Find More Than 10K+
United Kingdom Jobs

Job description

University Hospitals Plymouth NHS Trust is looking for an experienced Occupational Therapist to join the team at Mount Gould Hospital, Plymouth. The inpatient service works within the community hospital setting with a rehabilitation focus as part of the intermediate care pathway. The team support patients with appropriate treatment and intervention also working closely with other community services to facilitate discharge.

To be responsible for organising and leading a team of enabling staff including nurses in a discharge unit.

To be responsible for the safe discharge of complex patients

To be recognised as a discharge expert within the post holder’s particular care environment and providing safe discharge advice

To be responsible for meeting the HCPC requirements in line with the code of Professional Conduct for their scope of responsibility.

To lead by example, demonstrating effective role modelling to all members of the MDT team

To act as deputy to the nominated ward manager on all aspects of management

To promote and encourage a home discharge culture

To develop relationships with community colleagues and outside agencies

To deputise for band 7 in their absence

To support managers and all other members of the team where required

To promote and facilitate CPD to all members of the team

To maintain own records as an autonomous practitioner.

Undertake community / home visits to facilitate discharge as part of the DAU MDT.

• Promoting a culture of enabling people to return home as a preferred discharge destination
• Coordinate and facilitate timely implementation of the discharge plan
• Identify and eliminate any delays in the discharge pathway
• Work with MDT and community teams to develop a discharge plan based on patient need.
• To provide clinical expertise and work as part of a multidisciplinary team
• Supervision and direction of a maximum therapeutic care support workers and learners on shift
• Responsible for co-ordinating and delivering effective quality nursing and therapeutic care following a patient centred model of practice and ensuring area of work runs smoothly and efficiently.
• To undertake all aspects of clinical duties as an autonomous practitioner.
• Ensure delivery of corporate projects and audits as required.
• To create and foster a culture of civility and kindness
• Supervise, educate and assess the performance of students and more junior staff; this would be to a graduate standard and involve working with universities / education providers to ensure the standard of practice and teaching meets the standards set by the level of qualification.

University Hospitals Plymouth NHS Trust is the largest teaching hospital trust in the South West and employ almost 10,000 staff that work in 350 different roles, plus hundreds of volunteers.

We offer great opportunities for career development in a highly progressive working environment and we offer all of this in a vibrant, modern city with a historic reputation for adventure.

With an amazing quality of life, stunning waterfront location, buzzing city centre, fascinating maritime history, there is quite simply nowhere better to live, work and play than Plymouth. Plymouth offers an outstanding quality of life, with its fantastic location by the sea and the dramatic expanse of Dartmoor National Park as a backdrop. The sheltered waters of Plymouth Sound and adjacent rivers offer the perfect location for a huge range of water-based activities from sailing, paddle boarding, wakeboarding to scuba diving the many wreck sites.

***Preference will be given to internal Trust staff, as well as ‘Priority’ and 'At Risk' status including NHS At Risk staff throughout Devon who are able to display recent relevant experience as dictated by the Person Specification.***

Clinical
1. To be professionally and legally accountable for all aspects of own work, including the management of patients in your care.
2. Perform comprehensive assessments of patient’s health and social care needs
3. To demonstrate high standards of clinical practice; plan, implement and evaluate care delivery according to patients’ health and social care needs always promoting a reablement ethos
4. Support the delivery an individual reablement programmes based on a sound knowledge of evidence-based practice and treatment options using clinical assessment, reasoning skills and knowledge of treatment skills e.g. specialist techniques, patient education, and other alternative options
5. To act as the clinical expert for patients within the ward area in particular using specialist knowledge and expertise to manage patients with complex medical and social needs
6. To assist in managing patient flow, working with patients, relatives, and the multidisciplinary team to pro-actively manage the admission and discharge process
7. To be responsible for maintaining accurate and comprehensive patient records in line with Royal College of Occupational Therapy (RCOT) / Chartered Society of Physiotherapy (CSP) standards and local/Trust policy. To communicate appropriately with other disciplines (this might include meetings, reports and letter writing)
8. To take delegated responsibility from the Band 7 for managing patients with conditions and be responsible for providing specialist assessment and treatment plans for patients with these condition
9. Assess patient understanding of treatment proposals, gain valid informed consent, which must be documented and have the capacity to work within a legal framework with patients who lack capacity to consent to treatment. To comply with local confidentiality policies, child protection and vulnerable adult procedures
10. Use an extensive range of verbal and non-verbal communication tools to communicate effectively with patients/carers; to motivate, gain co-operation, to progress rehabilitation and treatment programmes. This will include patients who may have difficulties in understanding or communicating
11. Evaluate patient progress, reassess and alter reablement programmes as required
12. Work within trust clinical guidelines and professional guidelines and to have a good working knowledge of national and local standards and monitor own and others quality of practice as appropriate
13. To train, clinically supervise and performance management more junior staff, enablers / assistants and students, with assistance from more senior members of the MDT team. This will include the use of formal appraisal documentation
14. Actively involved in Research & Clinical Audit within the clinical are
15. Work collaboratively within a multi-disciplinary team and participate in the induction of locum staff to ward policies and routine.

