Occupational Therapist | South West London and St George's Mental Health NHS Trust

South West London & St George's Mental Health NHS Trust; City Of London; On-site; GBP 30,000 - 40,000; Full time

Job summary

A mental health service provider in London is seeking an experienced Occupational Therapist to support clients with complex mental health needs. You will utilize evidence-based practices to manage caseloads and work closely with multidisciplinary teams to enhance client recovery pathways. The ideal candidate holds a degree in Occupational Therapy and has experience in a similar role. This position offers a dynamic work environment promoting innovation and inclusive practices.

Benefits

Good quality supervision and appraisals

Regular learning events

Career progression opportunities

Supportive development programme

Qualifications

• Experience managing clients with complex needs.
• Ability to provide individual and group interventions.
• Commitment to promoting recovery and social inclusion.

Responsibilities

• Provide Occupational Therapy for team clients.
• Manage an OT caseload using evidence based principles.
• Offer manualised interventions to support clients' discharge.

Skills

Client centred approach

Evidence-based practice

Communication skills

Leadership

Team collaboration

Education

Degree in Occupational Therapy

Tools

Model of Human Occupation tools

Job description

This satisfying and rewarding role sits within the Community Service Line, which includes all community based mental health teams, such as our Integrated Recovery Hubs, Recovery and Support Teams and Early Intervention services. Our teams are expanding with new and exciting roles following a period of Transformation, resulting in new opportunities for Occupational Therapists (OTs) to work as pure OTs, fully using their innovation and creativity, to support clients with complex mental health needs to recover and step down from Mental Health Services. The post involves working closely with our colleagues in the Multidisciplinary Team (MDT), in particular, working with Recovery Support Workers and Employment Specialists, with whom we have a close professional relationship, invested in supporting clients with their occupational goals. We are committed to offering an excellent service and actively promote Occupational Therapy within the teams. The OT will also promote working with our partners in the Involvement Team, to encourage service users and carers to feel supported and involved in the development of our services, as well as developing relationships with wider and external community organisations, such as social prescribers and peer support workers. The Occupational Therapy team across the Trust is well managed with a thoughtful leadership structure. OTs joining the Trust have commented favourably about the accessibility and responsiveness of senior OT managers, who are committed to developing and supporting staff. We also have a dedicated Allied Health Professional Workforce team and Practice Development team.

Benefits

• Good quality and regular supervision and appraisals
• Evidence-based practice to ensure the clinical effectiveness of our interventions.
• A menu of high-quality OT interventions, which deliver consistency and clarity across the Community Service line.
• A centralised online system to access MOHO manuals and assessments, and helpful guidance to support staff with building confidence in using MOHO tools.
• Quarterly learning events for OTs. Recent events have included sensory profiling, vocational work and dynamic ways of utilising the Model of Human Occupation, focusing on volition and motivation.
• Special interest peer supervision groups for sensory profiling and physical health/equipment assessments.
• Regular forums for Community OTs, to discuss professional development and to keep updated with relevant business matters.
• Regular organised opportunities to discuss career progression with senior members of the OT management team.
• A supportive Preceptorship / Preceptorship Plus programme for developing OTs.

We are Proud to Belong at South West London and St George's Mental Health NHS Trust. We have expert services, a rich history and a clear commitment to providing the best quality care for those with mental ill-health. The Care Quality Commission already rates our services as 'good' - we aspire to be 'outstanding'. This is a great time to join us. We are transforming the way we care for our communities to support our mission of Making Life Better Together. We have built two brand new mental health facilities at Springfield University Hospital, which are amongst the best in the world. More developments are planned across our sites and services as we invest a further £120m to upgrade and modernise our estate by 2027. We are inclusive and diverse and strive to be actively anti‑racist. We want to attract people from all backgrounds and experiences to enrich the work we do together. We are proud to co‑produce and involve our local communities in all that we do. We offer flexible working, career development and a variety of benefits to enable a positive, welcoming environment in which our people and their careers can thrive. Come and join our inclusive teams and help our patients on their recovery journey.

Responsibilities

• Provide Occupational Therapy for team clients, with a maximum of one day duty cover for the team once every two weeks.
• Manage an OT caseload of clients with complex needs, using evidence based /client centred principles to assess, plan, implement and evaluate interventions.
• Take responsibility for completing standardised assessments using The Model of Human Occupation and other frameworks as agreed by the Therapy Leads.
• Offer manualised interventions, both group and individual such as GLOW (Graduated Living Outside of the Ward) and IPEL (Increasing Participation in Everyday Life) to help support step down of services for clients and preparation for discharge.
• Offer Sensory Profiling/interventions for clients with sensory challenges.
• Offer advice to the team and promote access and reasonable adjustments for Service Users with sensory challenges wishing to use our services.
• Participate in the planning, development and evaluation of OT services within the Community Team, holding responsibility for defined projects.
• Engage with the OT referrals process, identifying and prioritising the need for OT specific interventions.
• Provide leadership to junior staff through supervision and appraisal.
• Regularly supervise OT students on practice placement (expected standard is two students per year).
• Provide professional leadership and clinical supervision to the Recovery Support Workers and engage in co‑working pathways.
• Promote Recovery and Social Inclusion, working alongside the Involvement Team to actively promote service‑user engagement and co‑production.
• Work with the Employment Specialist to enhance the vocational pathway.
• Contribute to the maintenance and development of the Trust OT Service.
• Contribute to streamline working from admission to discharge in keeping with the principles in the Adult Services Recovery Care pathway.
• Advocate for and promote the contribution of occupational therapy as a valuable resource, helping people to manage the impact of their symptoms on their ability to cope with daily occupations.