MAIN TASKS AND RESPONSIBILITIES Clinical / Professional Practice To work within a specialist clinical area as an autonomous professional with highly developed skills and knowledge in neurological rehabilitation, potentially as the sole clinician but with supervision (which may be remote) of a more senior OT. To accept professional accountability and responsibility. To manage and prioritise a caseload of service users with complex mental/physical health needs and/or challenging behaviour. To complete the OT process and to use evidence based/service user centred principles and clinical reasoning to assess, formulate a treatment plan, implement and evaluate interventions bringing specialist knowledge to more complex cases. To address occupational performance and skill deficits enabling the service user in areas of self-maintenance, productivity, education and leisure. To develop programmes of care, ensure adequate and detailed handover of programmes to rehabilitation support workers or therapy assistants, monitor through data gathering, evaluate and modify treatment in order to measure progress and ensure effectiveness of intervention according to the neurobehavioural model. To delegate tasks appropriately according to the competence of colleagues and take responsibility for handover, monitoring and review. To use highly developed interpersonal skills and empathy to engage those service users and families who may be resistant to the rehabilitation process or may be distressed. To carry out detailed risk assessments including for more complex issues and ensure these are regularly reviewed and updated and communicate this with the team effectively. To maintain detailed and accurate documentation in line with Royal College of Occupational Therapists (RCOT) guidance and produce professional reports demonstrating highly specialist knowledge. To work with service users, family/carers and outside agencies in a sensitive and flexible way considering the most appropriate environment for assessment and intervention and responding to changing needs, circumstances and cultural issues. To maintain the highest levels of integrity during all communications. To work as a member of the multi/inter-disciplinary team bringing specialist knowledge, actively listening, participating in meetings, engaging in shared decision making, contributing to overall treatment objectives agreed in the rehabilitation plan and working collaboratively to establish service user centred therapeutic goals that promote service user choices. Use highly developed critical thinking skills when making professional judgements and communicate this process succinctly and effectively including in more complex or unpredictable contexts. To support the clinical lead for some service users leading on maintaining contact with family and other outside agencies, co-ordinating the rehabilitation programme and facilitating the discharge planning process. To assess for, issue and refer to outside agencies for appropriate equipment ensuring adequate training for staff, service user and family and with all risk assessments in place. To plan, implement and evaluate appropriate goal directed group interventions and have an overview of the needs of the service in relation to group interventions. To provide intervention and advice on social and lifestyle needs including referral to other agencies and services. To work within infection control and health and safety guidelines in order to deal appropriately with conditions related to service user contact as they arise: for example, exposure to body fluids or infectious conditions.