Job summary
Senior Therapy Assistant - 15-months Fixed Term
Working Full time: 37.5 hours per week
This is an exciting opportunity to work as a Senior Therapy Assistant within our inpatient therapy team.
Our team provides therapy to patients at the Countess of Chester Hospital. You will be working in a fast-paced environment alongside an experienced therapy team in a variety of settings including, inpatient wards and patient's homes. The role includes working closely with our Multidisciplinary team to ensure we achieve best patient care.
You will work collaboratively with the therapy team and the wards to advocate functional independence for the patients and work with them to achieve their goals to facilitate timely discharge from the hospital.
Main duties of the job
Effective communication, adaptability and team working skills are essential for this post. Experience of working with adults in a care setting is essential for the role, alongside experience of working as a therapy assistant. We offer a friendly and supportive environment for learning alongside in service training and opportunities to further develop your career.
This role would be suitable for an existing band 4 or a band 3 therapy assistant looking to expand their skills and progress in their career.
This post requires an enhanced Criminal Records Bureau check.
You will be expected to work weekends and Bank holidays on a rota basis.
About us
The Countess of Chester Hospital NHS Foundation Trust provides services to West Cheshire and to Welsh patients covered by Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board. The Trust works collaboratively within the wider Cheshire and Merseyside Health and Care Partnership. Its services are provided from three locations:
- The Countess of Chester Hospital: providing 438 general and acute beds
- Ellesmere Port Hospital: providing 56 beds as a rehabilitation, intermediate and outpatient facility
- Tarporley War Memorial Hospital: a base for community services which serve the local rural population.
The Trust employs over 5916 staff (headcount) which includes temporary bank staff and provides acute emergency and elective services, primary care direct access services and obstetric services to a population of approximately 411,000. This includes 361,000 residents in Chester and West Cheshire which includes Ellesmere Port and Neston as well as the Deeside area of Flintshire which has a population of approximately 50,000.
The Trust is a busy district general hospital and in 2022/2023, there were more than 503,342 patient attendances (inpatient, outpatient and diagnostic) ranging from a simple outpatient appointment to major cancer surgery. This is an increase of nearly 10,000 compared to the previous year when there were 494,387 patient attendances.
Job description
Job responsibilities
See Job Description for further details.
Recruitment selection processes are based on competence (see Person specification) and values.
Please note applicants will be required to pay for their DBS check. Costswill be deducted from their salary over the first three months of employment.
You are encouraged to enrol for the DBS Update Service. A small annual fee of £16per year applies.
New entrants to the NHS will commence on the minimum of the scale stated above.
Applicants are advised to apply early as if a large number of applications are received for this post, we reserve the right to close the vacancy prior to the advertised date.
Good luck with your application.
Job description
Job responsibilities
See Job Description for further details.
Recruitment selection processes are based on competence (see Person specification) and values.
Please note applicants will be required to pay for their DBS check. Costswill be deducted from their salary over the first three months of employment.
You are encouraged to enrol for the DBS Update Service. A small annual fee of £16per year applies.
New entrants to the NHS will commence on the minimum of the scale stated above.
Applicants are advised to apply early as if a large number of applications are received for this post, we reserve the right to close the vacancy prior to the advertised date.
Good luck with your application.
Person Specification
Qualifications
Essential
- NVQ level 4 or equivalent
- ECDL or CLIAT qualification
Experience
Essential
- Significant experience working in a health or social care setting, working as a therapy assistant
- Experience of delivering therapy programmes to patients with complex needs
- Supervisory experience
- Knowledge of a range of presenting conditions and implications for swallowing and communication
- Carry out interventions using a criteria led discharge protocol
- Able to undertake reviews and amend action plans accordingly
Desirable
- Understanding of professional conduct
- Health, safety and risk awareness
- Experience of undertaking reviews and amending action plans
Skills
Essential
- Excellent verbal skills
- Able to demonstrate ability to use basic Microsoft packages such as Word, Excel, PowerPoint
- Good level of literacy skills to complete therapy documentation and referrals to other services
- Able to communicate with a range of professionals, patients and relatives regarding patient treatment plans both in the hospital and in the community
Desirable
- Working knowledge of Cerner system
Person Specification
Qualifications
Essential
- NVQ level 4 or equivalent
- ECDL or CLIAT qualification
Experience
Essential
- Significant experience working in a health or social care setting, working as a therapy assistant
- Experience of delivering therapy programmes to patients with complex needs
- Supervisory experience
- Knowledge of a range of presenting conditions and implications for swallowing and communication
- Carry out interventions using a criteria led discharge protocol
- Able to undertake reviews and amend action plans accordingly
Desirable
- Understanding of professional conduct
- Health, safety and risk awareness
- Experience of undertaking reviews and amending action plans
Skills
Essential
- Excellent verbal skills
- Able to demonstrate ability to use basic Microsoft packages such as Word, Excel, PowerPoint
- Good level of literacy skills to complete therapy documentation and referrals to other services
- Able to communicate with a range of professionals, patients and relatives regarding patient treatment plans both in the hospital and in the community
Desirable
- Working knowledge of Cerner system
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.
Applications from job seekers who require current Skilled worker sponsorship to work in the UK are welcome and will be considered alongside all other applications. For further information visit the UK Visas and Immigration website (Opens in a new tab).
From 6 April 2017, skilled worker applicants, applying for entry clearance into the UK, have had to present a criminal record certificate from each country they have resided continuously or cumulatively for 12 months or more in the past 10 years. Adult dependants (over 18 years old) are also subject to this requirement. Guidance can be found here Criminal records checks for overseas applicants (Opens in a new tab).
Additional information
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.
Applications from job seekers who require current Skilled worker sponsorship to work in the UK are welcome and will be considered alongside all other applications. For further information visit the UK Visas and Immigration website (Opens in a new tab).
From 6 April 2017, skilled worker applicants, applying for entry clearance into the UK, have had to present a criminal record certificate from each country they have resided continuously or cumulatively for 12 months or more in the past 10 years. Adult dependants (over 18 years old) are also subject to this requirement. Guidance can be found here Criminal records checks for overseas applicants (Opens in a new tab).
