Community Assessment Day Occupational Therapist

Job responsibilities

Primary key responsibilities:

The post holder will be required to:

Undertake specialist occupational therapy assessments for patients attending Community Assessment Days, focusing on functional ability, activities of daily living and work-related tasks.

Identify occupational, environmental and vocational barriers impacting the patients ability to return to work.

Work collaboratively with the Physiotherapist and Social Prescriber to contribute to integrated MDT assessment, discussion and care planning.

Develop and contribute to individualised, goal-oriented plans that support functional recovery, work participation and self-management.

Provide specialist advice on activity pacing, energy conservation, ergonomic principles and workplace adjustments.

Support patients to develop confidence, resilience and practical strategies to manage their condition in daily life and work roles.

Maintain clear, accurate and timely clinical documentation and assessment outcomes in line with service, information governance and commissioning requirements.

Work autonomously within agreed service frameworks, demonstrating professional accountability consistent with self-employed practice.

Uphold professional standards in line with HCPC, RCOT, and NHS values.

Contribute to service feedback, evaluation and continuous improvement in support of the Working Well programme.

Core principles:

a. Treating others with empathy and kindness.

b. Accountability.

c. To ensure confidentiality of information (written, oral and electronic) is preserved at all times whether at or away from work.

d. To follow procedures to ensure compliance with the Data Protection Act 1998.

e. To support and participate in initiatives to ensure a safe and healthy environment for all.

f. To respect, support, contribute to and take personal responsibility for implementing commitment to Diversity and Equality of Opportunity.

g. To contribute to a culture of continuous improvement.

h. To demonstrate commitment to Continuing Professional Development.

Generic responsibilities:

Equality, Diversity and Inclusion

A good attitude and positive action towards Equality Diversity & Inclusion creates an environment where all individuals can achieve their full potential. Creating such an environment is important for three reasons it improves operational effectiveness, it is morally the right thing to do and it is required by law.

Patients and their families have the right to be treated fairly and be routinely involved in decisions about their treatment and care. They can expect to be treated with dignity and respect and will not be discriminated against on any grounds including age, disability, gender reassignment, marriage and civil partnership, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion, or belief, sex, or sexual orientation.

Patients have a responsibility to treat other patients and our staff with dignity and respect.

Staff have the right to be treated fairly in recruitment and career progression. Staff can expect to work in an environment where diversity is valued, and equality of opportunity is promoted. Staff will not be discriminated against on any grounds including age, disability, gender reassignment, marriage and civil partnership, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion, or belief, sex, or sexual orientation. Staff have a responsibility to ensure that they treat our patients and their colleagues with dignity and respect.

Safety, Health, Environment and Fire (SHEF)

NGPS is committed to supporting and promoting opportunities for staff to maintain their health, wellbeing and safety.

The post holder is to manage and assess risk within the areas of responsibility, ensuring adequate measures are in place to protect staff and patients and monitor work areas and practices to ensure they are safe and free from hazards and conform to health, safety and security legislation, policies, procedures, and guidelines.

All personnel have a duty to take reasonable care of health and safety at work for themselves, their team, and others and to cooperate with employers to ensure compliance with health and safety requirements.

All personnel are to comply with the:

Health and Safety at Work Act 1974

Environmental Protection Act 1990

Environment Act 1995

Fire Precautions (workplace) Regulations 1999

Coronavirus Act 2020

Other statutory legislation which may be brought to the post holders attention

Confidentiality

NGPS is committed to maintaining an outstanding confidential service. Patients entrust and permit us to collect and retain sensitive information relating to their health and other matters pertaining to their care. They do so in confidence and have a right to expect all staff will respect their privacy and maintain confidentiality.

It is essential that, if the legal requirements are to be met and the trust of our patients is to be retained, all staff must protect patient information and provide a confidential service.

Quality and Continuous Improvement (CI)

To preserve and improve the quality of this NGPSs outputs, all personnel are required to think not only of what they do but how they achieve it. By continually re-examining our processes, we will be able to develop and improve the overall effectiveness of the way we work.

The responsibility for this rests with everyone working within NGPS to look for opportunities to improve quality and share good practice and to discuss, highlight and work with the team to create opportunities to improve patient care.

NGPS continually strives to improve work processes which deliver healthcare with improved results across all areas of our service provision. We promote a culture of continuous improvement where everyone counts, and staff are permitted to make suggestions and contributions to improve our service delivery and enhance patient care.

Staff should interpret national strategies and policies into local implementation strategies that are aligned to the values and culture of general practice.

All staff are to contribute to investigations and root cause analyses whilst participating in serious incident investigations and multidisciplinary case reviews.

