Job overview
The Hospital Palliative Care Team is a multi-disciplinary team providing palliative care advice and support to inpatients across all sites of the Oxford University Hospitals Foundation Trust. The occupational therapists work mainly from the John Radcliffe site
The therapy input into the palliative care service has two main aims:
1. to support AHP colleagues with discharges that are complex because of the palliative care needs of the patient
2. to facilitate rapid discharge for patients who have a likely prognosis of less than two weeks and whose preference has been for care at home. This is a component of our flagship end of life project: Rapid Intervention in Palliative and End of Life care. This has been running for the last months with significant impact on patient outcomes and savings of hospital bed days at the end of life.
Although this OT role is based within the hospital, the therapists are expected to follow up patients after discharge and some community working (across Oxfordshire and South Northamptonshire) will be required.
A full driving license, with access to a car for work purposes is essential.
The palliative care team is gradually working towards a -day service across all areas. Weekend and extended hours working will be expected. The hospital team therapists will also be required to cross cover for the palliative care specialist OTs across the whole service if required.
Main duties of the job
3. Performs holistic assessment of patients including those with complex presentations, and from this formulates a treatment plan, which is carried out as an autonomous practitioner.
4. Maintain a clinical caseload of complex patients as an autonomous practitioner.
5. Communication and collaboration with others involved in the care of patients, and non clinical activity.
6. Work as part of the MDT with patients known to the Hospital Palliative Care Team
7. Participates in the supervision, teaching and appraisal of junior / student Occupational Therapists and Therapy Assistants.
8. Participate in maintaining and improving all aspects of evidence based practice and quality assurance, this may involve change management.
9. Contribute to services development, clinical governance, audit, research and continuing professional development.
Working for our organisation
The specialist palliative care team provides high-quality compassionate palliative care within Oxford University Hospitals Foundation Trust (John Radcliffe, Churchill, Horton and Nuffield Orthopaedic Centre Hospitals), the community across Oxfordshire and South Northamptonshire (including home visiting and telephone advice lines) and the inpatient unit, clinic and living well services based at Sobell House (Churchill Hospital site) and Katharine House Hospice (near Banbury). They do so by providing specialist palliative and end of life care support and advice as well as expert advice, education and role modelling to fellow healthcare professionals.