Assistance jobs in United Kingdom

An exciting opportunity to enhance your career is available - join our integrated team in the Emergency Department (ED) at St Mary's Hospital. Our Therapy department provides opportunity for enthusiastic and highly motivated therapists to expand their skills in admission avoidance, complex discharge planning, and frailty.

We are seeking a dynamic part time therapist who thrives in a fast paced environment where no two days are the same. You will have the opportunity to assess and treat a wide range of patient cohorts; frailty, falls, dementia, delirium, musculoskeletal injuries, neurological conditions and other long term conditions which present to the Emergency Department.

Our team consists of occupational therapists and physiotherapists; we are an interdisciplinary team encouraging skill sharing to empower therapists to be holistic and autonomous practitioners whilst also appreciating profession specific competencies. We are an admission avoidance focussed service, however also appreciate the importance of early therapy intervention for those requiring hospital admission. This is a role which sees a high quality, positive impact on its service users, reducing length of stay and encouraging patient involvement all stages of decision making.

As a team we champion Quality Improvement and you will have opportunities to be involved in Quality Improvement initiatives as well as multidisciplinary team education as part of this forward thinking clinical team. We embed the ethos of the campaign - NHS England’s ‘AHPs into Action’ to pioneer positive change. We also strive to deliver evidence based practise under the Royal College of Emergency Medicine guidelines to inform our projects.

You will be expected to be able to work in collaboration with the wider front door team who cover on the acute medical units. You will also be working in partnership with the Acute Frailty Team who provide specialised input for patients living with frailty syndromes who present to acute and emergency care.

Our service operates from 8am-6pm Monday to Friday with varied shift patterns. The successful candiate will be required to work 18 hours per week. You will also be a part of the weekend service in ED and the acute medical units, prioritising patients medically optimised for discharge where you will then be allocated rest days.

• To be professionally and legally accountable for all aspects of own work, including management of patients in your care.
• To undertake a comprehensive assessment and re-assessment of patients including those with diverse or complex presentation for a designated caseload to establish clients' physical, cognitive, perceptual, psychological and social functioning.
• To communicate effectively, using a range of verbal and non-verbal skills, with patients and carers / family to motivate, engage to participate in therapy and to ensure an understanding of their condition.
• To deal sensitively and constructively with patients and carers / family, who have high levels of anxiety frustration or aggression caused by a variety of issues, such as pain, poor prognosis or limited mobility.
• To plan and prioritise own caseload independently on a day-to-day basis to ensure patients are appropriately seen, in conjunction with the priorities of the team and to give assistance to other team members as required.
• To undertake the measurement and evaluation of your own work and current practice through the use of projects, audit or outcome measures, whether individually or with the support of senior staff.
• To critically appraise published research and use results to inform practice.
• To assist in the induction, daily supervision and delegation of tasks to band 5 occupational therapists, therapy support workers, students and administrative staff, as required.

At Imperial College Healthcare you can achieve extraordinary things with extraordinary people, working with leading clinicians pushing boundaries in patient care.

Become part of a vibrant team living our values - expert, kind, collaborative and aspirational. You’ll get an experience like no other and will fast forward your career.

Benefits include career development, flexible working and wellbeing, staff recognition scheme. Make use of optional benefits including Cycle to Work, car lease schemes, season ticket loan or membership options for onsite leisure facilities.

We are committed to equal opportunities and improving the working lives of our staff and will consider applications to work flexibly, part time or job share. Please talk to us at interview.

The full job description provides an overview of the key tasks and responsibilities of the role and the person specification outlines the qualifications, skills, experience and knowledge required.

For both overviews, please view the Job Description attachment with the job advert.

• Degree (or equivalent) in Occupational Therapy.
• State registration with the Health Care Professions Council.
• Evidence of CPD through maintenance of a portfolio.
• Able to demonstrate specialist learning from band 5 rotations, formal post-graduate level learning and informal CPD (both general and specific to clinical fields of speciality).
• Demonstrate learning of personal effectiveness and first line leadership from experience and from both formal and informal CPD activity.

• Membership of the Royal College of Occupational Therapists (RCOT)
• Membership of RCOT special interest groups relevant to speciality
• Clinical Educators Course

• Recent experience in relevant occupational therapy specialities and clinical settings
• Experience of working as part of an occupational therapy and multidisciplinary team
• To have participated in service development projects.
• Experience of clinical education of staff, students or assistants.
• Experience of supervision of students / therapy support workers, with development of basic supervision skills.
• Demonstrate an understanding of the use of evidence based practice in speciality

• Previous experience in the NHS or social care as a qualified occupational therapist
• Previous experience of prescribing wheelchairs and seating and other specialist equipment
• Experience with splinting
• Previous Band 6 experience in relevant post
• Involvement with Clinical Governance issues and an understanding of their relation to patient care

• Able to apply a range and depth of knowledge to this specialist area.
• Able to use knowledge of a range of treatment approaches in the specialist area.
• Able to make sound clinical decisions based on knowledge / experience / circumstances and utilise advanced clinical reasoning skills.
• Able to carry out therapeutic handling, requiring skilful and strenuous physical effort during the working day.
• Ability to remain up to date with professional practice and research and integrate this into daily patient management.
• Ability to organise, prioritise and delegate as appropriate and manage time effectively.
• Ability to seek guidance and assistance when required and to be aware of personal limitations.
• Ability to cope with working in a stressful environment and with emotional or aggressive patients or carers.
• Competent IT skills.
• Good presentation skills.
• Remain updated with professional practice and new research
• To make sound judgments and reliable decisions in a variety of demanding situations
• Self-motivated and able to work unsupervised.
• Able to work flexibly responding to the needs of the service.

• Evidence of CPD relevant to role and specialist area.
• Well-developed abilities for communication and consensus building skills

Please ensure you check your emails regularly as this is how we will communicate with you throughout the recruitment process. If you are shortlisted you will be contacted by email and text message (if you provide a mobile contact number).