An opportunity has arisen for an experienced Band 6 Occupational Therapist to join our Children's OT Team within the North of County Durham & Darlington Foundation Trust. This 12 month fixed term post is covering maternity leave.
The OT role focuses on providing high quality assessment and interventions to children and young people - supporting families and carers to promote the independence and functional skills of children and young people with a wide range of needs - at home, school and clinical settings. You will provide both health and social care OT interventions for children, young people and families residing across County Durham and Darlington and will be supported by a well-established team possessing a wealth of clinical expertise and knowledge.
The service offers high levels of support and opportunities for continued professional development, robust appraisal and clinical supervision.
County Durham and Darlington NHS Foundation Trust is one of the largest integrated care providers in England, with a population of around 600,000 people. We are a high performing organisation with a track record of success. The posts will be based across two main localities in the Trust.
Main duties of the job
Within this role, the successful candidate will be expected to:
1. Provide high quality Occupational Therapy assessments and intervention programmes to children and young people referred into the service.
2. Assess for and provide recommendations for major and minor home adaptations as part of the social care remit of the service.
3. Work in collaboration with children, young people, parents and carers as well as other professionals and colleagues across a wide variety of sectors, including health, education and social care.
4. Work as an autonomous practitioner in managing a varied and often complex caseload with the supervision and support of the locality OT team.
5. Take an active part in the development and delivery of training packages to parents, carers and colleagues, as well as actively participate in their own continued professional development, appraisal and supervision.
6. Take an active part in service development and quality improvement initiatives.
7. Demonstrate a high level of skill in clinical documentation including accurate case records and compilation of professional reports.
8. Participate in the supervision of student occupational therapists and therapy assistants.
Job responsibilities
Clinical Requirements:
1. To be professionally and legally accountable for all aspects of your own work, including the management of children in your care.
2. To undertake skilled assessment of children and young people, including those with diverse or complex presentations/multi-pathologies.
3. To formulate and deliver outcome focused, individual therapy treatment programmes, based on evidence based practice using clinical assessment, reasoning skills and knowledge of treatment skills.
4. To take delegated responsibility from Team Lead Occupational Therapists for managing children with particular conditions and be responsible for providing specialist therapy assessment and treatment plans.
5. To formulate accurate prognoses and recommend best course of intervention.
6. To use effective communication skills, verbal and non-verbal to communicate treatment programmes to children who may have barriers to understanding or communication.
7. To evaluate and review the progress of Occupational Therapy interventions, making changes to treatment programmes as required.
8. To work as an autonomous practitioner with regular supervision and support from supervising therapists.
9. To prioritise the health and wellbeing of children and young people at all times and immediately raise any Safeguarding concerns through the correct channels and processes.
10. To supervise assistant and student therapists in line with Professional and Service standards.
11. To represent the Occupational Therapy Service and/or individual children at the multi-agency team meetings.
12. To be responsible for the safe and competent use of all equipment, appliances and aids used by children and young people.
13. To maintain comprehensive contemporaneous clinical and statistical records in line with professional and service standards.
14. To contribute to multi-agency assessments including Education, Health and Care Plans, Child Safeguarding reports etc.
Person Specification
Special Skills & Knowledge
Essential
* Ability to communicate effectively verbally and in writing with a wide range of people.
* Working knowledge of assessment and treatment approaches in paediatrics, developmental and neurological impairment.
* Ability to prioritise workload.
* Ability to work as a member of a Multi-agency team.
* Flexible approach to work.
Qualifications
Essential
* Diploma, BSc or MSc in Occupational Therapy.
Desirable
* Specialist post graduate training linked to this field of Clinical Practice.
Experience
Essential
* Specialist level OT experience in a Community Paediatric setting.
* Supervising assistant therapy staff.
* Experience in delivering training packages to carers and professional groups.
Employer details
Employer name
County Durham & Darlington NHS Foundation Trust
Address
Chester le Street Community Hospital
Front Street
Chester le Street
County Durham
DH3 3AT #J-18808-Ljbffr