Occupational Therapy Assistant Practitioner

Leeds Teaching Hospitals; Leeds; On-site; GBP 25,000 - 35,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading healthcare provider in Leeds is looking for a motivated Occupational Therapy Assistant Practitioner to support the Older Adults Occupational Therapy team. The role includes managing a caseload, assisting with assessments, and providing interventions to help patients with varying health needs. Ideal candidates should have strong communication skills, relevant experience, and the ability to work both independently and as part of a team. Opportunities for professional development are also available.

Benefits

Learning opportunities

Regular supervision

Opportunities to supervise junior staff

Qualifications

• Experience within Occupational Therapy teams.
• Experience in a hospital setting as a Therapy Senior Support Worker.
• Completion of CARE Certificate within the first 3 months of employment.

Responsibilities

• Assist in assessment and treatment of patients.
• Manage own caseload and contribute to patient assessments.
• Support occupational therapy interventions within a multi-disciplinary team.

Skills

Communication skills

Problem-solving

Time Management

Organisational Skills

Ability to work in a team

Education

Level 3 qualification in relevant health care related subject

GCSE English and Maths (Grade C minimum) or Functional Skills equivalent

Job description

Occupational Therapy Assistant Practitioner (XR04)

Weare looking for a motivated & enthusiastic Senior Occupational TherapistSupport Worker to join the Older Adults Occupational Therapy team based at St.Jamess Hospital Leeds.

Asa Senior Occupational Therapist Support Worker you will have experience ofworking within an Occupational Therapy team.You will have delegated responsibilities for assessment and treatment ofpatients referred to the Older Adults Occupational Therapy Team. You will playa vital role in supporting our patients to meet their occupationally focusedgoals and next steps in hospital discharge.

Ourteam delivers high quality, holistic, patient-centred care, in line with bestpractice guidelines. We work collaboratively with the multi-disciplinary team& community services to promote home first and therapeutic goal attainmentfor our patients.

Main duties of the job

Thecaseload includes older adults with a range of health needs, including but notlimited to chronic diseases; high BP, heart disease, COPD, Arthritis, cognitiveimpairment, dementia, Alzheimers, delirium, falls and frailty.

Weare looking to appoint someone who is able to manage their own time, has excellent communication and team workingskills and most importantly who will place our patients at the centre ofeverything they do.

Weare a supportive and well-respected team, we uphold the values of the Leeds Wayrecognising the skills each team member brings to the team, along with thecontribution they make towards caring for patients with compassion. LeedsTeaching Hospitals has a wealth of learning opportunities available through theorganisational learning department to support you in your ongoing personaldevelopment in addition to regular supervision and the opportunity to supervisejunior staff & students.

Interviewswill be held on: week starting the 9th March

Pleasecontact us for further information:

AliceTaylor

OccupationalTherapist team leader -

OlderAdults Occupational Therapy Team St James University Hospital

Tel:[phone]

[e-mail]

LeedsTeaching Hospitals NHS Trust

Or

JoanneStainton

OccupationalTherapist team leader

OlderAdult Occupational Therapy Team St James University Hospital

Tel:[phone]

[e-mail]

LeedsTeaching Hospitals NHS Trust

About us

Leeds Teaching Hospitals is committed to ourprocess of redeploying 'at risk' members of our existing workforce to newroles. As such, all our job adverts are subject to this policy and we reservethe right to close, delay or remove adverts while this process is completed. Ifyou do experience a delay in the shortlisting stage of the recruitment cycle,please bear with us while this process is completed, and contact the namedcontact if you have any questions.

Job responsibilities

Towork within the Occupational Therapy (OT) team providing highly skilled andspecialised clinical, administrative, and organisational support to theOccupational Therapy Service.

Thepost holder will work with the team to support the OT assessment pathway andwill be responsible for the screening of non-complex patients under thesupervision of a qualified member of staff and advise on the most appropriateinitial assessments and interventions.

