Occupational Therapist (Band 5 Development Post)

Job responsibilities

Overview of Key Responsibilities:

The role of the Occupational Therapist is to provide a service to the individuals who live within the group and to ensure that admission, time living within the service and the transition process is supported by considering each persons occupational needs as required through that period within a Positive Behaviour Support framework.

The role purpose is to support people to develop occupational skills to enable them to become more independent and able to live a lifestyle of their choosing that supports health and wellbeing.

The Occupational Therapist will understand the fundamental occupational needs of a client group with learning disability, autism and complex needs and will build upon this understanding of needs throughout all individual interactions to bring about best practice in all aspects of engagement.

The Occupational Therapist will follow the clinical pathway to assess and provide intervention for the people within the service either individually or in groups, as part of a multi-disciplinary team and in a variety of environments.

To work collaboratively with all otheremployees, families, carers and stakeholders to promote the wellbeing and best interests of the people who use our services.

Main Duties and Responsibilities

Clinical

1To carry out assessment of individuals within the service in relation to occupational need using assessment tools as required by the individual, making use of senior support as required.

2To formulate interventions plans from thorough assessment with individuals and their family and carers as required to bring about positive change to their access to, opportunity to engage in or choice of occupational experiences.To develop this into support/intervention plans and bring to fruition.To make positive use of clinical supervision to develop and quality check decisions made.

3To engage effectively and alongside care and activity and engagement staff to jointly bring about changes to support people in opportunity for occupation.

4To access and utilise the most contemporary relevant research and evidence base to support decision making in the clinical setting.To ensure that senior support is sought as required to ensure that theory and practice are interlinked.

5To follow the Occupational Therapy process as per Hesley Group Occupational Therapy department document.

6To provide information to people we support, families, authorities and all other stakeholders with relevant, timely and accurate information in a format suited to the receiving personsneeds.This may include reports, letters or documents/systems using augmented communication methods as required.

7To facilitate effective and appropriate communication of required information to the relevant people in a timely manner.

8To demonstrate developing reasoning and increasing ability to problem-solve through complex and challenging situations to bring about positive outcomes in the best interests of the individuals living within the service.

9To reflect on and in clinical practice both individually and with peers identifying strengths as well as professional development needs and providing evidence of sound clinical judgements based on research and evidence based practice.

10To maintain up-to-date and accurate case/progress notes and write reports reflecting clinical knowledge, ensuring that they meet the departmental standards, the Hesley Group policy standards and professional standards.

11To maintain registration as a practicing professional with the Health Care Professions Council as an Occupational Therapist.

12To maintain registration with theRoyalCollege of Occupational Therapists.

Communication

13To attend and contribute to meetings within the service.

14To demonstrate the ability to motivate and persuade others to support positive outcomes and best practice within the service.

15To represent the team/department within multi-disciplinary systems within the Group.

Personal and Professional Development

16To undertake personal/professional development planning evidenced by a Personal Development Plan/Professional portfolio developed within an appraisal framework.

17To attend relevant training and development in order to maintain and develop skills and knowledge required to support clients.

18To maintain current knowledge of evidence base and good practice through engagement withavariety of opportunities such as conferences, courses, meetings, networks and special interest groups.

Service Improvement/Quality Governance

19To have an understanding of why and how services can be developed and improved.To be involved in service development initiatives as identified through line management.

20To be involved in and if required undertake action research/clinical governance/audit projects with supervision.

21To be actively involved in helping to generate and develop a local evidence base system and structure for the teams to access as required.

22To be involved in completing audits as required, use reflective learning, peer discussions and team development days and action planning to generate ideas and create increasing quality within the clinical practice.

General/Administration

23To engage in the completion of clinical data collection databases and systems and processes that are set up within the service to ensure organised work processes across the teams on each site.

24To take responsibility for the ordering and subsequent storage and use of team equipment and resources including plans for risk management, infection control and safe handling.

Emotional/Physical Effort

25The post holder will be required to work with people whose behaviour may challenge them, this may involve highly distressing or highly emotional circumstances.

26The post holder will be required to work within infection control and health and safety guidelines.

27To maintain sensitivity to the emotional needs of the people that you are working alongside.

28Frequent concentration required and ability to cope with an unpredictable work pattern and cope with competing demands on time.

General

29To undertake any other duties as required by the Director of Therapeutic Services or Head ofAllied Health Professionals, which may include a change in workplace.

30The post holder will be required to work with people whose behaviour may challenge them, this may involve highly distressing orhighly emotional circumstances.

Health & Safety

In carrying out the tasks in this job description you have a duty (under Health& Safety legislation) to takereasonable care for the health and safety of yourself and that of others.This implies taking positive steps tounderstand the hazards in the workplace, to comply with safety rules and procedures and to ensure that nothingyou do, or fail to do, puts yourself or others at risk.This includes contributing to a safe and secureenvironment forpeople who use our services.

To remain vigilant and do everything possible to protectpeople who use our services, and others, from abuse of a physical, emotional, sexual, neglectful, financial or institutional nature.This includes an absolute requirement to report any incident of this nature you witness, hear about or suspect.

This organisation is committed tothe protection and safeguarding of children and adults at risk, and promoting their welfare.The Hesley Group, therefore,expects all staff and volunteers to share this commitment.

This post is subject to an enhanced level DBS Disclosure and Barring Check, including a check against the Barred List in respect of the Adults/Childrens workforce.

Qualifications

Essential

• Current Health Care Professions Council (HCPC)
• Registration.
• Professional Qualification in Occupational Therapy -
• BSc degree or Equivalent.
• Evidence of continuing professional development

Experience

Essential

• To have knowledge of National, Regional and Local
• health and social care drivers.
• To operate as a practitioner with knowledge of
• learning disability, autism and associated mental
• health difficulties to ensure that individual
• occupational needs are identified.
• To have a broad understanding of Occupational
• Therapy models and approaches across the spectrum
• of health conditions, to include physical and mental
• health.
• To have a baseline knowledge of the Occupational
• therapy clinical evidence base, assessment and
• intervention approaches specific to the people we
• support, which can be developed through time in
• post.
• Evidence of ability to problem solve and make
• effective use of clinical supervision and informal
• support from more senior practitioners to bring about
• learning and effective outcomes for clinical
• intervention.
• To develop the skills and knowledge of approaches to
• support people through situations where there may
• be high levels of distress, where they may require
• complex reasoning to solve crisis situations or
• fluctuations in health needs.
• To have experience of making best use of clinical
• supervision and take a lead role within your own
• access to and positive use of the supervision process
• to bring about professional development and learning.
• An ability and commitment to work as a member of a
• team and effectively communicate with the team.

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.

UK Registration

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