Job responsibilities
Clinical
To take a leading role in the advanced
assessment, clinical diagnosis and treatment of patients with a neurological
condition and complex presentations. As examples, this will include, but is not
limited to, acquired and traumatic brain injury, spinal cord injury, Guillain
Barre syndrome, MS etc.
To proactively support complex patients in
navigating the health and social care system.
To provide an effective high-quality service
to complex neurological patients and their relatives.
To be responsible as an autonomous
practitioner to undertake a significant specialist clinical caseload.
To take a leading role in the training and
development of staff in this speciality.
To be professionally and legally
responsible and accountable for all aspects of professional activities working
within codes of practice and professional guidelines.
To be aware of risks involved as part
of delivering clinical care and manage this within own patient case load.
To be an integrated member of the
inpatient team and be able to provide support to other teams in the management of complex neurological patients.
To in-reach to the acute
wards to identify patients requiring ongoing neuro rehabilitation and support
their transition through the pathway.
To act as a
lead specialist Occupational Therapy resource using highly developed clinical
skills in theoretical knowledge and relevant practical experience.
To provide
information and advice across the in-patient occupational therapy team
regarding equipment provision and authorize others requests.
To be
responsible as an autonomous practitioner to undertake a significant specialist
clinical workload and use excellent clinical reasoning skills to utilize a wide
range of treatment skills and options in order to formulate a specialized
programme of care using a range of interventions.
To use
investigative and analytical skills, manual assessment techniques and
diagnostic procedures to assess complex patients and support other more junior
staff with their patients as required.
Formulate
accurate prognoses and recommend best course of intervention, developing
comprehensive discharge plans and appropriate discharge information.
To provide
expert knowledge of local neuro rehabilitation provision and appropriate
criteria and referral processes.
To ensure patients with complex
neurological needs are referred to the most appropriate service to meet their
needs.
To identify those patients whose needs
can be met by alternate care or rehab pathways.
To monitor patients on waiting lists
for specialist inpatient neuro rehabilitation units, in order to re-direct if
their needs change.
To have good
communication links with neuro rehabilitation teams and community services and
to take a lead on ensuring onward referrals are appropriate and completed in a
timely fashion.
To provide
continuity of contact for patients and their relatives through the complex
neuro rehabilitation pathway.
Evaluate
patient progress, reassess and alter treatment programmes if required.
To set and
maintain a high standard of clinical care using evidence-based practice by
keeping up to date with clinical developments, analyzing current research and
discussing and implementing changes in your clinical practice and encourage
this throughout the team.
To be
responsible for the setting and monitoring of standards and policies of
clinical Occupational Therapy practice benchmarking against National guidelines
such as RCP, NICE and RCOT.
To be
professionally and legally responsible and accountable for all aspects of your
professional activities working within the codes of practice and professional
guidelines.
To demonstrate
a high level of understanding of clinical governance and clinical risk and of
the use of treatment plans with evidence-based link.
To develop
services in line with recent NHS initiatives and guidance.
To demonstrate
the physical ability to carry out Occupational Therapy assessments and
interventions, including highly developed cognitive therapy and therapeutic
handling. This includes frequent moderate to high physical
effort.
To be aware of
risks involved as part of delivering clinical care and manage this within own
patients case load.
Management
To plan effectively the daily
management of a caseload of patients by prioritising clinical work, responding
to urgent referrals and issues and frequently unpredictable work patterns.
To set up the neuro rehabilitation
service in the Trust including development of service criteria, appropriate
pathways, potential out-reach opportunities and training.
To review, audit, monitor and change
the neuro rehabilitation services to meet the demand of the service.
To maintain the high standards of the
service by contributing to the individual team and service objectives.
To be able to manage potentially
stressful and upsetting or emotional situations in an empathetic manner.
To be able to prioritise clinical and
managerial work and balance other patient related and professional activities
as the department requires.
To supervise junior staff, senior
staff and therapy assistants where appropriate.
To participate in the appraisal scheme
as an appraiser and to be appraised.
To demonstrate a high level of
understanding of clinical governance and clinical risk.
To attend appropriate meetings both
within and outside of the trust
Communication
To be highly effective in
communicating with other partner organisations in order to provide an effective
service. This will include consultants, the stroke rehab team, in-patient
therapy teams, nursing teams, neuro rehabilitation teams, ICBs and community
services.
To initiate and maintain good contact
with service users regarding the development of the service.
To provide advice to other disciplines
both internally and externally to ensure a multidisciplinary approach to care.
To communicate effectively with all
disciplines involved in a patients care, both those from within the
organisation and those outside to ensure efficient multidisciplinary working.
To be able to communicate complex and
sensitive information to patients, carers and other staff including imparting
unwelcome news relating to their prognosis and gaining consent for treatment.
To assess patients understanding of
treatment proposals, gain valid consent and have the capacity to work within a
legal framework with patients who lack capacity to consent to treatment.
To
maintain accurate records in line with the RCOT, Trust and service standards
and policies. To ensure that records of directly managed staff also comply with
these standards.
To use a range of verbal and
non-verbal communication tools to communicate effectively and sensitively with
patients in order to initiate treatment and achieve treatment concordance. This
may include patients who may have difficulties in understanding or
communicating.
To communicate any changes in care
plan or treatment approach to other member of the multi-disciplinary team as
necessary.
Education
To participate in clinical supervision
sessions as a member of the MDT.
To participate in any training
sessions as a recipient and facilitator.
To disseminate any training received
to other staff and healthcare professionals.
To be actively involved in special
interest groups in order to share and disseminate knowledge to colleagues.
Research/Audit/Quality
To regularly participate in and lead
on appropriate work-related research/evaluation projects and to be aware of
current research relevant to clinical area.
To utilise audit skills to evaluate
the clinical and cost effectiveness of the Occupational Therapy service to the
specialist clinical area.
To evaluate your own clinical
effectiveness
To undertake and present relevant
evidence-based projects.
IT
To maintain timely and accurate
statistical information as required by senior staff and managers.
To be responsible for the accurate
input of clinical information onto the trust IT system and manage the clinical
workload diary.
To keep up to date with advances in
technology.
Further information and general
responsibilities
To have responsibility for the health,
safety and welfare of self and others at work. This includes being conversant
with relevant trust safety policies and procedures. To report incidents and
near misses at work; take part in the risk management process; attend all
mandatory training courses in the agreed duration as defined by trust policy
and carry out tasks and use equipment only when competent to do so.
To ensure confidentiality at all
times, only releasing confidential information obtained during the course of
employment to those acting in an official capacity. To comply with the
requirements of the Data Protection act.
To comply with the trusts corporate
and local policies and procedures on such subjects and clinical management and
human resources.
To ensure that patients, clients and
members of the public are consulted and involved in decisions about local
health service developments. As a trust employee to be mindful of this and do
what is appropriate to the role and level meet this duty of responsibility.
To undertake such other duties as may
be required from time to time and are consistent with the responsibilities of
the role.
To comply with the trusts policies on
equal opportunities, the consumption of alcohol and smoking.
This job involves regular exposure to
unpleasant working conditions e.g. bodily fluids including urine and faeces and
occasional exposure to verbal aggression.
For
further information, please contact Dee Bousfield (Clinical Lead for inpatients
Stroke and Neuro) on 07935 714270 or via email d.bousfield@nhs.net or Kathy
Anderson (Therapy Manager for Stroke and Neuro) on 07971 180513 or via email katherine.anderson5@nhs.net
