Specialist Occupational Therapist

Job description

Job responsibilities

POST: Specialist Occupational Therapist

ACCOUNTABLE TO: Living Well and Therapies Manager

JOB PURPOSE:

The Occupational Therapist (OT) will lead a small team of rehabilitation assistants providing palliative rehabilitation to stable and slowing deteriorating patients in the community. The role will work across a range of settings including the community, living well and outpatients, working alongside the wider community teams to provide a specialist palliative care service to patients known to Phyllis Tuckwell (PT). This is a new project for Phyllis Tuckwell and will be developed initially as a pilot, therefore planning, organisational, leadership and communication skills are essential to the role.

This role will focus on oversight and management of a caseload of patients who are in a stable phase of illness, providing an episode of holistic, patient centred palliative rehabilitation in patients homes and supporting them to live well.

The OT will assess the patient, family and carers holistic palliative needs, provide feedback to the broader team, develop a plan and work with patients and their families to optimise the patients level of functional independence, facilitate adaptation to change, enhance quality of life and prepare for the future advance care planning. The role will involve identifying what is important to that person and enabling them to adapt to change and uncertainty and live according to their choice and goals.

The OT will enable timely access to assessment, intervention, and equipment, enabling patients to safely remain in their own homes, avoid a crisis including unnecessary hospital admissions. The OT will work as a member of the Phyllis Tuckwell multi-professional team across the localities of North-East Hampshire, Surrey Heath and Farnham, Guildford and Waverley. Developing effective relationships with these teams, and with the multidisciplinary team within Phyllis Tuckwell is essential to ensure safe and effective care for patients and families.

The OT will be responsible for leadership and team management including supervision, appraisals, induction and training. The role will involve service development and evaluation to ensure safe practice while meeting the identified needs of the patients and their families and carers.

1.0 Clinical

1.1 To assess, plan, implement, evaluate, and modify OT interventions with a focus of palliative rehabilitation.

1.2 To have the knowledge and skills to provide holistic OT Care to palliative care patients and their families referred to Phyllis Tuckwell (PT).

1.3 To hold clinical responsibility for managing the service caseload, accessing regular supervision, and mentoring.

1.4 To prioritise and respond to referrals in timely manner.

1.5 To work with PT colleagues and community services to identify, escalate and respond to family and patient change and deterioration.

1.6 To be a resource to others by maintaining current theoretical OT knowledge base and clinical reasoning for patients with palliative and end of life care needs.

1.7 To be able to prioritise conflicting demands on own time.

1.8 To be able to analyse and interpret clinical and social information from a range of sources, communicating in a detailed timely and accurate way using suitable verbal and written communication.

1.9 To assess, prescribe and review equipment to enable safety and independence in activities of daily living, especially where there are manual handling difficulties.

1.10 Use a range of therapeutic interventions and approaches with individuals and groups to promote management of symptoms e.g. fatigue, anxiety, breathlessness, sleep difficulties, pain.

1.11 To engage patients and their families enabling them to adjust to their physical, cognitive, psychological, and social losses, and plan for future changes in their functional ability.

1.12 To be able to communicate complex, sensitive, distressing, or contentious information to patients and families who may be highly emotional and distressed, adapting communication style to the situation.

1.13 To assess patients mental capacity, acting in the patients best interests where they lack capacity and identifying any safeguarding issues.

1.14 To assess and manage clinical, physical, and environmental risks.

1.15 To be the patients key worker or professional contact where it is appropriate.

1.16 To evaluate interventions using appropriate outcome measures.

1.17 To provide education and support to carers, actively involving them in the treatment plan.

1.18 To develop a rehabilitative palliative care culture and symptom management programmes to maximise patients rehabilitation potential.

1.19 To support therapeutic group work.

1.20 To facilitate patients, discharge from the IPU, liaising with the multi-professional team at Phyllis Tuckwell and in the Community.

1.21 To communicate clearly and work closely with members of the multi professional team, and volunteers, actively engaging in multi professional meetings.

1.22 To maintain effective relationships with our external colleagues and stakeholders.

2.0 Professional

2.1 To be registered with the Health Care Professions Council (HCPC) to practise using the title Occupational Therapist.

2.2 To engage in activities at PT as a member of the multi-professional team sharing knowledge and skills.

2.3 To evidence and comply with the Royal College of Occupational Therapy (RCOT), Code of Ethics and Professional Conduct and Professional Standards.

