B5 Occupational Therapist

Job overview

An exciting opportunity has opened  for a B5 Occupational Therapist to join our Brent  Community Mental Health Rehab Function within our community service   We will provide you with the opportunities to develop your skills, depending on your needs and goals. We are keen for people to develop in their area of interest to motivate and enrich our team. There is also the support of a broad and experienced senior MDT.

We are looking for people who are passionate about occupational therapy and want the opportunity to focus on their clinical OT skills, and who have ideas to grow and develop the occupational therapy provision within community mental health services.

We adhere to the belief that it is better to grow and develop our own staff; this is demonstrated in the fact that 92% of our senior colleagues were supported and promoted in-house.

The team serves the diverse and vibrant population of Brent, named London Borough of Culture 2020 and ‘Council of the Year’ at the LGC Awards 2020.

Hours are: 5 days working : 9am to 5pm each day.

Main duties of the job

Occupational therapists hold a key role within the community mental health team providing occupational therapy service and expertise; which will include individual and group work, assessment, intervention and evaluation in accordance with the Royal College of Occupational Therapy Code of Ethics.

You will be using MOHO and other evidence-based assessment tools in order to establish a baseline functional assessment from which recommendations can determine further on-going care and treatment to enable optimum functioning.

The role requires integrated evidence-based practice and skilful use of assessments & interventions with personal recovery principles, in order to improve the service users’ quality of life and to support them to do the things they want to do and live the life they want to lead.

You would need to be committed to working within recovery principles. The successful applicant will be self-motivated with a desire to work in mental health, and willing to learn and grow within the team.

This post receives supervision from Senior OTs in the team and in addition there is a great support network working alongside other OTs in the borough and across the trust. Opportunities for  training, reflective practice, case formulation using Trauma Informed Approaches, skill sharing and several other projects are available ongoingly.

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

Aims of Service (some of these are trusts aims)

There are two main aims of this service. One is to provide continued rehabilitation provision in the community for people who are stepping down from inpatient rehabilitation services. The service is in addition to the Brent Community Mental Health Team hubs (CMHT) offer and will focus on people’s development of independent living skills within their new environments and integration into their communities.

The other main aim is preventative and aims to provide mental health rehabilitation in the community for people who would ordinarily receive this as an inpatient. Thereby promoting community connections and supporting people in the least restrictive setting possible.

The service is now approx 3 years up and running and whilst some of the roles within the setting have changed or adapted to meet the needs of the service the overall aim remains. Community first if at all possible.  Data from the Tableau dashboard and qualitative information will help inform the understanding of the impact of the BMHCRF on the wider system. The key outcomes reviewed are:

People’s experience at a time of rehabilitation provision

A reduction in numbers of referrals into residential rehabilitation services.

A reduction in the average length of stay in residential rehabilitation services.

A reduction in the length of stay of service users in CNWL/ Funded ECR’s beds awaiting rehabilitation placements.

A reduction in the number of service users who accessed community rehabilitation and where latterly referred to residential services.

A reduction in the average length of spell of care for those referred to community rehabilitation.

Who is the service for?

This service is for those people who require mental health rehabilitation and who are able to be safely and therapeutically managed in a community setting.