Occupational Therapy Assistant (Band 3) Taunton
Job description
We are looking for a Band 3 Occupational Therapy Assistant to work in our Surgical/Orthopaedic Team to cover a 12 month period of maternity leave.
This post is supported by highly specialised senior staff with a structured supervision, mentoring and training programme.
The successful candidate must have experience of working in an acute hospital setting or have experience of working as a Therapy Assistant or similar healthcare position.
To be responsible for a small caseload of non-complex patients (4 – 5 patients) under the overall supervision of a qualified Occupational Therapist, for an identified ward. This will involve completing a series of treatments, liaising with patients and relatives and multi-disciplinary team and progressing the patient for discharge. The Occupational Therapist will be available for consultation when making the action plan.
To assist the Occupational Therapist with the assessment of the patient and to carry out delegated duties, eg. personal care practices with specified patients, transfer practices and adaptation if needed, obtaining information from patients about their personal skills and home situation.
To carry out administrative work within the department, ie. ordering equipment from Medequip.
As an organisation, the NHS offers a wide range of benefits including flexible working, pension contributions, market leading annual leave allowance, career progression and regular conversations, not to mention our Blue Light Card and NHS exclusive discounts.
The benefits of working in Somerset include the idyllic countryside, with our areas of outstanding beauty and stunning coastlines. You will get to enjoy these perks whilst still only being a stones throw away from bustling city centres like Bristol, Bath and Exeter and only two hours away from London.
There are excellent educational facilities in the area and, when compared to other regions, house prices are reasonable. You will experience the best of both in Somerset, the countryside and the cosmopolitan there is truly something for everyone!
To act as the Occupational Therapy contact for a set ward and to receive relevant screening information and relay current occupational therapy assessment and treatment plan as relevant.
To obtain appropriate information from medical and care plan notes and through verbal information from patients regarding their personal, domestic, social and medical situation and communicate this verbally to the Occupational Therapist and to record the details in the patient’s occupational therapy records and medical notes as appropriate.
To ensure all patients understand the Occupational Therapy treatment process. The post holder will need to gain valid, informed consent for any proposed intervention. Where a patient is unable to provide consent for treatment the post holder will work within Trust guidelines and Occupational Therapy Codes of Conduct.
To observe patients behaviour, ability and responses during Occupational Therapy intervention, eg. during kitchen and personal care practise. The post holder will also identify the requirements for the provision of adaptive equipment and/or techniques during the kitchen/personal care practise. These observations and recommendations will be communicated verbally to the Occupational Therapist and details recorded in the patient’s ward notes. The Occupational Therapy Assistant will be responsible for following through recommendations with patients allocated to them, under the overall supervision of the Occupational Therapist.
The post holder will need to be informed how the patient’s medical condition will affect their function and to know what action may be required to be taken by the post holder during the Occupational Therapy treatment sessions in the Occupational Therapy Department or if observed by the post holder during their duty period on the ward, eg. encourage patient to take GTN spray, or report patient’s broken skin to nurse in charge. The post holder will also be expected to take the appropriate first aid action to cuts/scalds that may occur during kitchen practise, by following all action/advice in the patient’s Occupational Therapy notes and if necessary, to complete the Trust Incident Report form.
To prepare for and complete patient treatments independently, by setting up the appropriate equipment and gathering items required to be able to carry out the treatment as prescribed by the Occupational Therapist, eg. kitchen activities such as gathering foodstuffs and cooking utensils for preparing a light meal. This may require ordering over the telephone and collecting ingredients from the main hospital kitchen and completing the required order form, by purchasing items from the supermarket if not available from the hospital kitchen. It may also require the post holder to adapt the session if not proceeding as planned, ie. providing a trolley if the patient can’t walk and carry a hot drink.
Under supervision of the Occupational Therapist, the post holder will need to plan appropriate intervention with patient participation in the goal planning process and ensure these goals are documented.
On occasions, the post holder may be required to carry out Mini Mental Tests with the patients on behalf of the Occupational Therapist, frequency will depend on clinical need. This will involve asking the patient a range of pre-set questions, recording the patient’s response and giving the completed questionnaire to the Occupational Therapist.
The post holder is responsible for preparing equipment required for a Home Assessment visit, eg. wheelchair, mobile phone, milk, home visit bag. To accompany the Occupational Therapist on the Home Assessment Visit and to actively participate during the visit by measuring chair/bed heights and recording this information for the Occupational Therapist for patients on the Occupational Therapy Assistant’s caseload, the post holder would be expected to gain informed consent from the patient and/or carer, in line with procedures.
Under the guidance of the Occupational Therapist, the post holder may be required to carry out access visits for patients needing adaptive equipment.
