Detailed job description and main responsibilities

JOB PURPOSE

The  Postholder rotates through speciality pathways on a 6-monthly basis and works under supervision of an allocated Specialist Occupational Therapist or Team Lead.

Occupational Therapy rotations include:

Acute Medicine          

Medicine

Older People

Stroke (based at UHL site)

Trauma & Orthopaedics

Community Neuro based in  Bromley

Clinical Governance and clinical support will be provided to rotational staff by the Team Leads and Occupational Therapy Site Lead for QEH.

The postholder is a clinician who independently manages a full clinical caseload working as part of a specialist pathway team in each rotational area.

The postholder participates in a rolling programme of education, clinical evaluation, audit and research across the speciality.

The postholder may be required to work at any of the sites within the Trust.

7-day working for Therapies is under development within the Trust and the postholder may be required to work at weekends on a roster basis during some of the above rotations.

KEY RELATIONSHIPS

Specialist Occupational Therapists, Team Lead Occupational Therapists, Occupational Therapy Site Lead, Heads of Therapies, Therapy Support Workers, Medical Consultants, Physiotherapists / Speech and Language Therapists / Dietitians, All Occupational Therapy Staff Trustwide, Nursing Staff, Referring Hospitals, Social Services, Community Services, GPs, Voluntary Services, Academic Institutions, Specialists external to L&G.

 DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

Clinical

 To undertake all aspects of clinical duties and to carry a full caseload of patients as an autonomous practitioner.

1. To be professionally and legally accountable for a patient caseload and to decide priorities for own work area, balancing other patient related and professional demands
2. To be professionally and legally responsible and accountable for all aspects of own work. This will include the management of clinical risk, clinical governance, knowledge of indications and precautions of chosen techniques in line with National and Trust clinical guidelines and protocols where they exist.

1. To assess patients’ capacity, gain valid informed consent to treatment and where such capacity is lacking/absent to work within a legal framework in the management of the patient

1. To undertake the comprehensive assessment and accurate diagnosis of patients, using investigative, palpatory, analytical and clinical reasoning skills

1. To undertake physical treatment techniques utilising developed manual skills

1. To formulate individualised clinical management programmes, utilising a wide range of treatment skills and options to plan a suitable programme of care

1. To use recognised outcome measures to evaluate the effect of Occupational Therapy interventions and ensure that treatment programmes are progressing appropriately.

1. To provide advice, teaching and instruction to relatives, carers, other disciplines and agencies. To promote understanding of the aims of Occupational Therapy and to ensure continuation of the treatment programme.

1. To participate in and where indicated, initiate multidisciplinary/multi-agency team meetings and case conferences to ensure the co-ordination of patient care.  This may include the review of patient progress and discharge planning

1. To ensure accurate, comprehensive and up to date clinical records are maintained in accordance with Trust guidance and  professionally agreed criteria

1. To identify and employ suitable verbal and non-verbal communication skills with patients where there may be barriers to understanding or the inability to accept diagnosis. To facilitate the best possible communication outcome in every situation and use appropriate services e.g. interpreters, SALT

1. To ensure that individual practice and that of the local pathway team is user focused and patient views are incorporated into treatment planning

1. To employ appropriate skills such as persuasion, motivation and negotiation to gain co-operation in the continuation of the agreed treatment programme

1. To communicate with empathy, patient information which may be of a complex and sensitive nature including details of prognosis or disability that may be unwelcome

1. To receive complex patient related information from patients, relatives, carers and other professionals to effectively plan and develop individual case management

1. To communicate and advise regarding complex patient related information effectively to ensure collaborative working within the Occupational Therapy service and with other professionals across health and other agencies to ensure the delivery of a co-ordinated multidisciplinary service

1. To be integral in discharge planning including liaison with referring hospitals or community staff to which patients are discharged, providing timely discharge reports
2. To produce comprehensive patient related reports for other disciplines or agencies relating to assessment findings and/or treatment outcomes

1. To undertake the measurement and evaluation of own work through audit, outcome measurement, the application of evidence based practice and research where appropriate.

1. To facilitate the implementation and evaluation of Occupational Therapy clinical outcomes within a designated pathway and monitor adherence with professional and national standards

1. To work to Trust and College of Occupational Therapy clinical guidelines and have a good working knowledge of relevant national standards to which quality of practice should be monitored

1. To follow service policy regarding current clinical and service developments

1. To be accessible and provide clinical advice to colleagues

1. Once considered competent, to participate in the on-call, week-end, bank holiday and extended working rotas where clinically appropriate

1. To fully participate in whatever pattern of working is required by the service in the future

All clinical staff are accountable and responsible for their own clinical competence and should limit their actions to those for which they are deemed competent in line with guidance from their professional bodies.