Community Occupational Therapist

Job overview

Following recent investment in line with Norfolk and Waveney Urgent and Emergency Care Priorities, our Urgent Community Response (UCR) Therapy Team has an exciting opportunity for a part time Band 6  Occupational Therapist, however we welcome conversations with all interested applicants.

Are you an experienced Therapist with excellent clinical and interpersonal skills? Are you flexible, approachable, and a team player? If so, we'd love you to join our friendly, supportive team based in King's Lynn and covering West Norfolk.

The post provides an exciting opportunity for applicants looking to build on a broad clinical skill base in line with our competency framework to triage and respond to a variety of Urgent Community Response and wider pathways across West Norfolk.  You will be expected to work collaboratively and in liaison with our community teams and our system partners.

The ideal candidates will have:

• Effective communication and interpersonal skills

• A positive, problem-solving approach to provide quality outcomes for patients

• Resilience and flexibility in dynamic situations

• Experience with supervision of staff and students is desirable

The Urgent Community Response Therapy team operates 7 days per week between the hours of 8am and 8pm.  There is a requirement to work weekends and bank holidays.

Main duties of the job

As part of the Urgent Community Response (UCR) Team you will be required:

• To work within the Urgent Community Response Team to prevent unnecessary admission to hospital.
• To make risk assessments, establishing the safety or otherwise of a patient’s ability to stay at home, or return safely from another care setting, providing and arranging as necessary supportive packages of care.
• To provide evidenced based clinical/therapeutic interventions based on ‘best practice’ in order to improve health outcomes and promote choice.
• To work within the Urgent Community Response Team to assess and prescribe care pathways for patients in a crisis situation with long term conditions, the frail and elderly, palliative and end of life care and/or rehabilitation needs, to achieve quality of life and independence where possible.
• To provide in-reach to inpatient units and step up and step down beds  where required.
• To act as the patients advocate, facilitating choice and patient empowerment.
• To work with all health care professionals, and statutory/non statutory agencies to provide a seamless, integrated service to our service users.
• To Triage referrals on a rotational basis for the Urgent Community Response Team.

This role is for 7-days per week, 365 days per year service, operating between 08:00 - 20:00 so candidates must be prepared to work shifts in these times.

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

• Undertake comprehensive therapy assessments of patients including those with a complex presentation, using investigative, analytical and clinical reasoning skills, and inform the development of a differential diagnosis. 2.    Formulate and execute individualised physiotherapy management and treatment plans of patients including those with complex presentation, in collaboration with the Urgent Community Response Team, other agencies and the patient, utilising a range of treatment skills. 3.    Be aware of Assistive Technology and make referrals for this as required. 4.    Assess patients’ holistic needs, communicating complex and sensitive information to patients and carers as to their assessment, diagnosis, prognosis and treatment plan. 5.    Where there are barriers to understanding, such as hearing impairment, mental capacity impairment and other difficulties in comprehension, explanations require adjustments in order to gain understanding, consent and concordance. 6.    Establish and maintain therapeutic relationships with patients and carers, incorporating motivation, encouragement and confidence building to enable patients to engage in their treatment/care/management plan. 7.    Liaise with GPs, Social Services, inpatient teams, other allied health care professionals and the voluntary sector to ensure identified needs are met and care co-ordinated appropriately. 8.    Participate in multi-disciplinary/multi-agency meetings as appropriate, e.g. Gold Standard Framework. 9.    Ensure activity data and clinical information is recorded on SystmOne and is completed on a daily basis. 10.    Plan and organise specialist services within the Urgent Community Response Team. 11.    Demonstrate dexterity, co-ordination and palpatory senses for assessment, and manual treatment of patients, including using specialist equipment and fine tools, manual and mobilising skills. 12.    Order equipment and contribute to the requisitioning of supplies and equipment through electronic ordering systems. 13.    Ensure informed consent is obtained prior to initiating interventions. 14.    Be exposed to bodily fluids, infected material, blood products on a daily basis, therefore must utilise universal precautions and adhere to infection control policies.