Band 4 Therapy Assistant - Care Home Inreach Team

Job summary

We are looking for an individual who is passionate about collaborative working, to take on the vital role of Therapy Assistant in an established multidisciplinary therapy team, improvingthe health and wellbeing of care home residents in Wandsworth.

The Care Home Inreach Therapy Service serves 14 nursing and residential homes across Wandsworth. The team consist of a Physiotherapist, an Occupational Therapist, a Speech and Language Therapist, a Dietitian and a Dietetic Assistant.

You will collaborate closely with the therapy team, as well as external agencies and care home staff.

The service aims to improve the health and wellbeing of residents, through support, training, development and education of those residents, care home staff and next of kin. The team embeds the principles of 'Nourish , Move , Connect, Thrive' and 'Ageing Well' into care homes.

Through this , residents are facilitated to be physically fitter, more active, more cognitively stimulated, and their nutrition and hydration needs met, aiming to reduce hospital admissions, falls, and holistically preventing deterioration/deconditioning

The team has a proactive and creative approach to the concept of prevention, with shared vision and values

Due to the successes and effectiveness of the service since its inception, the service has been extended until the end of March 2027

Main duties of the job

• Work alongside the MDT to assist in teaching, training, and providing guidance on delivering 1:1 sessions and therapy activity group sessions, including exercise programs tailored to the specific needs of each care home environment.
• Work with care homes to identify/implement strategies that optimise/adapt environment, to enhance experiences, engagement, and activity levels of residents with dementia.
• Provide administrative support to the therapy team, including organizing newsletters, managing phone/email queries, preparing training materials, maintaining accurate records
• Assist in completing therapy-related outcome measures with older residents and care staff, and implement group therapy plans developed by the therapy team.
• Support the therapy team during training sessions with care home staff, and lead various group activities with care home residents as part of staff training and coaching initiatives.
• Support the therapy team in a pilot project of 'resettling residents into the care home environment, following hospital stay, to prevent complications or deterioration and bridge the gap for other services
• Maintain strong relationships with care home staff and management, helping to coordinate training sessions, gather feedback, and support service improvement initiatives, including audits and surveys.
• Given the diverse needs of the 14 care homes this role requires a high level of flexibility and adaptability to meet varying requirements across different settings.

About us

St. George's University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust is one of the UK's largest healthcare organizations and is integrated with Community Services Wandsworth. The Trust shares its main hospital site in south west London with St George's University of London, and is linked to Kingston Faculty of Health and Social Care Sciences. St George's has an established national and international reputation as a leading hospital for specialist care including neurosciences, cardiac care, stroke and cancer. We also provide excellent local care to the residents of Wandsworth, and regional care as both an acute, hyper acute stroke unit and trauma centre.

As well as acute hospital services, St George's Healthcare provides a wide variety of specialist and community hospital based care and a full range of community services to children, adults, older people and people with learning disabilities. These services are provided from Queen Mary's Hospital, Roehampton, 11 health centers and clinics, schools and nurseries, patients' homes and Wandsworth Prison. We employ 8,000 staff, have an annual income of c£620m, around 1,100 beds and we serve a population of 1.3 million across south west London.