Thepost holder will contribute to the management of a caseload of patients andwork with infrequent supervision from registered OT colleagues who areavailable for non-standard/complex queries. On occasions the post holder willassess home environments to ensure safe discharge, without the supervision of aqualified member of staff.

JOB DIMENSIONS

Dayto day supervisory support, and overall management will be provided to thesupport worker by registered OT staff.

Thepost holder is responsible for:

1. Assessing and providing care andtherapy interventions for individual patients, adapting the process asindicated.

2. Assessment and intervention may takeplace in patients homes and base wards.

3. The post holder will work with the teamto support the OT assessment pathway and will be responsible for the screeningof non-complex patients under the supervision of a qualified member of staffand advise on the most appropriate initial assessments and interventions. Thepost holder will contribute to the management of a caseload of patients andwork with infrequent supervision from registered OT colleagues who areavailable for non-standard/non-routine queries. On occasions the post holderwill assess home environments to ensure safe discharge, without the supervisionof a qualified member of staff.

CORE BEHAVIOURS AND SKILLS

Interpersonal Skills

Ability to work as part of a Team(OT, and wider MDT)

Ability to manage a workload providedby more than one professional.

Problem-solving

Time Management

Organisational Skills

Administrative Skills

Able to work in a stressfulenvironment

Ability to use initiative

Ability to influence and persuade

Ability to take responsibility forpersonal development

Ability to move and handle patientsand equipment

Provide support to band 3 supportworkers and informal support to students

Maintaining professionalism at alltimes, and demonstrating the Leeds Way Values

CORE KNOWLEDGE AND UNDERSTANDING

Understanding of Occupational Therapyand job roles.

Awareness of the needs and problemsof those with illness and disabilities

Awareness of the functional effectsof the patient group in the clinical area caused by illness and / ordisability.

Understanding of legislation,guidelines and protocols that affect the clinical area

Awareness of Health and Safety

PRINCIPAL DUTIES & AREAS OFRESPONSIBILITY

Clinical

To accept responsibility forOccupational Therapy initial assessments to facilitate rehabilitation anddischarge from hospital.

To plan and prioritise clinicaltasks.

To deliver the service using patientpathways and protocols to support your delivery of therapy process and takinginto account each patients individual physical, social and emotional needs.

To make contact with patients toinitiate assessments and intervention.

To analyse and make decisions aboutthe most appropriate environment in which to carryout intervention.

To independently carryout home andcommunity assessments.

To motivate and persuade patients andcarers to participate in therapy intervention.

To assess and advise patientsregarding transfers, falls, equipment and risks.

To assess, prescribe and trainpatients and carers in the use of assistive equipment.

To assess, deliver, fit anddemonstrate equipment in patients home and to provide advice and training topatients and carers as required.

To interpret and analyse informationfrom assessments, judge how to progress intervention and when to liaise with aqualified member of staff e.g. Nurse, Doctor, Occupational Therapist orPhysiotherapist.

To assess risk factors and judge whento summons assistance or adapt the treatment session

To communicate with patients andcarers using a variety of communication strategies and tools to ensureinformation is understood and treatment is progressed. This will include patients and carers whohave difficulties communicating and understanding.

To liaise with other team members,internal and external agencies.

To identify the need for and refer tointernal and external agencies using appropriate referral system.

To record interventions accuratelyand timely using team/trust documentation, complying with Therapy guidelinesand legislative requirements.

To complete activity data usingteam/trust documentation and outcome measures.

To be able to work in a stressfulenvironment.

To be able to deal effectively withemotional and/or aggressive patients/ carers.

To participate in ward rounds, caseconferences and meetings as required.

To collect, respond to and feedbackrelevant information to the senior therapist.

To promote Occupational Therapy as atreatment medium to others.

To lead and participate indepartmental/service developments, projects audit and reviews.

To carry out designated ordering andmaintenance of stock, equipment and resources.

