Job summary
This new pilot developmental post focussing on introducing and embedding the Pool Activity Level tool (PAL) into residential care homes across Torbay and South Devon will offer an Occupational Therapist (OT), with opportunities to use a wide range of OT skills, develop change management skills, the unique role of working with care home residents, staff and families to embed the use of the PAL tool and demonstrate its value to both residents and staff.
You will, on occasion, undertake comprehensive assessments of residents, with diverse and complex physical, psychological, cognitive and behavioural conditions in order to provide an accurate use of the PAL, to demonstrate the impact of the PAL on individual resident's engagement and improved well-being
Main duties of the job
Travelling across Torbay and South Devon geographical area to work in different homes on a short term basis, with residents who will have a variety of needs, the therapist will be working autonomously and building relationships with the homes to deliver this pilot, aiming to make the value of the PAL tool evident, supporting homes to introduce, use PAL and ensuring sustainability of the use of the tool.
Developing evaluation and feedback elements of the pilot, working with the core management group (OTs) in addition to managing a digital forum platform for discussion, trouble shooting and Q&As will also be a significant part of this role.
It is a 24 hour per week, 7-month fixed term contract working with the care home Quality Assurance teams and the falls prevention lead (the core management group).
About us
Why work with us - You will be joining the organisation at an exciting time. As the first fully integrated care organisation in England, we are working to improve the way we deliver safe, high-quality health and social care. We have a positive and vibrant working atmosphere, We are proud of our investment in our staff both in terms of developing potential career skills and valuing people.
If you provide support to a family member or friend with health or care needs, we aim to be a Carer-friendly employer. We have a 'Staff Carers' policy which includes flexible working where possible and a Carer's Passport scheme that links you into support and discounts.
For more information on why to work with us, please see our Welcome films in the Further Links sections to the right of this page. #seeyouinsouthdevon
Job description
Job responsibilities
- The primary function of this role is to provide support to care homes to introduce the Pool Activity Level (PAL) and meaningful activity into care home residents lives.
- To engage using project principles the implementation of PAL into homes across the Torbay and South Devon NHS Foundation footprint (In equal measure)
- To upskill senior and key care home staff in the assessment and implementation of the PAL
- To gather a group of PAL trained care home staff for regular Q&As, support and pilot feedback
- To lead regular Q&As and feedback sessions (initially fortnightly possibly moving to monthly)
- Practically embed the outcomes of PAL in the everyday engagement as well as in activities with care homes
- To review and monitor adopted care homes usage of PAL
- Be available to support the care homes use of PAL to trouble shoot and be involved 121 where homes are struggling to implement the outcome of a PAL assessment
- To review, monitor and feedback on the pilotTo provide communication to promote and feedback on the pilot for care home forums and TSDFT
- Where necessary and appropriate to liaise with local health and social care teams/QAIT regarding residents assessment/care home needs
- To support families and carers to engage with PAL outcomes & principles for their resident
- Report on Safeguarding when required
Main duties of the job
- This post will form part of a pilot project to embed the use of PAL in care homes across Torbay and South Devon
- There may be a requirement to work within different care homes
- The post-holder will employ Occupational Therapy principles in upskilling staff in the use of PAL and will include working with people with complex cognitive disability
- PAL training will be provided for this role, or updated if previously experienced in PAL
- This role may include some evening working to engage with a wider range of shift patterns for care home staff (less than 5% of the role)
- The work links with the Quality Assurance Team, the Enhanced Health in Care Home framework, hydration and nutrition work and the falls prevention leads
- There is an expectation that when working in the community the post holder will aim to visit an average of at least 4 care homes a week, or equivalent, with contact via phone/MST with up to a further 5 homes
- Numbers of care homes signed up to training, use of PAL during pilot and ongoing use of PAL once pilot ends
- Numbers of care home residents benefitting from assessment and PAL approach to function
- Testimonies from residents and staff of improved engagement and other benefits of using the PAL
About your new team and department
You will be joining the organisation at an exciting time. As the first fully integrated care organisation in England, we are working to improve the way we deliver safe, high-quality health and social care. We have a positive and vibrant working atmosphere, We are proud of our investment in our staff both in terms of developing potential career skills and valuing people.
If you provide support to a family member or friend with health or care needs, we aim to be a Carer-friendly employer. We have a Staff Carers policy which includes flexible working where possible and a Carers Passport scheme that links you into support and discounts.
For more information on why to work with us, please see our Welcome films in the Further Links sections to the right of this page. #seeyouinsouthdevon
Detailed job description and responsibilities
Responsibility for Staff:
- Upskill, teach and demonstrate skills and support less experienced staff, new staff, bank, agency and students as a feature of daily work routine.