2.4 To maintain clear, concise timely records.

2.5 To act within legal and statutory regulations.

2.6 To maintain current knowledge and awareness of opinion, through for example, membership of the RCOT, Specialist Section Major Health Conditions, attending relevant HOTNET and Surrey OPC training and meetings.

2.7 To respect the ethnicity, culture, and religious beliefs of others.

2.8 To promote awareness of the philosophy of holistic palliative care and the role of Occupational Therapy, within PT and other palliative care services.

2.9 To have effective IT skills, utilising, Word, Outlook, Excel, PowerPoint and have sufficient abilities to be able to, or to work towards, use of TCES, EMIS, Accurx.

2.10 To be a car owner/driver to enable community visits, and work between both of our sites.

3.0 Training and Development

a) Personal

3.1 To maintain competence to practice by pursuing a range of professional development opportunities.

3.2 To take responsibility to review and reflect on own occupational practise and performance, maintaining a professional portfolio recording learning outcomes.

3.3 To engage with PT performance review system, setting realistic objectives for personal and professional growth.

3.4 To participate in regular clinical supervision.

3.5 To cascade Occupational Therapy skills to colleagues following attendance on courses and training.

b) Team

3.6 To provide overall leadership to the team including line management.

3.7 To train, delegate and fully utilise the skills of health of rehabilitation assistants and volunteers.

3.8 To participate in the induction and training of new PT staff.

3.9 To provide training and education opportunities to internal and external HCPs, on a range of Occupational Therapy specialisms, including fatigue management, management of anxiety and breathlessness, communication strategies, sleep management and specialist equipment.

3.10 To provide education and training to PT clinical colleagues including competencies in equipment provision, manual handling, bed rails assessment and falls prevention, to ensure patient safety and that registered and non-registered staff time and skills are utilised efficiently and effectively.

4.0 Managerial

4.1 To have skills to triage new referrals to Occupational Therapy, prioritising appropriately and allocating to a suitable therapist.

4.2 To adhere to Phyllis Tuckwell policies and procedures, especially those relating to health and safety, fire, lone worker, governance, and moving and handling.

4.3 To recognise the value and contribution of volunteers actively supporting and developing their skills.

4.4 To play an active role in developing and reviewing PT policies related to the work of occupational therapy and Rehabilitative Palliative Care.

4.5 To play an active part in the development and maintenance of good relationships with our stakeholders and colleagues.

5.0 Quality and Research

5.1 To have skills in clinical governance and to provide a quality service that is person centred, timely, safe, effective, efficient, and equitable.

5.2 To participate in audit and service evaluations as part of PT quality assurance initiatives.

5.3 To maintain a culture of learning, research and development and be aware of current research

6.0 Safeguarding, Equality, Diversity and Inclusion

Role holders are required to understand their responsibilities in the safeguarding context, ensuring that Phyllis Tuckwell reduces the risk of harm or abuse of adults and children at risk.

Role Holders are required to

adhere to Phyllis Tuckwells Safeguarding Policy (held on the NEST), which supports the local authoritys multi agency safeguarding policy, the law (Care Act 2014) and Mental Capacity Act 2005 (including Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards).

inform the appropriate PT professional where there is concern that an adult or child may be at risk of harm, abuse, or neglect.

Phyllis Tuckwell is committed to an Equal Opportunities approach, valuing, and respecting everyone as individuals, with diverse opinions, cultures, lifestyles, and circumstances.

This job description is underpinned by Phyllis Tuckwells philosophy, culture, and core values, which actively embrace diversity and inclusion and promotes total team spirit.

Person Specification

Experience

Essential

• Significant post graduate experience with broad range of skills.
• Excellent knowledge of Occupational Therapy.
• Experience in palliative care and able to demonstrate skills.
• Demonstrates regular, patient-facing clinical assessment and intervention in Occupational Therapy within the last 12 months.
• Experience in oncology.
• Experience of working in a multidisciplinary team.
• Experience of symptom management of fatigue, anxiety, breathlessness, and sleep.

