Employer: Ashford and St. Peter's Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
Employer type: NHS
Site: ST Peters Hospital
Town: Chertsey
Salary: £48,270 - £54,931 pa inc. HCAS
Salary period: Yearly
Closing: 28/02/2025 23:59
Interview date: 08/03/2025
Highly Specialist Occupational Therapist
Band 7
Job Overview
We are looking for an experienced occupational therapist who has the passion and drive to lead occupational therapists within the surgical, cardiorespiratory and critical care team in our acute hospital setting.
This position requires a motivated individual willing to contribute, facilitate, design, and lead service development. You will join a friendly and dynamic team, working alongside a band 7 physiotherapist in supporting and developing the team's work across surgical wards, including cardiorespiratory and amputee cases, and more recently, the role of OT within critical care, ensuring a high-quality therapy service that is patient-centred and evidence-based. The successful applicant will provide expert support, advice, and training to both the OT team and the wider therapy/multidisciplinary service. They will have their own clinical caseload and supervise band 6 and band 5 OTs plus support staff.
The post holder should have expertise in clinical reasoning and assessment skills, including general experience in surgical, respiratory, amputee, and neurology. They should have expertise in the management of complex cases, discharge planning, and advanced communication skills while working in a busy multi-disciplinary hospital environment.
Main Duties of the Job
The post holder will:
1. Take a leading role in the advanced assessment, clinical diagnosis, treatment, and management of patients with critical illness and post-operative problems.
2. Be responsible for the day-to-day operational delivery of Occupational therapy services to critical care, respiratory, and surgical wards.
3. Work autonomously as an expert clinician, liaising effectively with other health professionals to ensure evidence-based delivery of service within professional scope of practice.
4. Provide leadership in the specialist field and be a key contributor to quality improvement, research, and audit.
5. Work in partnership with the band 7 specialist physiotherapists within critical care and respiratory.
6. Support staff development and training across professional and organisational boundaries and lead on simulation and on-call training.
7. Be involved in developing the service in line with national and local strategic plans.
Ashford and St Peter’s offer a seven-day service across some specialities, and you will be expected to support this on a rota system.
For further information, please contact Katie Kyritsis, Clinical Lead for therapies- Respiratory.
Detailed Job Description and Main Responsibilities
Clinical or Technical
1. Assess patients with complex problems using highly skilled assessments and make referrals to other disciplines and agencies as appropriate.
2. Support other less experienced staff with their patient caseload.
3. Be responsible as an autonomous practitioner to undertake a significant specialist clinical caseload and use excellent clinical reasoning skills to utilise a wide range of treatment options and skills to formulate a specialised programme of care.
4. Maintain a high standard of clinical care using evidence-based practice and keep up to date with clinical developments.
5. Set and monitor standards and policies of clinical practice in the team and evaluate outcomes.
6. Write evidence-based clinical guidelines and protocols as appropriate to the specialty and regularly review and update those guidelines.
7. Be professionally and legally responsible and accountable for all aspects of professional activities.
8. Use investigative and analytical skills, assessment techniques, and diagnostic procedures to assess complex patients.
9. Formulate accurate prognoses and recommend the best course of intervention, developing comprehensive discharge plans.
10. Be aware of risks involved in delivering clinical care and manage this within the patient caseload.
11. Demonstrate physical ability to carry out assessments and interventions including manual and therapeutic handling techniques.
12. Maintain accurate records in line with the Royal College of Occupational Therapy standards and Trust and service standards and policies.
13. Attend relevant board rounds and meetings as required to ensure appropriate management and timely discharge of patients.
Leadership or Managerial
1. Work closely with Clinical Lead for Cardiorespiratory services and other Band 7 Team Leads.
2. Act as a role model and resource, promoting high standards of patient care.
3. Supervise junior and senior staff where appropriate.
4. Plan the daily management of a caseload of patients by prioritising clinical work.
5. Maintain service standards by contributing to team and service objectives.
6. Ensure teamwork within Ashford and St Peter’s Hospitals.
7. Manage potentially stressful situations empathetically.
8. Participate in the appraisal scheme as an appraiser and to be appraised.
9. Contribute to the strategic view of the inpatient cardiorespiratory services.
10. Demonstrate a high level of understanding of clinical governance and clinical risk.
11. Initiate and lead projects to develop services in line with recent NHS initiatives.
Communication
1. Communicate complex and sensitive information to patients, carers, and other staff.
2. Assess patients’ understanding of treatment proposals and gain valid consent.
3. Motivate patients to comply with extended periods of treatment.
4. Maintain accurate records in line with RCOT, Trust, and service standards and policies.
5. Ensure timely and effective communication with the Therapy Manager and Clinical Leads.
Education
1. Supervise and lead on the professional development and training of Occupational Therapists and other team members.
2. Participate in training sessions as a recipient and facilitator.
3. Disseminate training received to other staff and healthcare professionals.
Research and Development
1. Use relevant information and research findings to promote evidence-based practice.
2. Participate in both clinical and organisational audit to evaluate service effectiveness.
Person Specification
Qualifications and Experience
* HCPC Registration in Occupational Therapy
* CPD activity demonstrated in ICU care
* ICU experience as an Occupational Therapist
* Experience in leading a team
* Management courses
Knowledge
* Strong understanding of the role of OT in ICU
* Evidence of using audit to improve interventions/service
* Trust vision, values, strategic objectives, and key work programmes
Skills
* Advanced clinical reasoning skills guiding interventions.
* Teaching and communication skills to promote the role of occupational therapy and physiotherapy.
* Ability to manage and prioritise own and team workload.
You must have appropriate UK professional registration. The postholder will have regular contact with vulnerable people, and this post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (Exceptions) Order 1975 (Amendment) (England and Wales) Order 2020, necessitating a submission for Disclosure to the Disclosure and Barring Service.
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