- Provide education and training to staff and carers
- As a core member of the pilot group to contribute to the pilot development, monitoring and feedback
Responsibility for Patient and Client Care
- Undertakes all aspects of clinical duties as an autonomous practitioner, including professional and legal accountability and managing clinical risk for all aspect of own work and caseload.
- To undertake comprehensive assessments of residents with diverse and complex physical, psychological, cognitive and behavioural conditions in order to provide an accurate use of PAL
- To teach care home staff in the formulation and delivery of an individualised PAL programme for their personal routines.
- To work with colleagues in other professions to ensure that resident needs are met. This includes contributing to an enabling approach to all aspects of care
- To have good working knowledge of and ensure compliance with National and Local guidelines, policies and procedures. To keep up to date with clinical developments by the use of clinical databases and electronic technology
- Work with therapists in other services to ensure that residents needs are met (e.g. link with other therapists within DGH and community to both give and receive opinions when required)
- To work without direct supervision and be responsible for this pilot. The pilot will require regular feedback, monitoring and evaluation
- To work as part of a team providing multidisciplinary care whilst in a home
- To be a positive influence in encouraging and promoting meaningful activity for each individual resident that the homes use the PAL on
Responsibility for Human Resources
- Demonstrate skills and support less experienced staff, new staff, bank, and agency as a feature of daily work routine
- Provide education and teaching to care home staff and carers
- Provide informal supervision to care home staff engaging with the project
- To be responsible for maintaining own competency to practise through CPD activities, and maintain a portfolio which reflects personal development. Maintain and develop current knowledge of evidence-based practise.
Responsibility for Financial and Physical Resources
- Participate in the organisations Performance Development Review (PDR) scheme as an appraisee and be responsible for complying with your agreed personal development programmes to meet set knowledge and competencies
- Knowledge of using appropriate resources in a cost-effective mannerPost holder will have no other budgetary responsibility
Responsibility for Information Resources
- Complete pilot and care home documentation in line with agreed local policy.
- Promote and use PAL documentation along with pilot information
Responsibility for Research and Development
- Ensure that the pilot and any clinical practice follows an evidence-based practice ethos
Responsibility for Administration
- The post holder is responsible for maintaining records of all pilot interventions, using agreed documentation
- All clinical activity needs to be recorded for the pilot
- Complete care home and resident documentation, if carrying out 121 work, including electronic systems in line with agreed local policy
- Collating and reporting back on pilot evaluation for relevant EHCH subgroup
Strategic and Service Responsibilities
- To have a good working knowledge of, and ensure compliance with, National guidelines, policies and procedures. To keep up to date with clinical developments by the use of clinical databases and electronic technology
- Undertake the measurement and evaluation of your work and current practices through the use of evidence-based practice projects, audit, outcome measures,
- Knowledge of local and trusts policies and procedures
Area of Specialism
- Ability to use PAL tool and teach care home staff in how to use PAL
- To demonstrate how PAL can inform care home residents care plans and positively promote engagement in everyday function and activities
- Able to assess the impact of the use of PAL on both care home residents and staff
- Able to take advise the broader care home staff on management approaches for residents
- To be responsible for maintaining own competency to practice through CPD activities, and maintain a portfolio which reflects personal development.
- Skills relevant to PAL and cognitive issues
- Basic and therapeutic, patient and non-patient manual handling and ergonomic risk assessment
- Participates in clinical audit, research and quality monitoring i.e. Benchmarking
- Good understanding of MCA, DoLs, POA
- Basic resuscitation
- Basic IT skills
- Standard keyboard skills
Organisational Skills:
- To be responsible for organising and planning teaching, linking with care homes and support meetings to meet pilot priorities, readjusting plans as situations change/arise
- Conduct an average of at least 4 care home visits per week with a higher number of contacts with other care homes
- Participate in planning and instigating training in care homes
- Monitor and review efficacy of PAL in each home where introduced
- Feedback and evaluate pilot
- Recognise the need of when to seek guidance
- Carry out duties, with direct or indirect supervision, including lone working
- Work autonomously organising time and workload effectively and efficiently
Communication and working relationships:
There is a requirement to:
- Interview and gain participation of care home managers and staff for pilot
- Communicate PAL information and purpose to care home managers and staff
- Communicate the outcome of PAL assessments to CH staff, carers and family where relevant in an empathetic and tactful manner
- Communicate with people who have communication difficulties, partial hearing, mental illness or who are partially sighted
- Foster an interdisciplinary approach to practice within the care homes
- Participate in pilot evaluation and monitoring meetings
**Please see job description**
Job description
Job responsibilities
- The primary function of this role is to provide support to care homes to introduce the Pool Activity Level (PAL) and meaningful activity into care home residents lives.