Maintain a safe working environment, ensuring high standards and safe practice are

maintained by:
1. Teaching staff to understand and accept their responsibilities e.g., environmental cleanliness, maintenance, and use of all equipment within clinical setting.
2. Assist ward manager in the monitoring of incidents, accidents and complaints and participating in corrective action and the monitoring of outcomes.
3. Adhering to the guidelines of the Health & Safety at Work Act.
4. Utilisation of Trust Risk Assessment documentation, to ensure that Health & Safety and Clinical risk are reduced in the ward area.
5. Management of the area in the absence of a ward manager, including the deployment and supervision of staff.
6. To ensure that Trust, Divisional and Directorate Policies and Procedures are carried out correctly by:

• Compiling off-duty rotas to make effective use of staff.
• Being responsible for efficient and effective usage of the available resources in the absence of the ward manager.
• Compiling and maintaining staff attendance records, managing, and monitoring sickness and absenteeism in accordance with Trust Policy.
• Carrying out agreed procedures for the appraisal and counselling of staff.
• Being actively involved with recruitment, selection, and retention.

Professional
1. To be responsible for maintaining own competency to practice through CPD activities and maintain a portfolio which reflects personal development
2. Be an active member of the training programme by attendance at, and participation in, in-service training programmes, tutorials, individual training sessions, external courses and peer review.
3. Ensure that your own practice and that of any staff under your supervision meet the required professional standards of physiotherapy practice.

Establish and maintain effective communication channels within and outside the Department by:

• Promoting teamwork and inter-personnel relationships and encouraging others in the decision-making process.
• Attending regular Sisters Meetings, organising Ward Meetings, and participating in Divisional and Directorate forums as required.
• Playing an active role in the integration of Patient and Public Involvement.
• Effecting change in order to meet changing patient need.
• To participate in the Major Incident Policy.

COMMUNICATIONS & WORKING RELATIONSHIPS

• IHDT Lead
• Complex discharge team/ Derriford/ Coordinators
• Ward manager
• All members of MDT
• Patients and their support network
• DTA Team/ STCC/ ECH/ Bed Bureau
• Infection control team
• Ward sisters/charge nurses within the trust
• Community colleagues
• Command Centre
• Devon Doctors
• ICB’s
• CCRT & RRT
• Educational Staff
• Clinical nurse specialist
• Nurse consultants
• Nurse practitioners
• All other departments
• External agencies
• Other hospitals regarding patient admissions, discharge and advice regarding specialist patient care

Physical Effort

• Moderate to intense physical effort on a daily basis. Tasks include:

1. Static postures (kneeling/standing)
2. Moving inert adult limbs, unconscious, semi-conscious patients
3. Supporting patients whilst walking
4. Assisting patients during transfers
5. Pushing wheelchairs
6. Using hoists and other heavy gym equipment on a daily basis
7. Regular moving/adjustment of patients ward environment to maximise their independence and safety

Mental effort

• Dealing with complex patients for long periods on a daily basis.
• Daily requirement for prolonged periods of concentration e.g. assessment and treatment of complex and sometimes unpredictable patients.
• Ensuring good communications with patients who have impaired understanding or communication difficulties.
• Frequently using complex problem solving skills, making and dealing with difficult clinical decisions.
• Daily requirement for multi-tasking e.g. writing notes, communicating with team, telephone calls, carries bleep, with regular interruptions
• With the team set goals and plans for the patient. Summarise treatment and future goals when writing discharge reports.
• On a daily basis prioritise the team’s workload and coordinate working pattern.
• Prepare and deliver training packages to a range of staff.
• Appraise and set personal development plans with the team.
• With MDT – visionary planning and delivering service development.

Emotional effort

• Dealing with patients and families undergoing major changes in their health and social position, e.g. anxious and/or angry carers, family, family breakdown, isolated and depressed patients and carers on a daily basis.
• Frequently helping patients and carers come to terms with their impairments, disability and handicap.
• Immediate response to complaints/demands from distressed or anxious patients, carers and other professionals
• Occasionally dealing with confrontation and differing professional and ethical opinions regarding case management.
• Supervise team; support them through their development. Support teams with complex emotional situations on the unit.