A Vacancy at Frimley Health NHS Foundation Trust.
This is an exciting opportunity for an experienced Team Lead Occupational Therapist to further develop in the field of inpatient community rehabilitation or for an experienced senior Occupational therapist to further progress in their career.
This is an opportunity to lead a team of a very dedicated therapy team, delivering highly complex general rehabilitation and discharge planning for the population of Bracknell Forest and Windsor and Maidenhead. You will be working alongside nurses, health care assistants, doctors, physiotherapists, therapy technicians and discharge coordinator in planning the best and safest outcome for the patients in our unit.
The therapy approach is individualised with opportunity to deliver group activities as well.
As an experienced professional, you will be expected to support more junior staff and deputise for the manager as required.
The Team Lead Occupational Therapist will provide both clinical leadership and operational oversight for the therapy team within the unit. This role will involve supporting the therapy team to provide person-centred care to service users with complex needs, using specialist occupational therapy skills to assess, plan, and deliver high-quality, evidence-based interventions and plan complex discharges. You will also lead on person-centred care planning and ensure the team's adherence to best practices, including quality and governance frameworks. In addition to clinical duties, you will have operational responsibilities such as management, recruitment, staff supervision, and service improvement initiatives.
Frimley Health NHS Foundation Trust is committed to being an inclusive and disability confident employer and has been awarded the Gold for the Armed Forces Employment Recognition Scheme. We provide first class development opportunities for all staff and have a wide range of professional, management and leadership, and clinical skills training available.
Here at Frimley Health NHS Foundation Trust, we know how important it is to have a healthy work life balance; this benefits not only individuals but the patients we care for too.
We encourage applications from people who wish to work on a flexible basis, recognising that flexibility may mean a range of different working patterns and hours, we do our utmost to work with our staff to meet their needs and the needs of our service and its users.
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DIMENSIONS OF JOB:
· To provide expert clinical leadership within the MDT
· Undertake professional leadership and act as a clinical exemplar within the team
· To act as an autonomous clinician accountable for both your own and all delegated clinical tasks
· Contribute to the development of service strategy and clinical standard operating procedures
· Establish local networks internally and externally
· Represent the team and the service at Trust and, where appropriate, strategic meetings
PURPOSE OF JOB:
· To provide skilled team leadership, ensuring an effective, high quality service is delivered within the inpatient therapy team
· To use highly specialist clinical knowledge and skills to manage a complex caseload as an autonomouspractitioner
· To act as a specialist resource for the multi-disciplinary team both on the ward and the wider community services
· To work with the MDT to develop, monitor and evaluate the service, including organising and implementing service development and change as appropriate
· To plan and prioritise the service’s delivery to ensure appropriate management of patients
· Ensure supervision of staff members within the team is being undertaken as per policy
KEY TASKS & Responsibilities:
Clinical
· To be responsible as an autonomous practitioner to undertake a significant specialist clinical workload and using clinical reasoning skills to utilise a wide range of treatment skills and options in order to formulate a specialised programme of care
· To prioritise work efficiently taking into account clinical and service priorities, using effective organisational skills and highly specialist knowledge to underpin decisions
· To be responsible in conjunction with the Service Manager and clinical leads for the setting and monitoring of standards and policies of clinical practice and evaluating their outcomes
· To be responsible for the efficient, effective and safe management of all patients receiving therapy in the community inpatient setting
· Oversee planning and prioritisation within the team to ensure appropriate management of patients
· To be responsible for the coordination and undertaking of complex clinical procedures specific to speciality
· To use recognised outcome measures to evaluate the effect of therapy interventions and ensure the treatment programmes are progressing appropriately
· To be professionally and legally responsible and accountable for all aspects of own work, including the management of clinical risk, knowledge of indications and precautions of chosen techniques in the line with national and trust clinical guidelines, protocols and pathways where they exist
· To participate in the advice, guidance and teaching of junior staff and students in the management of patients
· To develop profession specific practices and local guidelines, and to keep abreast of new treatments in relation to the management of patients relevant to thisrole
· To establish good relationships with patients promoting and empowering a life long model of self care and appropriate activity to maintain good health
This job will involve frequent exposure to unpleasant working conditions e.g. Bodily fluids, including sputum, unpleasant smells and occasional exposure to hostility in the form of verbal and physical aggression.
Communication
· To provide patients, families and carers with specialist advice and/or instruction, in order to increase their understanding of their condition and the aims of your treatment. This is essential to gain patient engagement with treatment, maximise potential and to ensure consistent patient management
· To provide and receive information from patients, carers and other professionals, regarding a patient’s condition and treatment progress. This will include the sharing and receiving of some complex and/or sensitive information, including imparting unwelcome news
· To use interpreters when required to ensure effective communication with patients who are hard of hearing or do not speak/understand enough English for the purposes of consent and co-operation for treatment
· To develop and maintain close working relationships with members of the MDT, ensuring appropriate attendance at board rounds, multi-disciplinary meetings and case conferences
· To provide highly specialty advice and recommendations of relevant clinical management to the MDT
· To develop and maintain close working relationships with colleagues, referring clinicians and other appropriate professions and agencies ensuring optimal communication and patient care
· To establish and ensure good links with equipment providers in the community to enable seamless referrals for equipment as appropriate
· To be integral in transfer/discharge planning including liaison with staff and provide timely reports both from the acute to community hospital, but also community hospital to community/patient’s own home
· To report all complaints/incidents immediately to the senior member of staff and document accordingly
· To represent the team at Trust-based working groups, as and when required
· To represent the Trust at regional events or meetings and develop best practice at FHFT through liaison with regional specialists/colleagues and other relevant forums
· To attend and be an active participant in the hospital, wards and service meetings
Management
· To provide day to day management of the team including but not limited to:
o Absence management
o Recruitment
o Induction
o HR
o Appraisals
o Communication
o Application of Trust policies
o Overseeing delegated management roles
· To work with the Service Manager and other Team Leads both within the community and the inpatient setting to develop the strategic and local operational management of the team and service
· To plan and prioritise own workload both clinical and managerial, including responding to urgent referrals and unpredictable workload, and assist the team with theirs. This will require prolonged concentration in an unpredictable environment
· To be able to manage frequently stressful, upsetting or emotional situations in an empathetic manner when imparting bad news regarding rehabilitation potential e.g. neurological patients, patients with long term conditions. To ensure this is communicated sensitively to all parties concerned
· To participate in the Trust’s appraisal scheme both as appraisee and as an appraiser
· To line manage staff including objective setting, appraisals, training and supervision
· To be responsible for the induction of new staff
· To maintain and provide accurate and timely statistics which are both computer and paper based and ensure team compliance
· To respond to changes within the team which impacts on the delivery of patient care
· To initiate and lead projects as requested
· To maintain comprehensive and accurate patient records in accordance with professional body and Trust guidelines and to ensure the safe keeping and confidentiality of these records
· Ensure supervision of all staff members within team is being undertaken as per policy
· To contribute to the formulation of relevant policies, guidelines and procedures and participate in agreed developments within the service
Education
· To play an active role in the education of the MDT, patients and carers, providing patient information, advice and support
· To be responsible for the training, supervision and professional development of the team and students on placement
· To be responsible for maintaining own competency to practice through CPD activities, using reflective practice and to maintain a portfolio that indicates personal development
Research/Audit/Quality
· To lead in appropriate research and audit
· To initiate and implement changes to working practices related to research findings, audit or service initiatives
· To have a sound knowledge of clinical governance, especially risk management, and have an active role in clinical effectiveness and audit
· To undertake evidence based projects and recommend change in practice accordingly
This advert closes on Sunday 2 Feb 2025