Occupational Therapy Technical Instructor

Norfolk & Suffolk Foundation NHS Trust; Lowestoft; On-site; GBP 27,000 - 31,000; Full time

Job summary

A healthcare trust based in Lowestoft is seeking an Occupational Therapy Technical Instructor to support young people through their mental health journey. You will work directly with service users to promote engagement through various activities, facilitating their participation in both clinical and community settings. The ideal candidate should have a strong understanding of mental illness and possess excellent communication and organisational skills. The role requires flexibility with working hours and the ability to work dynamically within a supportive team.

Qualifications

• Experience of working with groups of people is essential.
• Ability to work unsupervised in clinical/community settings.

Responsibilities

• Support service users in undertaking physical activity.
• Facilitate access to community resources.
• Plan and provide therapeutic activities.

Skills

Understanding of mental illness

Empathetic approach

Communication skills

Organisational skills

Dynamic and creative approach

Education

NVQ 3 or formal technical qualification

Job description

Occupational Therapy Technical Instructor

Are you an ace at activities, excellent at promoting engagement and superb at supporting people with mental health needs? If so, we want you at The Dragonfly Unit!

This is an exciting opportunity for a Technical Instructor to join the 'family' at The Dragonfly Unit in supporting young people through their mental health journey.

This is a role which service users consistently identify as having a positive impact upon their recovery and their experiences in mental health inpatient services

The 12-bedded Dragonfly Unit is based in Carlton Colville, Lowestoft and is for age 13-17 year old young people requiring admission whilst receiving inpatient mental health treatment.

As a unit we pride ourselves on working together to deliver high quality care and to support each other through any challenging times.

We recognise that working with the same methods doesn\'t work forever; and we will continue to challenge the way we do things to create the best services we can, centred on the people who use them.

We are focused on Quality Improvement led care delivery and are looking for energetic people who want to make a difference and be part of dynamic teams who like to think outside of the box.

Main duties of the job

Under the in-direct supervision and guidance of a registered Occupational Therapist, the post holder will:

• Work with the teams across The Dragonfly Unit to support service users in undertaking physical activity using our gym and other areas to facilitate activities.
• Facilitate time away from the unit with identified individuals in order to access community resources and engage with nature.
• Use specialised technical/creative skills to plan and provide a flexible, patient-centred programme of therapeutic activities for individuals/groups of patients who experience mental health problems and feedback to the appropriate clinical ward-based teams.
• Ensure the health, safety and welfare of patients, colleagues and visitors.
• Provide practical supervision to students, if deemed appropriate.
• Observe and assess general behaviour, functional ability and response of patients during therapeutic activities.
• Report patient observation and assessment to the appropriate clinical ward-based team.
• Attend patient clinical meetings, as deemed appropriate by the Clinical Team Leader.
• Attend ward-based staff meetings and therapeutic programme meetings
• Maintain confidentiality at all times and observe the regulations concerning the security aspects of the Service.

About us

Here at NSFT we pride ourselves on being a welcoming, talented, friendly and supportive team who like nothing better than sharing experiences and learning from each other. In addition to ongoing training and development opportunities, we are committed to providing an environment in which you can thrive.

Why work for us? We have challenges as a Trust, but we have ambitious aspirations, are pushing ahead with exciting transformation work and we need dedicated individuals to support us on our journey. We have strong, established professional networks coupled with an exceptional leadership team who will ensure you are truly cared for and cared about.

Why Norfolk and Suffolk? The people here are warm and welcoming, you\'ll never be far from the beautiful coastline or Broads National Park. We\'re an hour and a half away from London and have an international airport in Norwich too. Our villages, towns and cities are packed full of history, independent cafes, shops and theatres. We have excellent shopping, eating out, top ranking schooling and affordable house prices too.

Job responsibilities

Occupational performance and participation will be central to your practice, and you will be encouraged to develop skills which support service users to achieve and maintain meaningful roles.

We are looking for someone who:

• Evidences a sound level of understanding of the effects of mental illness, alongside an empathetic approach to meet the individual needs of the patient.
• Has a willingness to facilitate groups
• Evidences a dynamic, creative and positive approach
• Exhibits communication skills that shine through and are essential for this post.
• Is trustworthy, self-motivated and organised with time management
• Applicants must possess attitudes and values that reflect the excellent standards of care we expect within NSFT.

We have a range of facilities available to use, including an activity room, kitchen and access to a ward car for community trips. Driving is not essential but would benefit the role.

Your working hours will be discussed at interview. Due to the nature of the role the successful candidate would need to be available some evenings and weekends and will need to undergo PMA Physical Intervention training.

Person Specification

Qualifications

• NVQ 3/ or formal technical qualification. City and Guilds Qualification or equivalent appropriate to specialism

Experience

• Experience of working with groups of people

Skills

• Ability to work unsupervised in clinical/ community settings

Other

• Ability to undertake and maintain annual, Breakaway Training

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.

£27,485 to £30,162 a year gross per annum