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Occupational Therapist

Employer
Barnet, Enfield & Haringey Mental Health NHS Trust
Location
London
Salary
£38,762 to £45,765 a year per annum inclusive of Outer London HCAS
Closing date
26 Sep 2022

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Grade
Band 6
Contract Type
Permanent
Hours
Full Time
The post will involve delivery of the OT provision to service users in the outpatient service, focusing on functional daily living skills and specific mental health and risk issues. This will include the assessment, treatment and evaluation of clinical interventions, planning and running a range of therapeutic individual and group work, carrying out functional assessments and contributing to multidisciplinary team care planning and risk assessment. The patients are people with diverse and complex needs and presentations, often with secondary diagnosis of personality disorder, ASD, anxiety, depression who need significant and specialist support to achieve recovery goals. The post holder will work closely with the MDT and will be required to provide leadership for defined staff and students through the provision of regular and robust supervision and appraisal systems.

Main duties of the job

  • To carry a caseload of patients requiring OT assessment, intervention and evaluation in accordance with the College of Occupational Therapists (COT) Code of Ethics and Professional Conduct, HCPC Professional Standards and Trust Policies.
  • To work alongside the outpatient nurses, doctors and therapists to provide a specialist occupational therapy service and expertise for patients with an eating disorder, including the related physical and psychiatric co-morbidities.
  • To integrate evidence-based practice and skillful use of assessments and interventions with personal recovery principles, both with individuals and in groups, which are underpinned by relevant theoretical approaches and in line with the Trust policies
  • To facilitate recovery focused groups for the service users to support them to manage their illness alongside accessing helpful resources in the community, such as recovery colleges, voluntary agencies and mainstream agencies, to assist service users to build a bigger life outside of their illness/ mental health problems.
  • Facilitate effective links with community resources in order that a socially inclusive focus towards treatment and discharge-planning is maintained.
  • To apply a high level of understanding of the effects of mental illness and physical conditions; providing training and advice on lifestyle changes and adaptations to service users' social and physical environments. This will include undertaking assessments and making recommendations.


About us

The Eating Disorders Service at St Ann's Hospital in Haringey provides comprehensive care for patients 18 years old and above with a primary diagnosis of an eating disorder. It is one of the largest units in the country providing services to a catchment area that includes North Central London, and East London. The service provides intensive inpatient treatment on Iris ward which is located in a newly built state of the art mental health building, Blossom Court. Our 20 bedded unit features ensuite bedrooms, more daylight and views of nature to help reduce patient stress, anxiety and pain as well as a sensory room. The service also includes our outpatient services, community liaison services, and a day programme whilst our MDT consists of Psychiatry, Community Liaison Nursing, Dieticians, Occupational Therapy, Social Work, Admin and Peer Support

