This role sits within our Community Service Line which includes all community based mental health teams, such as our Recovery and Support teams and Early Intervention services.

These teams follow the Care Programme Approach (CPA) which involves having a holistic care and support role with a caseload of clients with complex needs. In addition, the successful candidate will have protected time for Occupational Therapy specific work in their teams, promoting recovery goals and progress towards stepping down from Mental Health services.

A reduced caseload of clients under CPA has been agreed to enable the Occupational Therapist to fulfil this dual role. The post involves working closely with carers and external community organisations to developing our partnership working, which is an integral part of the Occupational Therapy role. In Merton there is also a responsibility to provide assessments for social care, as our services are jointly provided with the Merton Local Authority.

Within the community Occupational Therapy team, we are committed to developing the Occupational Therapy role, including supporting staff to contribute to our evidence base to ensure the clinical effectiveness of the interventions we provide.

We are developing expertise to offer a menu of high-quality OT interventions, that deliver consistency and clarity across the Community Service line.

Main duties of the job

The candidate will need to feel able to work collaboratively as part of a team, but also feel confident managing their time and working independently with clients.

They will need good skills in the assessment of risk and have experience of working with people with mental health conditions. The role involves management under the Care Programme Approach of caseload of clients with complex mental health and social care needs and this is supported by a multi -disciplinary team.

In addition, the role entails providing Occupational Therapy for clients who are referred by team members.

The successful candidate will join our supportive and friendly group of community Occupational Therapists. We use the Model of Human Occupation as well as other assessment tools to review the client's environment, sensory preferences and physical disability.

We offer tailored 1:1 interventions such as GLOW, an evidence based stepped intensity intervention delivered over 16 weeks. We offer group programmes, such as an occupationally focused anxiety management group and an eight- week evidence-based group programme, called IPEL to help clients develop their lives beyond Mental Health Services.

We support Occupational Therapists to become disability champions within teams to ensure client's disability, views on disability and reasonable adjustments are documented and met by the teams. We provide an active role in promoting disability awareness within the Trust.

About us

Benefits:

We offer a number of excellent staff benefits and understand the importance of a healthy work life balance. Some of our benefits are highlighted here:

• Generous pay, pensions and leave,we offer a comprehensive pay, pensions and leave package which is dependent on the role and length of service.

• Work life balance,we support a range of flexible options, such as: part-time working, job sharing, term-time working, compressed hours and working from home.
• Career development,There are plenty of opportunities to progress your career and we support your development through a number of programmes such as mentoring, coaching, positive people management, collective leadership and other talent programmes
• Subsidised car parking- You can park at any of our sites at a reduced rate of £20/month.
• NHS discounts,with discounts up to 10% from a variety of well-known retail brands though Health Service Discounts website.

Other benefits include:

• Eye examinations
• Looking after your health
• Cycle to work scheme
• Car lease scheme
• Season ticket loan
• Childcare vouchers
• Staff restaurants
• Free gym membersh

Job description Job responsibilities

We aim to deliver a high-quality service, and to proactively promote Occupational Therapy within teams. As a Trust wide Occupational Therapy service, we follow the Model of Human Occupation and provide staff with a centralised online system to access all these assessments, manuals and helpful guidance

The successful candidate will be offered professional supervision from their lead Occupational Therapist to focus on their Occupational Therapy practice, while line management supervision is provided by the team manager.

We support Occupational Therapists to become disability champions within teams to ensure clients disability, views on disability and reasonable adjustments are documented and met by the teams. We provide an active role in promoting disability awareness within the Trust.

We are a vibrant, friendly and innovative service and we hope that if you share our vision, we will be hearing from you soon! You will need to be flexible energetic, have a positive attitude and demonstrate an ability to work autonomously and be part of a Team.

The successful candidate will join our wider Occupational Therapy service which includes our acute and urgent care, learning disability, specialist, national and forensic service lines, hence providing opportunities to develop your career within the Trust.

We are working as a Trust to meet our Occupational Therapy Framework, which focuses on four main areas; career development, evidence-based practice, partnership working and putting occupation at the heart of our practice.

We meet quarterly for Occupational Therapy training events which have recently included training around sensory needs and sensory profile assessments and the Model of Human Occupation, focusing on volition.

We have regular borough-based OT forums for professional support and development and can arrange for staff to shadow OTs in other services, as development opportunities.

We are also committed to training future Occupational Therapists and take students regularly throughout the year. Senior OT staff offer regular career development reviews to ensure you have opportunities to keep developing your career.

We have a close working relationship with our Involvement team who support Service Users and carers to get involved in our work in the Trust, including in any Occupational Therapy service development.

We have also collaborated with St Georges Hospital Occupational Therapy department, whom share their physical health knowledge and offer training for our staff and we have reciprocated by sharing our mental health knowledge.

Person Specification Education, Training & Qualifications Essential

• Diploma or degree in Occupational Therapy
• Registration to practice in the UK
• Evidence of post registration training relevant to mental health practice
• Training in the theory and application of the model of human occupation within the first 4 months of appointment

Desirable

• Practice placement educators course within one year of appointment
• Apple registration

Experience Essential

• Experience of carrying a caseload in a mental health setting
• Experience of working in a multi-disciplinary team
• Experience of maintaining a written record of continual professional development
• Experience of individual and groupwork
• Experience of writing specialist occupational therapy reports
• Experience of participating in a service development project

Desirable

• Experience of working in a range of mental health settings
• Experience of supervising junior staff
• Successful completion of preceptorship
• Experience of being a practice placement educator
• Experience of using mental health services as a service user, or carer, relative, friend of a service user.

Knowledge and Skills - Communication Essential

• Developed interpersonal skills enabling therapeutic alliances to be developed & maintained with service users who have multiple & complex needs
• Basic word processing and IT skills
• Proficient standard of written communication skills
• Ability to promote & maintain the profile of OT within an MDT & the wider organisation

Knowledge and Skills - Personal and People Development Essential

• Ability to work autonomously and set own priorities
• Ability to reflect upon and critically appraise own performance
• Ability to role model positive professional behaviour

Desirable

• Ability to deliver presentations

Knowledge and Skills - Health, Safety & Security Essential

• Ability to work in a way that minimises risks to health, safety & security of self, service user & members of the public
• Ability to monitor work areas & practices to maintain a healthy, safe and secure working environment.

Knowledge and Skills - Service Improvement Essential

• Ability to adapt own practice & style of working
• Ability to express constructive views & ideas in relation to improving service effectiveness

Desirable

• Audit skills

Knowledge and Skills - Quality Essential

• Applied knowledge of confidentiality & consent issues
• Applied knowledge of current national legislation, policies & guidelines relevant to clinical area
• Good personal management skills in order to manage a clinical caseload & varied workload
• Ability to analyse professional and ethical issues
• Ability to work effectively within a team and understanding of the importance of collaborative working in the delivery of good quality services

Knowledge and Skills - Equality and Diversity Essential

• Ability to apply equal opportunities & anti-discriminatory interventions that respect the service users' customs, values & spiritual beliefs
• Ability to recognise & report behaviour that undermines equality & diversity
• Ability to promote a culture of recovery & social inclusion

Knowledge and Skills - Health and Wellbeing Essential

• Ability to assess complex health & wellbeing needs & develop, monitor & review care plans to meet those needs
• Ability to undertake clinical risk assessment
  
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