Job responsibilities
MAIN DUTIES
Clinical
To be responsible for maintaining a high standard, both professionally and legally, of clinical practice both in own practice and for ensuring that others in the team maintain competent clinical skills and operate to a high level.
To be responsible for the assessment of patients, including those with complex presentations, and to select appropriate assessment tools for this.
To use clinical reasoning skills and specialist clinical knowledge to formulate treatment plans, using a wide range of treatment skills. To carry out, evaluate progress and adjust treatment plans, as necessary.
To be able to demonstrate advanced evidence based clinical reasoning when considering treatment options and management approaches to therapy provision for older patients presenting with a range of health conditions.
To be competent to treat patients with traumatic and acquired neurological conditions, including repatriations from Major Trauma Centres.
To lead, plan, coordinate and evaluate the delivery of care to this patient cohort working closely with other AHP colleagues, including developing discharge plans and co-ordinate onward referral for this patient group.
To be competent in the assessment and treatment of patients presenting with respiratory conditions to the level required to participate in the on-call and weekend service.
To demonstrate highly developed and advanced clinical skills that require specialised skills such as precision, hand eye co-ordination, sensory co-ordination, and manual handling in the therapeutic handling of patients with a range of presentations.
To in-reach and provide clinical expertise and support for junior staff members and colleagues with managing complex patients with assessment, treatment, and ongoing discharge planning.
To develop treatment goals/care plans, working in partnership with patients, their families or carers and other members of the multi-disciplinary team, and to communicate these effectively.
To work within any professional or Trust clinical guidelines, maintain knowledge of current clinical practice and of national and local standards, and to ensure own and colleagues safe practice.
To organise case conferences or family meetings as appropriate.
To be able to assess patients level of understanding of required treatment intervention to ensure valid patient consent and work within a legal framework with patients who lack capacity to consent.
To use verbal and non-verbal communication skills to communicate complex or sensitive information in a way that patients and others can understand, overcoming barriers to communication e.g., cognitive problems, language barriers, and using motivational and persuasive skills to ensure participation and co-operation.
To carry out clinical risk assessments, to inform care planning and discharge planning and to propose risk management strategies where necessary.
To maintain accurate clinical records in accordance with Trust and professional standards, and to ensure that staff in the team maintain clinical records to these standards.
To be highly competent in the use of specialist therapy and mobility equipment, including moving and handling equipment, respiratory equipment and specialised devices including splints, braces, tilt-tables, and hoists. To ensure the safe and competent use of equipment by junior, assistant staff, and students. To ensure all equipment in team leads area is serviced annually and any faults reported through appropriate means.
To provide verbal and written reports as required to inform patient care liaising with people internal and external to the organisation.
Maintain and develop knowledge of evidence-based practice and to inform own competency through CPD activities (e.g., peer review, in-service training, journal club, external courses), maintaining a portfolio, which reflects personal development in line with Professional registration requirements.
To be responsible for updating and developing patient assessment, treatment and monitoring tools when required.
To comply with the Trusts Moving and handling policy and local therapeutic handling guidelines at all times.
Management and Service Development
To be jointly responsible for the day-to-day management of the team, including off duty management, recruitment, performance management or disciplinary action.
To respond to unplanned events or crises, ensuring that stressful situations are managed as calmly and empathetically as possible.
To ensure that the team are competent to access patient information databases, and work effectively across health and social care, minimising duplication and ensuring effective communication with all relevant teams in the hospital, community, and with primary care services.
To actively participate for their own development and junior staffs development in regular individual supervision sessions, and in the Trusts appraisal programme, probation programme and preceptorship programme ensuring that all mandatory training is up to date and planning and participating in continuous professional development.
To ensure effective communication of management information to the team and ensure that the teams practice complies with any standards or guidelines.
To be responsible for the performance of the team, and to ensure that all statistical information is accurately maintained and reported.
To participate in and lead on specific service improvement initiatives, including audit, and to suggest improvements and encourage participation from all team members. To develop guidelines or protocols for the service and ensure their implementation.
To investigate complaints or incidents as required, and to ensure that the team report any incidents or risks in line with Trust policy.
To represent the COOP Team and wider Therapy Team at meetings, and to deputise for the Clinical Lead Occupational Therapist/Physiotherapist (manager) as necessary.
To actively participate in the Trust Quality Improvement groups e.g. Falls, Dementia, by attending necessary meetings and working proactively to implement changes and improvements in line with the productivity actions of these groups.
Financial and physical resources
To be responsible for the ordering of all necessary equipment or appliances, and to ensure that stock control is maintained. To ensure that all appliances are maintained, and that all defects or faults are reported.
Carry out or delegate maintenance and cleaning of equipment as appropriate.
To be responsible for the safe and competent use of all equipment and ensure that staff, students, therapy technicians and assistants attain competency prior to use.
Ensure equipment is used and/or issued as per department policy.
Ensure efficient and safe use of resources in own clinical area, undertaking risk assessment when required.
Human resources/ Management
To be responsible for the daily monitoring of staff caseloads and work allocated to team members and to prioritise conflicting demands on the team in order to ensure effective cover, including 7 days working, and support for other teams if necessary.
To ensure that all new staff have an effective and full induction and are competent to undertake their role in the team.
To be responsible for the supervision, appraisal, and performance management of identified staff within the team, depending on professional discipline, including therapy technicians and therapy assistants.
Organise and support work/student experience placements including appropriate supervision whilst the student/volunteer is on the hospital site.
Teaching and Supervision
To be responsible for the in-service training programme for the department/team, and to participate in departmental training and development initiatives, preparing and delivering training related to your specialist area.
To teach other disciplines about specific areas of practice.
To provide informal advice, supervision and training to other staff across the Trust as required, promoting understanding of the role of the team and integrated working across hospital and community in the care and treatment of patients.
To be responsible for undergraduate students on placement, as a clinical practice educator, as appropriate, and to actively participate in and support other adaptation or clinical training programmes e.g., physiotherapy, occupational therapy, medical or nursing students, or work experience placements.
Participate in and undertake as an assessor/mentor 1:1 session, joint treatment sessions and watched assessments.
Share good practice with all grades of staff, internal and external to the organisation.
Organisational
Maintains responsibility for own time management to meet caseload and service priorities recognising when flexible working/planning is required to meet these.
To carry an identified bleep as required and be able to respond to unpredictable work and frequent interruptions.
To be responsible for inputting daily patient statistics on the computer and monitoring team statistics.
To comply with the organisational and departmental policies and procedures and to be involved in the reviewing and updating as appropriate.
To be aware of and comply with the Trusts policies and procedures.
In conjunction with senior physiotherapy staff to ensure physiotherapists who have achieved appropriate competences are available to work on rostered late shifts and have appropriate rostered time off.
Research and Development
Initiate and undertake measurement and evaluation of current practice through use of projects, audit and outcome measures with approval of the Clinical Leads and Clinical Therapy manager and appropriate audit/ethics committees.
Use a range of research methodologies and collects required data as part of research and audit initiatives and CPD undertakings.
Implements findings of research and audit projects in discussion with the Clinical Leads and Clinical Manager.
