Occupational Therapist - Urgent Community Response

Job overview

Norwich Urgent Community Response (UCR) Therapy Team is recruiting.

Do you have excellent interpersonal and clinical skills? Are you flexible, approachable and a team player?

An exciting opportunity has arisen for enthusiastic and motivated individual to join our Norwich Place UCR Therapy Team. We are looking for experienced and reliable Occupational Therapist to join us in providing high quality therapy services. The role is to work in the UCR therapy team which covers Rapid Response triage, Admission Avoidance, and Discharge to Assess for Norwich Place, and will involve working across a 7-day week. Currently therapy shifts are 8am to 6pm with weekend working on a rota.

If you are successful in the shortlisting process, you will be invited to a face to face interview. We will not be able to accommodate virtual interviews.

Main duties of the job

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

• To work within the Urgent Community Response Team, to prevent unnecessary admission to hospital. To work within the Urgent Community Response Team to support discharges from hospital under identified D2A pathways.
• 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 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 act as the patients advocate, facilitating choice and patient empowerment.
• To provide evidence based clinical/therapeutic interventions based on ‘best practice’ in order to improve health outcomes and promote choice.
• To provide in-reach to inpatient units and step up beds where required to support early discharge from hospital.
• 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.

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

The post holder will: 1. 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 therapy 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 Systm One 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.

Applicant requirements

You must have appropriate UK professional registration.

This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (Exceptions) Order 1975 (Amendment) (England and Wales) Order 2020 and it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service.