Job description Job responsibilities

  • To provide specialist, culturally appropriate, evidence-based occupational therapy for service users in order to establish and meet their occupational needs, ensuring that interventions amplify their self-management skills. Most assessments and work will be done at the clinics, however there may be occasions when home visit/ assessments/ meals out with patients, will be deemed appropriate.
  • To select and use validated and standardised assessment tools routinely in practice, exhibiting clinical reasoning skills. This will include the Model of Human Occupation (MOHO) assessments.
  • To support service users and colleagues to ensure that care plans are developed in partnership with the individual and that they reflect recovery goals. These should be strengths-based and oriented towards reinforcing a positive identity and developing valued social roles.
  • To monitor and evaluate the effectiveness of occupational therapy interventions against clear aims, objectives and outcome measures in line with evidence-based practice and in conjunction with service users, carers and other professionals.
  • To follow local protocol and assess/make recommendations with regards to the provision of equipment/aids and adaptations and/or liaise with local providers to ensure provision, as appropriate.
  • To maintain a flexible approach to sessions, modifying activities according to the fluctuating clinical presentation of individual clients and the needs of the service.
  • To undertake and ensure rigorous risk assessment and risk management strategies are applied proactively. To actively contribute to the multidisciplinary teams risk assessment process and obtain agreement from the team before engaging clients in any activity that may require therapeutic risk taking.
  • To be aware of and sensitiveto the safeguarding needs of children and adults in their work. To be knowledgeable both about potential indicators of abuse or neglect and about what to do if they have concerns about a child's or adult's welfare.
  • To support service users in relation to their physical health, employment, housing and welfare benefits issues. To refer to specialist provider services, as necessary.
  • To liaise with OT colleagues in other parts of the service to facilitate a smooth and coordinated pathway for patients transitioning across the service. Occupational therapy within the eating disorders service is provided on the inpatient unit, day programme and community liaison team.
  • To act as fieldwork educator to students on practice placement within the eating disorders service.
  • To liaise with families and carers as appropriate.
  • To be able to write reports based on assessment and intervention that will inform teams with matters such as, occupational performance, care and housing needs as required
  • To ensure OT assessment and treatment is based on best available evidence of effectiveness; using a variety of methods to inform best practice such as: critical appraisal of literature and research, professional guidelines, outcome measures and clinical audit
  • To be involved in service wide initiatives and events as delegated by the Occupational therapy lead such as promotional events.
  • To manage and lead a small team of junior staff as required
  • To prioritise service provision according to service user need, including justifying and changing those treatments which are not a priority with the resources available.
  • In the absence of the lead Occupational Therapist, to take responsibility for some day to day management issues such as planning cover for staff leave or cancellation of sessions.
  • To be a self-directed practitioner, with effective time management skills, able to manage a varied caseload and demands around regular clinical and management duties.
  • To use specialist OT knowledge to contribute to the writing of local protocols, as required.
  • To take the lead on the recruitment of junior staff, as delegated by the lead Occupational Therapist and/or service manager.
  • To contribute to the recruitment and induction of new staff within the team, as appropriate.
  • To directly supervise and appraise junior staff and students as delegated by the lead Occupational Therapist and/or service manager
  • To be actively involved in service development working closely with the whole team. This will include actively contributing own ideas and assisting in implementing and evaluating developments.
  • To participate in audit as required within the service.
  • To be responsible for the ordering of stock and equipment, to ensure proper maintenance and replacement of materials and equipment, and the raising of requisitions, led by clinical/service need.
  • To encourage good staff communication and participation in staff meetings, teaching sessions and multi-disciplinary meetings and take turns in presenting, organising and chairing these.
  • To implement the operational policy and other relevant procedures and protocols for the department.
  • Be responsible for following Trust procedure on petty cash.
  • To be responsible for maintaining a client record system, keep statistical information as required and to submit such information at regular and timely intervals.
  • To be aware of the working environment, reporting all potential hazards, risks and defects to senior managers to ensure Health & Safety standards are met in accordance with service policy.
  • To maintain own leave, ensuring that cover is adequate and that senior managers are notified of leave arrangements.
  • To have regular meetings with the outpatient manager and input into developing and maintaining a positive team culture.
  • To act as fieldwork educator, where appropriate, for OT students, taking regular clinical placements under the supervision of the Lead Occupational Therapist. This role includes providing weekly supervision, setting learning objectives, monitoring performance and completing formal placement reports.
  • To offer advice and teaching to other staff and students and outside agencies on OT as appropriate to support their clinical development.
  • To present and represent the OT department to the wider service and to raise the profile of OT through formal and informal education.
  • To attend regular supervision sessions.
  • To ensure timely booking and attendance of mandatory and statutory training. Failure to do this may preclude further learning and development opportunities.
  • To attend relevant courses / study days outside the Service and to share information and acquired skills learned with the OT staff / multi-disciplinary team.
  • To undertake activities of Continuous Professional Development (CPD), including identifying own learning needs and recording learning outcomes in a portfolio.
  • Be a reflective practitioner and use this to learn from experiences.
  • To be aware of limitations of own clinical knowledge and seek advice as necessary.
  • To keep abreast of changing occupational therapy clinical practice, new developments, evidence-based practice and research.
  • To contribute to activities, which continue to build on a culture of shared learning and evidence-based practice.
  • To participate in local and trust wide OT service activities that promote and contribute to the building of knowledge and evidence base for the benefit of the professional body of occupational therapy.
  • To assume personal responsibility for maintaining a working knowledge of new statutory guidelines that influence clinical practice.
  • To review and reflect on own occupational therapy performance through effective use of professional supervision, management supervision, CPD opportunities and annual appraisal. To ensure own learning and development needs are identified.

COMMUNICATION
  • To demonstrate excellent communication skills and form positive, boundaried therapeutic relationships, using warmth and empathy, and enable service user empowerment.
  • To establish and maintain effective communication networks with service users with complex learning, emotional and behavioural needs, their carers, other professionals and agencies in order to ensure a comprehensive and consistent approach to client care.
  • To provide and receive highly complex, sensitive, condition-related or distressing/unwelcome information to and from service users and carers demonstrating empathy and reassurance, adhering to associated policies and protocols
  • To demonstrate skills and resourcefulness in communication when barriers to understanding are present, including utilising interpreting resources.
  • To use appropriate language and terminology based on whether communication is routine, complex or sensitive in nature.
  • To promote the role of OT within the Team, representing an OT clinical perspective in all clinical meetings and business meetings.
  • To handle and liaise confidentially regarding sensitive issues and information with other services such as General Practitioners (GPs), Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS), Police etc.
  • To work in close co-operation with OT colleagues within the Trust, contributing to relevant OT business/training meetings, both locally and trust-wide.
  • Effective written communication skills to includes reports, assessments, supervision
  • To provide detailed feedback and communicate treatment plans and clinical reasoning for interventions to other members of the multidisciplinary team and to work in collaboration with other disciplines and staff in clinical work.
  • To be able to present work either in written or verbal form at professional forums
  • Detailed in clinical responsibilities above
  • Demonstrates knowledge of Mental Health conditions
  • Demonstrates knowledge of the mental health sections
  • Demonstrate a professional approach including boundary keeping to relationships with staff and patients Service user centered approach.
  • To contribute to the service users/carer development
  • To promote the involvement of clients/carers/family in their treatment.
  • Support service users to engage in work and/or study and other meaningful roles


Person Specification EDUCATION AND QUALIFICATIONS Essential
  • Dip. COT or BSc OT
  • Registered with HCPC
  • Evidence of CPD/reflective practice.


Any attachments will be accessible after you click to apply.

306-BEH-329

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