Occupational Therapy Assistant - Sowenna

Job overview

We have a rare and exciting opportunity for two Occupational Therapy Assistants to join our in-patient team at Sowenna, working with young people with severe and enduring mental health presentations. This is a great time to be joining an expanding team and the post will provide the opportunity to contribute to the development of OT practices, working within a creative and innovative multi-disciplinary team.

The successful practitioners will be an integral part of the ward team, as well as key members of the wider MDT, supporting clinical staff and providing advice and guidance on the ward. We are looking for candidates preferably with experience of children’s mental health services, although this is not essential. The successful practitioners will be required to draw upon the developing evidence base to support assessment, formulation, intervention, and evaluation processes.

For further details, please contact Kirsty Pape, Senior Occupational Therapist, Tel: 01208 834234.

Main duties of the job

• To manage individuals and groups of patients who are engaged in social and recreational activities on and off the ward. This may include people who have physical disability and health needs, behaviors that challenge and learning disabilities as well as an acute episode of mental illness
• To contribute to the assessment of patients by reporting presentations, changes, performance and progress whilst engaged in individual and group activities.
• To complete occupational therapy interventions as directed from the ward based OT
• Delivering individual and group OT interventions.
• Supporting occupational assessments through observation and feedback.
• Maintaining therapeutic boundaries.
• Promoting independence, recovery and social inclusion.
• Facilitating ADL, life skills, vocational, leisure and sensory interventions.
• Working with patients presenting with distress, challenging behaviour or cognitive impairment.

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

To view a detailed job description and person specification including the main responsibilities of this role please see ‘supporting documents’.

Applicant requirements

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.