- To engage using project principles the implementation of PAL into homes across the Torbay and South Devon NHS Foundation footprint (In equal measure)
- To upskill senior and key care home staff in the assessment and implementation of the PAL
- To gather a group of PAL trained care home staff for regular Q&As, support and pilot feedback
- To lead regular Q&As and feedback sessions (initially fortnightly possibly moving to monthly)
- Practically embed the outcomes of PAL in the everyday engagement as well as in activities with care homes
- To review and monitor adopted care homes usage of PAL
- Be available to support the care homes use of PAL to trouble shoot and be involved 121 where homes are struggling to implement the outcome of a PAL assessment
- To review, monitor and feedback on the pilotTo provide communication to promote and feedback on the pilot for care home forums and TSDFT
- Where necessary and appropriate to liaise with local health and social care teams/QAIT regarding residents assessment/care home needs
- To support families and carers to engage with PAL outcomes & principles for their resident
- Report on Safeguarding when required
Main duties of the job
- This post will form part of a pilot project to embed the use of PAL in care homes across Torbay and South Devon
- There may be a requirement to work within different care homes
- The post-holder will employ Occupational Therapy principles in upskilling staff in the use of PAL and will include working with people with complex cognitive disability
- PAL training will be provided for this role, or updated if previously experienced in PAL
- This role may include some evening working to engage with a wider range of shift patterns for care home staff (less than 5% of the role)
- The work links with the Quality Assurance Team, the Enhanced Health in Care Home framework, hydration and nutrition work and the falls prevention leads
- There is an expectation that when working in the community the post holder will aim to visit an average of at least 4 care homes a week, or equivalent, with contact via phone/MST with up to a further 5 homes
- Numbers of care homes signed up to training, use of PAL during pilot and ongoing use of PAL once pilot ends
- Numbers of care home residents benefitting from assessment and PAL approach to function
- Testimonies from residents and staff of improved engagement and other benefits of using the PAL
About your new team and department
You will be joining the organisation at an exciting time. As the first fully integrated care organisation in England, we are working to improve the way we deliver safe, high-quality health and social care. We have a positive and vibrant working atmosphere, We are proud of our investment in our staff both in terms of developing potential career skills and valuing people.
If you provide support to a family member or friend with health or care needs, we aim to be a Carer-friendly employer. We have a Staff Carers policy which includes flexible working where possible and a Carers Passport scheme that links you into support and discounts.
For more information on why to work with us, please see our Welcome films in the Further Links sections to the right of this page. #seeyouinsouthdevon
Detailed job description and responsibilities
Responsibility for Staff:
- Upskill, teach and demonstrate skills and support less experienced staff, new staff, bank, agency and students as a feature of daily work routine.
- Provide education and training to staff and carers
- As a core member of the pilot group to contribute to the pilot development, monitoring and feedback
Responsibility for Patient and Client Care
- Undertakes all aspects of clinical duties as an autonomous practitioner, including professional and legal accountability and managing clinical risk for all aspect of own work and caseload.
- To undertake comprehensive assessments of residents with diverse and complex physical, psychological, cognitive and behavioural conditions in order to provide an accurate use of PAL
- To teach care home staff in the formulation and delivery of an individualised PAL programme for their personal routines.
- To work with colleagues in other professions to ensure that resident needs are met. This includes contributing to an enabling approach to all aspects of care
- To have good working knowledge of and ensure compliance with National and Local guidelines, policies and procedures. To keep up to date with clinical developments by the use of clinical databases and electronic technology
- Work with therapists in other services to ensure that residents needs are met (e.g. link with other therapists within DGH and community to both give and receive opinions when required)
- To work without direct supervision and be responsible for this pilot. The pilot will require regular feedback, monitoring and evaluation
- To work as part of a team providing multidisciplinary care whilst in a home
- To be a positive influence in encouraging and promoting meaningful activity for each individual resident that the homes use the PAL on
Responsibility for Human Resources
- Demonstrate skills and support less experienced staff, new staff, bank, and agency as a feature of daily work routine
- Provide education and teaching to care home staff and carers
- Provide informal supervision to care home staff engaging with the project
- To be responsible for maintaining own competency to practise through CPD activities, and maintain a portfolio which reflects personal development. Maintain and develop current knowledge of evidence-based practise.