Collaborative Working

All staff are to recognise the significance of collaborative working and understand their own role and scope and identify how this may develop over time. Staff are to prioritise their own workload and ensure effective time-management strategies are embedded within the culture of the team.

Teamwork is essential in multidisciplinary environments, and the post holder is to work as an effective and responsible team member, supporting others and exploring the mechanisms to develop new ways of working and work effectively with others to clearly define values, direction and policies impacting upon care delivery.

Effective communication is essential, and all staff must ensure they communicate in a manner which enables the sharing of information in an appropriate manner.

All staff should delegate clearly and appropriately, adopting the principles of safe practice and assessment of competence.

Plans and outcomes by which to measure success should be agreed.

Managing Information

All staff should use technology and appropriate software as an aid to management in the planning, implementation and monitoring of care and presenting and communicating information.

Data should be reviewed and processed using accurate SNOMED codes to ensure easy and accurate information retrieval for monitoring and audit processes.

Data Protection

The post holder must at all times respect the confidentiality of information in line with the requirements of the Data Protection Act and principles.

This includes, if required to do so, obtain, process and/or use information held on a computer in a fair and lawful way, to hold data only for the specified registered purposes and to use or disclose data only to authorised persons or organisations as instructed.

Service Delivery

Staff will be given detailed information during the induction process regarding policy and procedure.

The post holder must adhere to the information contained within the organisations policies and regional directives, ensuring protocols are always adhered to.

Security

The security of NGPS is the responsibility of all personnel. The post holder must ensure they always remain vigilant and report any suspicious activity immediately to their line manager.

Under no circumstances are staff to share the codes for the door locks with anyone and are to ensure that restricted areas remain effectively secured. Likewise, password controls are to be maintained and are not to be shared.

Disclosure and Barring Service

The post is subject to an Enhanced Disclosure through the Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS). Further details about DBS disclosure can be found at DBS checks: detailed guidance - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

Professional conduct

All NGPS staff have a responsibility to conduct themselves in a professional manner, and dress appropriately for their role.

Personal / Professional Development

In addition to maintaining continued education through attendance at any courses and/or study days necessary to ensure that professional development requirements are met, the post-holder is also expected to:

- Participate in an annual individual performance review at service level

- Undertake an external annual NHS GP appraisal

- Take responsibility for personal development, learning and performance

This Job Description is neither exhaustive nor exclusive and will be reviewed periodically in conjunction with the post holder. The post holder is required to carry out any duties that may be reasonably be requested

Qualities

Essential

• Patient-centred, empathetic and solution-focused approach
• Ability to work independently and professionally, demonstrating accountability consistent with self-employed practice
• Flexible, adaptable and resilient when working with complexity
• Commitment to NHS values, equality, diversity and inclusion
• Professional credibility appropriate to Band 7 level practice
• Committed to working as part of a multi-disciplinary, multi-agency primary care team
• Openness to explore alternative working practices
• The ability & willingness to travel to sites

Desirable

• Proactive interest in integrated care and innovative service models
• Commitment to ongoing professional development
• Enthusiasm for supporting the aims of the Working Well initiative
• Full driving licence

Qualifications

Essential

• Degree or equivalent qualification in Occupational Therapy
• HCPC registration as an Occupational Therapist

Desirable

• Training or qualifications related to rehabilitation, occupational health, MSK-related conditions or work-focused practice

Experience

Essential

• Substantial post-registration experience working as an Occupational Therapist
• Experience working at Band 7 level or equivalent
• Experience assessing and managing patients with long-term conditions, including MSK-related functional difficulties
• Experience of community-based practice
• Experience of working effectively within a multidisciplinary team
• Experience of working autonomously, appropriate to a self-employed or portfolio role

Desirable

• Experience within NHS or NHS-commissioned services
• Experience of vocational rehabilitation, return-to-work programmes or occupational health
• Experience contributing to service development, pathway redesign or quality improvement initiatives
• Portfolio career experience across public and independent sectors

Skills

Essential

• Specialist occupational therapy assessment and clinical reasoning skills
• Ability to assess functional capacity and occupational performance in relation to work and daily activities
• Strong understanding and application of the biopsychosocial model
• Excellent communication and interpersonal skills, including shared decision-making
• Ability to contribute effectively to MDT discussion and planning
• Strong organisational, time-management and documentation skills
• Confident use of IT systems and digital record-keeping

Desirable

• Skills in goal setting, motivational interviewing or behaviour change approaches
• Experience using functional outcome measures
• Knowledge of reasonable adjustments and workplace accommodations

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).