, physical, and environmental risks.
1.15
To be the patients key worker or professional contact where it is
appropriate.
1.16
To evaluate interventions using appropriate outcome measures.
1.17
To provide education and support to carers, actively involving them in
the treatment plan.
1.18
To develop a rehabilitative palliative care culture and symptom
management programs in order to maximise patients rehabilitation potential.
1.19
To support therapeutic group work.
1.20
To facilitate patients, discharge from the IPU, liaising with the
multi-professional team at Phyllis Tuckwell and in the Community.
1.21
To communicate clearly and work closely with members of the multi
professional team, and volunteers, actively engaging in multi professional
meetings.
1.22
To maintain effective relationships with our external colleagues and
stakeholders.
2.0
Professional
2.1
To be registered with the Health Care Professions Council (HCPC) to
practise using the title Occupational Therapist.
2.2
To engage in activities at PT as a member of the multi-professional
team sharing knowledge and skills.
2.3
To evidence and comply with the Royal College of Occupational Therapy
(RCOT), Code of Ethics and Professional Conduct and Professional Standards.
2.4
To maintain clear, concise timely records.
2.5
To act within legal and statutory regulations.
2.6
To maintain current knowledge and awareness of opinion through for
example membership of the RCOT,
Specialist Section Major Health Conditions, attending relevant HOTNET and
Surrey OPC training and meetings.
2.7
To respect the ethnicity, culture and religious beliefs of others.
2.8
To promote awareness of the philosophy of holistic palliative care and
the role of Occupational Therapy, within PT and other palliative care services.
2.9
To have effective IT skills, utilising, Word, Outlook, Excel,
PowerPoint and have sufficient abilities to be able to or to work towards use
of TCES, EMIS, Accurx.
2.10
To be a car
owner/driver to enable community visits, and work between both of our sites.
3.0
Training and Development
a) Personal
3.1
To maintain competence to practice by pursuing a range of professional
development opportunities.
3.2
To take responsibility to review and reflect on own occupational practise
and performance, maintaining a professional portfolio recording learning
outcomes.
3.3
To engage with PT performance review system, setting realistic
objectives for personal and professional growth.
3.4
To participate in regular clinical supervision.
3.5
To cascade Occupational Therapy skills to colleagues following
attendance on courses and training.
b) Team
3.6
To participate in the induction and training of new PT staff.
3.7
To mentor new Occupational Therapy team members.
3.8
To train, delegate and fully utilise the skills of health care
assistants, rehabilitation assistant and volunteers.
3.9
To provide training and education opportunities to internal and
external HCPs, on a range of Occupational Therapy specialisms, including
fatigue management, management of anxiety and breathlessness, communication
strategies, sleep management and specialist equipment.
3.10
To provide education and training to PT clinical colleagues including
competencies in equipment provision, manual handling, bed rails assessment and
falls prevention, to ensure patient safety and that registered and
non-registered staff time and skills are utilised efficiently and effectively.
4.0
Managerial
4.1
To have skills to triage new referrals to Occupational Therapy,
prioritising appropriately and allocating to a suitable therapist.
4.2
To adhere to Phyllis Tuckwell policies and procedures, especially those
relating to health and safety, fire, lone worker, and moving and handling.
4.3
To recognise the value and contribution of volunteers actively
supporting and developing their skills.
4.4
To play an active role in developing and reviewing PT policies related
to the work of occupational therapy and Rehabilitative Palliative Care.
4.5
To play an active part in the development and maintenance of good
relationships with our stakeholders and colleagues.
5.0
Quality and Research
5.1
To have skills in clinical governance and to provide a quality service
that is person centred, timely, safe, effective, efficient and equitable.
5.2
To participate in audit and service evaluations as part of PT quality
assurance initiatives.
5.3
To maintain a culture of learning, research and development and be
aware of current research.
6.0 Equality
opportunities/diversity
Role holders are required to understand your
responsibilities in the safeguarding context, ensuring that Phyllis Tuckwell
reduces the risk of harm or abuse of adults and children at risk.
Role Holders must:
adhere to Phyllis Tuckwells Safeguarding Policy (held on the NEST),
which supports the local authoritys multi agency safeguarding policy, the law
(Care Act 2014) and Mental Capacity Act 2005 (including Deprivation of Liberty
Safeguards).
inform the appropriate Phyllis Tuckwell professional where there is
concern that an adult or child may be at risk of harm, abuse, or neglect.
Phyllis Tuckwell is committed to an Equal Opportunities
approach, valuing, and respecting everyone as individuals, with diverse
opinions, cultures, lifestyles, and circumstances.
This
job description is underpinned by Phyllis Tuckwells philosophy, culture, and
core values, which actively embrace diversity and inclusion and promotes total
team spirit.