Responsibility for Financial and Physical Resources
- Participate in the organisations Performance Development Review (PDR) scheme as an appraisee and be responsible for complying with your agreed personal development programmes to meet set knowledge and competencies
- Knowledge of using appropriate resources in a cost-effective mannerPost holder will have no other budgetary responsibility
Responsibility for Information Resources
- Complete pilot and care home documentation in line with agreed local policy.
- Promote and use PAL documentation along with pilot information
Responsibility for Research and Development
- Ensure that the pilot and any clinical practice follows an evidence-based practice ethos
Responsibility for Administration
- The post holder is responsible for maintaining records of all pilot interventions, using agreed documentation
- All clinical activity needs to be recorded for the pilot
- Complete care home and resident documentation, if carrying out 121 work, including electronic systems in line with agreed local policy
- Collating and reporting back on pilot evaluation for relevant EHCH subgroup
Strategic and Service Responsibilities
- To have a good working knowledge of, and ensure compliance with, National guidelines, policies and procedures. To keep up to date with clinical developments by the use of clinical databases and electronic technology
- Undertake the measurement and evaluation of your work and current practices through the use of evidence-based practice projects, audit, outcome measures,
- Knowledge of local and trusts policies and procedures
Area of Specialism
- Ability to use PAL tool and teach care home staff in how to use PAL
- To demonstrate how PAL can inform care home residents care plans and positively promote engagement in everyday function and activities
- Able to assess the impact of the use of PAL on both care home residents and staff
- Able to take advise the broader care home staff on management approaches for residents
- To be responsible for maintaining own competency to practice through CPD activities, and maintain a portfolio which reflects personal development.
- Skills relevant to PAL and cognitive issues
- Basic and therapeutic, patient and non-patient manual handling and ergonomic risk assessment
- Participates in clinical audit, research and quality monitoring i.e. Benchmarking
- Good understanding of MCA, DoLs, POA
- Basic resuscitation
- Basic IT skills
- Standard keyboard skills
Organisational Skills:
- To be responsible for organising and planning teaching, linking with care homes and support meetings to meet pilot priorities, readjusting plans as situations change/arise
- Conduct an average of at least 4 care home visits per week with a higher number of contacts with other care homes
- Participate in planning and instigating training in care homes
- Monitor and review efficacy of PAL in each home where introduced
- Feedback and evaluate pilot
- Recognise the need of when to seek guidance
- Carry out duties, with direct or indirect supervision, including lone working
- Work autonomously organising time and workload effectively and efficiently
Communication and working relationships:
There is a requirement to:
- Interview and gain participation of care home managers and staff for pilot
- Communicate PAL information and purpose to care home managers and staff
- Communicate the outcome of PAL assessments to CH staff, carers and family where relevant in an empathetic and tactful manner
- Communicate with people who have communication difficulties, partial hearing, mental illness or who are partially sighted
- Foster an interdisciplinary approach to practice within the care homes
- Participate in pilot evaluation and monitoring meetings
**Please see job description**
Person Specification
Qualifications and Training
Essential
- Diploma/degree in OT
- Current HCPC certificate
- Evidence of CPD maintained in a portfolio including attendance at recent courses relevant to the PAL
- Experience in elderly care, dementia or complex cognitive issues
Desirable
- Previous experience, at Band 6 level, with older people who have a diagnosis of dementia
- Previous/existing working knowledge of PAL
Knowledge and Experience
Essential
- Working knowledge of a broad range of older people conditions
- Basic resuscitation, updated annually
- Knowledge of the relevant NSFs and NICE clinical guidelines
- To possess skills in cognitive assessment, assessment of mood and behaviour, visual assessment and functional assessment
Desirable
Person Specification
Qualifications and Training
Essential
- Diploma/degree in OT
- Current HCPC certificate
- Evidence of CPD maintained in a portfolio including attendance at recent courses relevant to the PAL
- Experience in elderly care, dementia or complex cognitive issues
Desirable
- Previous experience, at Band 6 level, with older people who have a diagnosis of dementia
- Previous/existing working knowledge of PAL
Knowledge and Experience
Essential
- Working knowledge of a broad range of older people conditions
- Basic resuscitation, updated annually
- Knowledge of the relevant NSFs and NICE clinical guidelines
- To possess skills in cognitive assessment, assessment of mood and behaviour, visual assessment and functional assessment
Desirable
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).
UK Registration
Applicants must have current UK professional registration. For further information please see
NHS Careers website (opens in a new window).
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).
UK Registration
Applicants must have current UK professional registration. For further information please see
NHS Careers website (opens in a new window).
