Detailed job description and main responsibilities

Job Title:               Rehabilitation Therapy Assistant

Grade:                               Band 3

Hours:                              37.5

Department/Ward:     FIND Functional Integrated Neurological Day Programme

Reports to:            Clinical service manager

Accountable to:     Head of Allied Therapies

Supervised by:      FiND Programme Physiotherapist

Location:               FIND Wakefield House, Bethlem Royal Hospital

Job Purpose:

To assist in providing a blend of psychological, physical and occupational rehabilitation to the patients at the programme, under guidance of the therapists. To assist with duties and activities which relate to the creation and maintenance of a safe and therapeutic environment.

Along with the assistant psychologist, to co-lead in providing individualised self-management sessions and to support the Physiotherapist in providing individualised physiotherapy. To contribute to programme activities such as therapy and recreational groups. The role includes working both on and off the unit, both with and without direct supervision.

Communications and Working Relationships:

The post holder is required to cultivate and maintain good working relationships with service users, carers/relatives and the wider MDT members (both within and outside the team), the clinical service manager and the other statutory and non-statutory services and organisations. This includes assertively managing professional boundaries within relationships.

Facts and Figures:

The South London & Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust provides a full range of mental health services to people of Southwark, Lewisham, Lambeth and Croydon as well as substance misuse services for people in Bexley, Greenwich and Bromley.  The Trust provides specialist services to people from across the UK.  It has approximately 4,800 staff and a budget of £220 million.

The Neuropsychiatry services within SLaM are spread across Maudsley, Bethlem, Kings and St Thomas hospitals and can see patients from anywhere in the United Kingdom. Our services provide specialist assessment, investigation and treatment to a diverse range of patients. This includes adults with an acquired brain injury, including traumatic and anoxic brain injuries, and Functional Neurological Disorder (FND). Our patients may have a number of physical conditions which impact on their physical functioning and communication. This requires a high standard of care and attention to both their physical and psychological needs.

Our day programme provides the patient with the skills, knowledge and strategies to help them recover their daily life. The daily programme is a mixture of educational, therapeutic and exercise sessions that are delivered with a goal-setting approach.

The aims of the service are for the patients to feel more in control of their symptoms and recovery and to become more knowledgeable about how the mind and body work together to create the symptoms of FND. Additionally the service aims for patients to be more confident about how to use the physical and mental strategies to tackle some of the difficulties caused by FND.

Key Responsibilities:

1) To develop therapeutic relationships with service users who have a diagnosis of FND. To use a variety of skills to overcome barriers presented by patients due to their neurological deficits while maintaining appropriate professional and therapeutic boundaries

2) To forge good working relationships with the day programme staff as well as other, relevant staff members in the wider trust.

3) To collaborate with the Physiotherapist in order to provide consistent physiotherapy interventions to patients, often without direct supervision, as directed by the physiotherapist. 

4) To deliver self-management sessions in collaboration with the assistant psychologist under supervision of the Physiotherapist and Cognitive Behavioural Therapist

5) To deliver educational group presentations on topics relevant to FND.

6) To provide feedback demonstrating competent observation skills.

7) To organise and run group intervention sessions such as gardening group and physiotherapy workshops without direct supervision from senior staff.

8) To complete community-based sessions as directed e.g. outdoor mobility rehabilitation sessions, community visits as part of rehabilitation programme. To follow unit protocols regarding lone-working and community leave.

9) To join team meetings e.g. morning handover, reflective meetings, proactively contributing ideas, observations and reflections.

10) To liaise with other staff and agencies involved in the care of the service user as required, for example with carers/family/social services and other FiND staff.

11) To assist with collecting outcome measures and other relevant data.

12) To proactively collaborate with the admin staff at the programme in order to complete departmental administration as required, such as ordering food for patients.

13) To comply with risk assessments when working with service users, and to be able to identify risks/risky behaviour and alert appropriate staff. To contribute to the development of risk management plans for patients by reporting to the multi-professional team any incidents of risk to the patient or risk to others as a result of the behaviour or actions of patients.

14) To maintain the dignity of service users at all times. To maintain patient confidentiality at all times both on and off duty.

15) To be capable of working in clinical situations which require concentration, and which may be distressing and/or emotionally demanding.

16) To complete necessary clinical documentation in accordance with Trust and

professional guidelines. The post holder is legally responsible for all records they gather, create or use as part of their duties whether paper based or on computer. The post holder has a legal duty of confidence to service users.

17) To be proactive in personal and professional development by participating in supervision and agreed training and development sessions. To seek advice and further training, if appropriate, before carrying out any duty you are unsure of.

18) To be responsible for limiting their actions to those in which they are competent to undertake. The post holder must inform their line manager and/or clinical supervisor should they feel any doubts about their competency during the course of their duties.

19) To be responsible for the planning and prioritisation of own workload and activities following the direction and guidelines given by the supervising Physiotherapist.

20) To have a personal duty of care for Trust equipment and facilities. To lead on maintaining regular cleaning of the Physiotherapy equipment in line with Infection Prevention and Control Guidelines.

21) The post holder has a statutory duty of care for their own personal safety and that of others who may be affected by their acts or omissions. The post holder is required to co-operate with management to enable South London and Maudsley to meet their own legal duties and to report any hazardous situations or defective equipment.