Occupational Therapist Kingston upon Thames, England
Job description
23/03/2023, 23:55
This special place in South West London between the capital and the country has been a Royal borough longer than anywhere else - it is where the first kings of England were crowned.
Today it is a vibrant and diverse borough, with a long history and strong cultural and community heritage. Kingston's riverside location, fantastic retail offer, historic market place and church, parks and gardens all make Kingston town centre the vibrant space it is, and each of our district town centres (Surbiton, New Malden, Tolworth and Chessington) have something unique to offer.
Situated in Zone 6, Kingston is among the best-connected town centres in London – with direct train links from Kingston and Surbiton stations to Clapham Junction and London Waterloo, as well as Wimbledon for an interchange with the London Underground and Tramlink.
Kingston’s people are innovative and entrepreneurial, and have a strong sense of community pride. The borough has been home to great industry and creativity for many years, reflected in assets such as the Rose Theatre, the International Youth Arts Festival and Kingston University, which boasts more new graduate business start-ups than any other.
We have seen tremendous generosity and compassion within our communities, particularly in response to COVID-19, which is a demonstration of Kingston’s key strength. The council offers a strong level of support to vulnerable groups and those who need additional support, which has also increased significantly as a result of the pandemic. Like most places, the average age of our population is rising as more people are living longer, so we are working closely with residents to help them maintain their independence and further improve the cost effectiveness of our service to meet the ongoing rise in demand.
Kingston is home to people from diverse and interesting cultures and backgrounds, which helps to create the rich sense of community shared across the borough. In particular, Kingston has a large Sri Lankan Tamil community and is home to more people from Korea than any other part of the UK.
The Occupational Therapist provides specialist assessments and intervention planning to maximise functional independence in activities of daily living within the homes of adults in the community with complex disability needs. This includes the prescription of specialist disability equipment and minor home adaptations and making recommendations for major adaptations to service users’ homes including the Disabled Facilities Grant process. The post holder will also be required to carry out Complex Moving & Handling Risk Assessments, write detailed Personal Handling Plans, complete recommendations for rehousing on disability grounds reports and / Void Property Assessments
To undertake complex Moving & Handling Risk Assessments, assessing the needs of both service users and carers; provide specialist moving and handling equipment, recommendations, advice, demonstration, support, and a Personal Handling Plan to minimise risk to both service users and carers and to maximise service users’ independence and dignity.
To make detailed recommendations, specifications and drawings for major adaptations to service users’ homes and to assist them in applying for a Disabled Facilities Grant where applicable. To work with all interested parties, through to the satisfactory completion of the major adaptation. To provide information and advice to service users who are not eligible for the Grant to carry out structural works privately
To respond appropriately to urgent referrals and prioritise workload in response to levels of risk and duty of care, within agreed workload through-put targets. To hold a caseload appropriate to the level of expertise, experience and personal development of the post holder, and to provide ongoing expert OT advice and case liaison with colleagues and partner staff.
To ensure assessments, Outcome plans, personal handling plans and any other relevant information, are shared with the service user, their carers and other agencies as required, within professional standards, law and local policies on confidentiality and data protection. To signpost and/or refer service users and their carers/ families to other services as appropriate.
To monitor and review the effectiveness of planned OT interventions and adjust and revise these as appropriate, ensuring that agreed outcomes remain appropriate, achievable and safe.
To provide formal clinical supervision and ongoing informal advice to Occupational Therapy support co-ordinators and provide support to colleagues in teams across the Directorate.
To contribute to the development of the service, good practice in OT, social work, and any other projects, policies and procedures within the Directorate as requested.
To undertake reviews of customers with long term needs as required and within statutory timelines and carry out reassessments as required
The Occupational Therapy Team is a team consisting of , sixteen staff members. The team have adapted to agile working.
The cornerstone of Occupational Therapy is promotion of Health and wellbeing through every day activities, helping people achieve outcomes that matter to them. As Adult Social Care OTs we aim to assist clients, with complex disability needs, to live as safely and independently as possible within their own home environment or within a Residential or Nursing home. Much of what we do is about adapting the environment to enable independence.
