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Occupational Therapy Assistant

An exciting opportunity has arisen for a motivated enthusiastic Occupational Therapy Assistant Practitioner with excellent assessment, interpersonal and communication, rehabilitation, and organisational skills, and a passion for putting 'patients first' to join the Occupational Therapy Team at Chelsea and Westminster Hospital

The post will be based across the inpatient acute medical therapy team. The poster holder will also be expected to work closely with the wider multi-disciplinary team, hospital discharge teams and community services.

You will be working alongside therapists assisting with the delivery of the highest standards of patient care. Work will involve:

• Completing baseline assessments
• Carrying out treatment plans devised by the Occupational Therapists.
• Assisting the therapists in the assessment and treatment of patients as needed
• Assessing, treating and making onward referrals to community teams for non-complex patients.
• To issue daily living equipment and demonstrate its use as requested/prescribed by an Occupational Therapist
• To assist in basic stock checks, equipment ordering and cleaning and maintenance of equipment
• Supervision of more junior assistants and students
• Co-ordinating and delegating some Therapy Assistant roles and responsibilities
• General administrative duties
• Attending Staff Meetings and In-Service Training Sessions
• Assisting with discharge planning including access visits
• Completing standardised cognitive assessments with appropriate training and supervision

Chelsea and Westminster Hospital NHS Foundation Trust provide services from two main hospitals, Chelsea and Westminster Hospital and West Middlesex University Hospital, and a number of clinics across London and the South-East.

We have nearly 7,000 members of staff that arePROUD to Carefor nearly one million people.

Both hospitals provide full clinical services, including full maternity, emergency and children’s, in addition to a range of community-based services across London, such as award-winning sexual health and HIV clinics.

We’re one of the best performing Trusts in the country. We’re also one of the top trusts to work for – our staff says they’re engaged, motivated, and would recommend us as a place to work and receive treatment.

Our Trust has been rated by the Care Quality Commission as ‘Good’ in all five of the main domains of safe, effective, caring, responsive and well-led, giving an us overall rating of ‘Good’. We’ve also been awarded an

‘Outstanding’ rating for ‘use of resources’ by an NHS Improvement inspection.

Our facilities are some of the best in the country. We have been investing significant Capital year on year in our estate.

We have recently completed a £30m expansion of our adult and neonatal critical care facilities at Chelsea and Westminster and are planning an ambitious £60m development of an Ambulatory Diagnostics Centre at West Middlesex.

Clinical/Professional Role:
To carry out client assessment as agreed with Therapist and provide feedback on clients’ occupational performance and skills deficit
To work with designated clients on caseload to identify and agree treatment goals based on assessment outcomes, discussing the complex interaction of risk, safety, client choice, independence, areas of conflict and eligibility for services with the referring therapist prior to goal setting
To provide client instruction, adjusting own clinical interventions based on clients needs during the intervention and evaluating effectiveness, discussing programme modification with the involved therapists.
To carry out client treatment and ongoing rehabilitation as agreed with the referring therapist and as per service protocol and feedback on clients’ occupational performance.

To plan and implement individual/group interventions using graded activities to address therapeutic goals and optimise clients’ functional independence.
To undertake environmental risk assessments of clients’ homes and identify strategies to minimising these risks with the Occupational Therapist.
To work with other members of the Occupational Therapy team and MDT to progress the client intervention to a satisfactory closure, evaluating outcomes, setting up reviews and/or arranging appropriate transfer of care as appropriate.
To provide and advise on the use of equipment to improve function independence or to facilitate safe manual handling for the service user/carers.
To take stock of therapy equipment, and to be responsible for the ordering of essential items such as walking frames, wheelchairs, splints, arm slings and therapy putty etc.
To provide the above client interventions in the patients home or in a community setting as appropriate.
To demonstrate an understanding of the effects of disability during client intervention.
To use communication, reasoning and negotiation skills to establish a therapeutic relationship with clients and identify barriers and possible solutions to communication difficulties.

PROFESSIONAL RESPONSIBILITIES:
To review and reflect on practice and identify areas for self-development through participation in the annual appraisal system and regular clinical and professional supervision.
To attend and participate in the in-service education programme.
To attend courses to enable achievement of appraisal objectives and to share this knowledge with peers on return.
To assist in the induction and education of new staff, students and work experience students.
To attend and actively participate in the Support Staff Development group and other relevant meetings.
To incorporate up-to-date techniques and positive practice during client interventions.

Communication
Ensure all communication, which may be complex, contentious or sensitive, is undertaken in a responsive and inclusive manner, focusing on improvement and ways to move forward.
Ensure all communication is presented appropriately to the different recipients, according to levels of understanding, type of communication being imparted and possible barriers such as language, culture, understanding or physical or mental health conditions.

EFFORT
To carry out assessment and treatment using therapeutic handling techniques which require moderate to high physical effort and concentration frequently on a daily basis
To comply with the trust manual handling policy at all times.
To work in an environment where the work patterns may be disrupted by frequent demands from patients, medical and clinical staff, students, administrative support staff and any emergency situations arising.
To be able to respond promptly to queries/demands from patients, carers, therapists and other clinicians or administrative staff and managers.
To support staff when indicated in the management of challenging patients, families or situations.
To deal effectively with patients suffering from pain states, altered mental state or learning difficulties and to assist less experienced staff with the management of these patients.
To undertake a variety of complex tasks involving patients that requires specialist manual techniques, therapeutic handling and use of specialist equipment. This includes supporting patients limbs in asymmetrical postures and supporting patients while walking
To be able to convey sympathetically unwelcome news regarding functional progress to diagnosis to patients and carers.
To work at intense levels of concentration during most of the working day.
To impart news to staff which may be unwelcome in nature and deal with the consequences of this news.
This job may involve frequent exposure to unpleasant working conditions e.g. bodily fluids including; faeces, urine and vomit, unpleasant smells and occasional exposure to verbal and physical aggression.
All duties must be carried out under supervision or within Trust policy and procedure. You must never undertake any duties that are outside your area of skill or knowledge level. If you are unsure you must seek clarification from a more senior member of staff.
To be able to work within the roster pattern of the service and to be flexible when necessary to ensure the service is covered effectively.