Healthand Safety/Risk Management

Allstaff are responsible for working with their colleagues to maintain and improvethe quality of services provided to our patients and other service users. Thisincludes complying at all times with the Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS TrustPolicies, in particular by following agreed safe working procedures, andreporting incidents using the Trust Incident Reporting System.

InfectionControl

Thejob holder must comply at all times with the Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS TrustInfection Control policies, in particular by practising Universal InfectionControl Precautions. Hand hygiene must be performed before and after contactwith patients and their environment.

Equalityand Diversity

Thejobholder must comply with all policies and procedures designed to ensureequality of employment and that services are delivered in ways that meet theindividual needs of patients and their families. No person whether they are staff, patient orvisitor should receive less favourable treatment because of their gender,ethnic origin, age, disability, sexual orientation, religion etc.

Patientand Public Involvement

TheTrust has a statutory duty to involve patients and public in evaluating andplanning services. All staff have aresponsibility to listen to the views of patients and to contribute to serviceimprovements based on patient feedback.

Trainingand Personal Development Continuous Professional Development

Thejobholder must take responsibility in agreement with his/her line manager forhis/her own personal development by ensuring that Continuous ProfessionalDevelopment remains a priority. Thejobholder will undertake all mandatory training required for the role.

Respectfor Patient Confidentiality

Thejobholder should always respect patient confidentiality and not divulge patientinformation unless sanctioned by the requirements of the role.

Communication and working relationships

Providing and receiving complex,sensitive, or contentious information to patients with a spinal injury, ortheir relatives, where persuasive, motivational, negotiating, training,empathic or re-assurance communication skills are required.

Communication will occur acrossinternal and external stakeholders including patients, relatives, carers,clinical and managerial staff, MDT members and external communicationsincluding Leeds Community Equipment team and other community healthcare services.

SPECIAL WORKING CONDITIONS

i) PHYSICAL EFFORT:

There is a daily requirement to undertake frequent moderate physicalactivity. For example, treatment sessions involving facilitation of movement infunctional transferring of patients, plinth sessions with physiotherapycolleagues and provision and fitting of equipment/pushing wheelchairs/usingmanual handling equipment.

Moderate means lifting, pushing, pulling objects weighing from six tofifteen kilos; controlled restraint of patients e.g. in mental health orlearning disabilities situations; sudden explosive effort such as running froma standing start; clearing tables; moving patients/heavy weights (over fifteenkilos) with mechanical aids including hoists and trolleys; manoeuvringpatients/clients into position e.g. for treatment or personal care purposes;transferring patient/clients from a bed to a chair or similar.

There may be the requirement for the post holder to travel between siteswithin The Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust to best meet the needs of theservice. The post holder may be based on more than one site to carry out theirduties.

ii) MENTAL EFFORT:

There is a frequent requirement forconcentration where the work pattern is predictable with few competing demandsfor attention.

Patient clinical interventions will last up to 1hr per session includingdetailed clinical documentation and liaising with other agencies. On occasion this will be in conjunction withanother therapist, but frequently this will be as a lone worker.

While working on the ward you will be approached by other staff andasked to share clinical information about ongoing cases.

You will have to triage and prioritise referrals - will availabletherapist support.

iii)EMOTIONAL EFFORT:

This job may involve occasional exposure toverbal and physical aggression. This job may involve exposure todistressing circumstances such as terminal illness.

Person Specification

Qualifications

• Completion of CARE Certificate otherwise mandatory training within first 3 months of employment
• GCSE English and Maths (Grade C minimum) or Functional Skills equivalent (Level 2 minimum)
• Level 3 qualification in relevant health care related subject

Experience

• Relevant clinical experience
• Therapy Senior Support worker experience in a hospital setting

Skills & behaviours

• Able to work independently and as part of a team
• Able to manage workload delegated by a number of therapists
• Good written and verbal communication skills
• Good organisational skills

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.