Specialty Occupational Therapist – Neuro rotation - Oxford, United Kingdom - Oxford University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust

Description

Job summary

We are looking for a dynamic Occupational Therapist to join the rotation. The post includes four eight-month rotations between the Stroke Unit, Neurosciences, the Neurological Rehabilitation Unit at the Oxford Centre for Enablement (a level 1 Tertiary Highly Specialist Neurological Rehabilitation Unit) and the Early Supported Discharge Stroke Team. The role will provide the opportunity to gain a wide range of experience and knowledge of Occupational Therapy neurological assessments and treatments and provide the opportunity to work with a variety of neurological conditions.

The post holder will be responsible for organising and managing their own caseloads. The supervision of Occupational Therapy staff and supporting the development of members of the OT team is an integral part of the post. There will also be the opportunity to supervise students.

The involvement in evidenced based and quality improvement projects to further enhance each team's clinical practice and service is actively encouraged.

Good communication skills, an ability to prioritise workloads effectively and to work as part of a multidisciplinary team are essential.

Continuing professional development is supported via in-service training, Trust wide training and external training, as appropriate to the individual and service needs.

Main duties of the job

To provide specialist Occupational Therapy assessment and treatment to patients with highly complex neurological conditions as an autonomous practitioner.

To clinically supervise junior occupational therapy and physiotherapy staff, assistants, technical instructors and students.

To assist the Team Lead Occupational Therapist in the provision, monitoring and on-going development of the service to ensure it continues to meet the needs of the service users and responds to government and trust initiatives.

About us

Oxford University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust is one of the largest NHS teaching trusts in the country. It provides a wide range of general and specialist clinical services and is a base for medical education, training and research.

The Trust comprises four hospitals - the John Radcliffe Hospital, Churchill Hospital and Nuffield Orthopaedic Centre in Headington and the Horton General Hospital in Banbury.

Our values, standards and behaviours define the quality of clinical care we offer and the professional relationships we make with our patients, colleagues and the wider community. We call thisDelivering Compassionate Excellenceand its focus is on our values of compassion, respect, learning, delivery, improvement and excellence. These values put patients at the heart of what we do and underpin the quality healthcare we would like for ourselves or a member of our family. Watch how we set out to deliver compassionate excellence via theOUH YouTube channel.

Job responsibilities

Clinical

1. To undertake specialist assessment and treatment of adults with stroke and a variety of other complex and diverse neurological conditions within the inpatient hospital setting primarily.

2. To carry out complex standardised and non-standardised assessments of functional ability, cognition, home situation and psychological issues liaising with senior staff as required for highly complex patients.

3. To respect patients dignity, privacy, culture and wishes during treatment with a commitment to equal access to occupational therapy.

4. To use specialist clinical reasoning skills and knowledge of evidence-based practise to analyse and interpret clinical information to formulate occupational therapy treatment and appropriate outcome measures and to form an accurate diagnosis of patients conditions with guidance from the Team Lead Occupational Therapist (OT)

5. To provide specialist evidenced based OT treatment using a wide range of treatment skills and options relevant to neurological rehabilitation.

6. To provide advanced recommendations/advice/instruction/teaching regarding OT management of each patient, according to the individual needs of each patient, to the IDT team, other relevant health and social care professionals, carers/relatives and other relevant non healthcare professionals.

7. To monitor, review and modify treatment plans /goals to measure progress and to ensure effective outcomes.

8. Prioritise and organise own patient caseload and develop individualised treatment interventions under the supervision of the Team Lead Occupational Therapist.

9. To work as part of the interdisciplinary team providing specialist neurological rehabilitation individually and in groups.

10. To agree and set interdisciplinary team rehabilitation goals, with the treating team within goal planning meetings.

11. To manage a complex caseload as an autonomous practitioner evidencing clinical reasoning skills, problem solving and independence of judgement.

12. To be able to identify own professional limitations and seek senior advice when appropriate.

13. To carry out discharge home visits in liaison with health and social care agencies to identify equipment and care needs for discharge and identify and refer to appropriate onward services.

14. To risk assess and undertake complex manual handling techniques involving patients and or equipment following appropriate training in line with organisational manual handling policies.

15. To demonstrate the physical ability to carry out assessment and interventions including manual handling and therapeutic techniques.

16. To act as keyworker for designated patients and chair goal planning/discharge meetings as required.

17. Plan and allocate work to assistant and technical staff.

18. To continuously evaluate Occupational Therapy intervention and to maintain and develop a high standard of clinical and professional practice at all times.

19. To work flexibly across the Neurological Rehabilitation Team, Neurosciences, the Stroke Unit, ESD and the wider therapy team without prior warning, as the need arises to ensure service delivery is maximised.

20. To work at weekends, as part of the teams rota, in the service areas, on the rotation, that provide a weekend service.

Communication

1. To liaise with all members of the inter-disciplinary team, patients, carers, Health and Community Services, relevant external agencies and OUH staff to ensure a co-ordinated, consistent approach to service delivery.

2. To communicate and negotiate with individual patients and those involved in the patients care to gain consent and understanding of treatment programmes to ensure OT intervention is effective. This will frequently be with patients who have complex emotional, physical and psychological conditions aphasia and cognitive problems and will need expert use of verbal and non-verbal communication tool, or with patients from different cultural/ethnic backgrounds where English is not their primary language.

3. To be able to provide and receive complex, sensitive, and contentious information such as discussing limitations associated with diagnosis/procedures/prognosis, managing complex discharges and providing appropriate emotional support where persuasion motivation and reassurance skills are required.

4. To be able to assess a patient s understanding of treatment proposals, gain valid informed consent and have capacity to work within a legal framework with patients who lack capacity to consent to treatment.

5. To keep accurate written records of assessment and treatment in accordance with the trust, NHS and professional OT standards including comprehensive discharge/home and progress reports to medical and therapy referrers.

6. To attend and contribute to relevant service-related meetings.

7. To promote understanding of the aims of occupational therapy intervention within the IDT team and with external agencies involved in the patients care.

8. To assist the Team Lead Occupational Therapist in communicating relevant information efficiently and effectively to occupational therapy staff within each rotational service area and the wider therapy team.

Management

Education, training and research

1. To have an awareness of current trends in treatment techniques and professional issues and to participate in active learning, including participating in research or study in relevant areas.

2. To be responsible for acquiring the clinical and professional skills, with the support of the senior therapists, required for the clinical area fabrication of specialised hand splints administering standardised cognitive assessments, implementation of specialised postural management programmes.

3. To be involved in the orientation and induction programmes of new Occupational Therapy staff and students.

4. To participate in regular supervision, the staff review process, in-service/IDT training, action learning and maintain a professional portfolio to ensure professional registration is maintained.

5. To assist in providing fieldwork placements for undergraduate Occupational Therapy students, including the maintenance of standards expected of an accredited fieldwork placement.

Research and development

1. To actively participate in the departments quality improvement and clinical audit programme through the completion of authorised projects

2. To implement and maintain evidenced-based Occupational Therapy practice through continuing professional development.

3. To ensure good working knowledge and application of national and local clinical standards

Education / Qualifications

Essential

Experience

Essential