Desirable

• Experience in neurology.
• Experience of respiratory conditions.
• Experience of rehabilitation.
• Experience of working with people with multiple
• co- morbidities.
• Experience in mental health.
• Experience of group work.
• Experience Community working.
• Experience of teaching, and formal presentations.
• Experience of working with students, occupational therapy assistants and volunteers.

Qualifications

Essential

• Diploma or degree in Occupational Therapy.
• Evidence of ongoing CPD relevant to role.
• Registered with the HCPC.
• Membership of the Royal College of Occupational Therapists.

Desirable

• Evidence of further qualifications in palliative care.
• Wheelchair accreditation.
• Member of the RCOT Specialist Section Major Health conditions.

Professional Relationships

Essential

• Excellent interpersonal skill
• Demonstrates awareness of own abilities and strengths and weaknesses of those around them
• Ability to enable patients/carers to express their difficulties, problems and discover solutions
• Evidence of willingness to take on new projects and responsibilities

Team Working

Essential

• Demonstrates knowledge and ability to engage in effective team working with evidence in a multi professional setting.
• Commitment to maintaining good team relationships.
• Shows an appreciation of others strengths and differences.
• To be able to work flexibly and innovatively.
• To be self-aware and have resilience and good self-care strategies to enable to cope effectively with the demand of working in Phyllis Tuckwell.

Knowledge and Skills

Essential

• Able to provide clinical supervision to students rehabilitation assistants and volunteers.
• Able to provide teaching and education to colleagues including nurses, HCAs, families and carers.
• Able to triage new referrals to the service prioritising and allocating appropriately.
• Able to work as an autonomous practitioner making sound clinical judgements and decisions.
• To be able to walk alongside a person and their family enabling choice, working in partnership and sharing decision making.
• Strong skills of assessment and treatment of patients with complex conditions using a variety of approaches.
• Physically able to assist patients using equipment.
• Excellent knowledge of the range of manual handling, and therapeutic handling skills and equipment.
• Car driver/owner with a current clean UK driving license, able to assess people in their own homes.

Desirable

• Able to mentor Occupational Therapists.
• Able to plan and evaluate Occupational Therapy student education programme.
• To be able to work effectively and efficiently with individuals and groups.
• High level of intellectual flexibility in clinical reasoning and problem solving.
• Ability to reflect and adapt practice to suit situation.
• To be self-aware and have resilience and good self-care strategies.
• Evidence of knowledge of palliative care initiatives.
• Evidence of understanding the rehabilitative palliative care approach.
• Evidence of ability to challenge current practice and instigate change.
• Proficient in use of IT including Outlook, Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and willingness to learn EMIS, Accurx.
• Effective organisational, prioritisation and risk management skills.
• Knowledge of audit and research methods.

Communication

Essential

• Demonstrates highly developed written, verbal and nonverbal communication.
• Able to produce clear and concise reports.
• Contributes appropriately and effectively at meetings, chairing effectively, being able to negotiate, and discuss complex issues.
• Ability to develop, deliver and evaluate training both within the service and to other agencies.

Communication & Personal Attributes

Essential

• Demonstrates highly developed written, verbal and nonverbal communication.
• Able to produce clear and concise reports.
• Contributes appropriately and effectively at meetings, chairing effectively, being able to negotiate, and discuss complex issues.
• Ability to develop, deliver and evaluate training both within the service and to other agencies.
• To be motivated and enthusiastic as an Occupational Therapist to improving the lives of others.
• To be committed to lifelong learning and evidence-based practise.
• Able to work autonomously using initiative.
• Good organisational skills, able to plan and prioritise effectively even when under pressure.
• Able to reflect on and critically appraise own performance.
• Good attendance and punctuality record.
• To be able to work confidentially and diplomatically, managing conflict and difficult situations.
• Ability to work effectively under pressure with frequent interruptions.
• To have a professional attitude and appearance and be approachable.
• To be emotionally robust to cope with the challenges of providing end of life care.
• To demonstrate an understanding of different cultures, religions and lifestyles.

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.

Employer details

Employer name

Phyllis Tuckwell Memorial Hospice Ltd

Address

Waverley Lane

Farnham

GU9 8BL

Employer's website

https://www.pth.org.uk/ (Opens in a new tab)