Educated to degree level with appropriate professional qualification Dip COT or Degree in Occupational Therapy)
Registered with HCPC Experience, Knowledge of the Care Act 2014,, the Mental Capacity Act 2005 and other relevant legislation.
Demonstrable understanding of the principles and application of excellent adult social care
Demonstrable experience of creating effective working relationships with internal and external customers
Strong literacy, numeracy, interpersonal and IT skills.
Its essential you are a team player, promote a friendly climate, good morale and team cohesiveness.
Mediates conflicts with internal and external customers effectively, or recognises the need to escalate appropriately, in order to facilitate a mutually beneficial resolution.
Establish effective working relationships with a wide range of colleagues and partners at all levels
The national Transforming Social Care programme
Putting People First
Relevant legislation in social care and health provision
Maintaining CPD requirements in accordance with HCPC regulations
Uses a range of communication styles to influence others
Communicate at all levels, always sharing information with those who need to know
Demonstrates an awareness of the impact of own communications on others
Support colleagues in achieving performance objectives
Display a commitment to own and team’s personal development and learning
Actively promote a culture that values equality and diversity
Measure and monitor service delivery standards
Continuously looks for ways to improve services and develop new ways of working
Promote the corporate and service view
Balance conflicting interests to find an effective solution
Recognises financial pressures and the need to provide value for money and maximise return on investment
Uses and shares best practice in service delivery from within and outside the organisation
Responds proactively to organisational change
As an organisation that values and nurtures talent, we’re committed to helping you fulfil your potential and will offer you a supportive, friendly and collaborative environment to grow and develop your career and skills. We’re constantly striving to improve our ways of working so putting your ideas across however big or small; will be fully encouraged and supported by your colleagues and our dynamic and experienced management team.
In addition we offer a modern and flexible working environment for our staff supported by our IT infrastructure, Google Chromebooks and Google Apps, which have acted as a key enabler for collaborative and streamlined working. The COVID-19 pandemic has required us to be even more flexible in how we work and manage staff workloads, ensuring they have the correct equipment and resources to be able to maximise their talents and looking after their wellbeing.
Employees have access to a wide range of benefits, some of which include:
- Generous annual leave entitlement plus bank holidays (pro-rata if part-time working hours apply)
- Three volunteering days per year
- Flexible and agile working arrangements
- Comprehensive learning and development programme
- Discounts on a range of local shops, restaurants, gyms and leisure centres
- Interest free season ticket loans
- Local Government Pension Scheme
- Bicycle loan facilities and cycle to work scheme
- Zip car scheme
- Free eye tests and contribution towards glasses
- Confidential wellbeing and counselling support
- Subsidised gym membership
The closing date is given as a guide. We reserve the right to close this vacancy once a sufficient number of applications has been received. Therefore, it is strongly advised that you complete and submit your application as soon as possible to avoid disappointment.
We pride ourselves on being a diverse, tolerant and welcoming Borough and we aim to create a workforce which reflects the community we serve. We are respectful of difference and realise the positive value of diversity in our workforce. We welcome and encourage job applications from people of all backgrounds and particularly welcome applications from Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic candidates and disabled candidates as these groups are currently under-represented in our workforce.
We are proud to be recognised as a Disability Confident employer, and are committed to thinking differently about disability and taking action to improve how we recruit, retain and develop disabled people. We guarantee to interview all disabled applicants who meet the minimum/essential criteria for the role.
We offer a range of family friendly, inclusive employment policies, flexible working arrangements, staff engagement forums, and inclusive staff networks who help drive our diversity agenda.
We are an accredited London Living Wage Employer and this means that everyone working at the Royal Borough of Kingston, regardless of whether they are permanent employees or third-party contractors and suppliers receive the London Living Wage. The real Living Wage is higher than the government’s minimum, or National Living Wage, and is an independently calculated hourly rate of pay that is based on the actual cost of living.
The UK has introduced a new points-based immigration system affecting EU and Non-EU workers and sponsorship requirements. We advise checking the GOV.UK website for right to work guidance.
