Frailty Occupational Therapist Practitioner

Job overview

This is an exciting role for an experienced Occupational Therapist to work within the multidisciplinary frailty team.  The Frailty Team is responsible for providing Comprehensive Geriatric Assessments and advice to older people attending the acute hospital trust with a frailty syndrome (e.g., falls, reduced mobility, altered cognition, new incontinence, and polypharmacy). You will work collaboratively with, and be supported by, the Frailty team leads, Consultant Geriatricians, in-reach GPs and a team of multidisciplinary frailty practitioners that includes nurses, medics, and a pharmacist).

You will work within the Frailty Same Day Emergency Department and the main Emergency Department assessing older patients who have experienced a frailty crisis leading to hospital admission, and also within the hospital on the wards.

This post would suit an Occupational Therapist with experience of elderly care, emergency medicine and/or a rehabilitation background. The frailty service operates 7 days a week, currently 07:30-19:30. The post holder will be required to work within these operating hours, including sharing weekend and bank holiday cover with the other members of the team.

Main duties of the job

• To work closely with the Frailty team leads, the Frailty Practitioners, medics and Consultant Geriatricians to proactively identify and manage patients with frailty and support them in the development of supportive management plans.
• To undertake Comprehensive Geriatric Assessments for individuals presenting with a frailty crisis and their carers where needs are highly complex. This will involve planning, implementing, and evaluating the care delivery according to changing healthcare needs.
• To provide evidence-based holistic assessment and treatment planning for patients with frailty referred to the service, without direct supervision.
• To work in conjunction with a wide range of clinical colleagues, specifically primary care and community teams and Social Care professionals, to lead and facilitate a patient focused, co-ordinated case management approach across primary and secondary care for people who are most vulnerable to, and at high risk of repeat admissions to hospital.
• To provide expertise in their own discipline to the wider team and seek professional supervision from colleagues within their professional discipline.
• To complete onward referrals to specialist teams, assess for and order any necessary equipment as appropriate for the longer-term maintenance and prevention of further frailty crises.

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

Clinical

• To provide evidence-based holistic assessment and treatment planning for patients with frailty referred to the service, without direct supervision.
• Use assessment tools/skills that will ensure an appropriate level of recovery intervention so that patients who present with highly complex needs are timely referred to the appropriate clinicians/teams.
• Complete complex risk assessments, both as an independent clinician and drawing on the wider MDT as appropriate.
• Complex manual handling including urgent prescription of specialist equipment to manage immediate risks to patients during a crisis situation.
• Profession-specific assessments, generalist assessments and, where appropriate and within scope of extended practice, cross-profession assessments to maintain patient safety during acute medical / social crisis.
• Refer to appropriate clinical services to ensure patient safety is maintained.

Non-clinical

• Line-management of other members of the Frailty team, and be involved in management tasks, for example recruitment, retention and education.
• Promote and contribute to our open reflective learning culture by supporting and educating others within the multidisciplinary team, particularly those from different professional backgrounds.

For more information please see attached job description and person specification