Clinical Lead Occupational Therapist

Band 7
Job summary
Job overview
It's an exciting time for our Urgent Community Response (UCR) Service as we continue to build on our successful model. UCR services work with patients in their homes across Brighton & Hove and East Sussex communities to avoid hospital admissions and support those being discharged home.
Our multidisciplinary teams work flexibly to provide a 7-day service, 365 days a year, between 8am and 8pm. They deliver:

• A rapid response to people in the community who are experiencing acute episodes of ill-health.
• A supported discharge service to facilitate timely hospital discharges.
• Acute reablement for up to 10 days, supporting people to achieve functional goals and work towards independence with activities of daily living.

We are looking for a Clinical Lead Occupational Therapist to join us! So, if you're an ambitious, proactive, and experienced Occupational Therapist looking to take a lead role in a team that provides cutting-edge, excellent acute community care, we'd love to hear from you!
Main duties of the job
In this role, you willprovide clinical and professional leadership, ensuring effective governance and clinical support for staff working within the service.
Working with the operational leads you will ensure the clinical effectiveness of the service and the delivery of an excellent patient experience.You will develop key partnerships, working to ensure effective system working through effective communication and networking with other disciplines and by working across professional and service boundaries.
You will be part of the development of the service through reflective practice, clinical supervision, and quality improvement initiatives. Central to this is supporting the principles of interdisciplinary working and cross skilling for all staff supporting each other and learning together.
You will use yourspecialist clinical assessment and intervention skills for complex patients and provide clinical advice and support to colleagues to enable individual and team development. You will be responsible for staff management, supervision, and development, including shift coordination, allocation of visits, and the performance development reviews of members of the team.
Your experience of working across a variety of clinical settings and working autonomously will help you excel in this role. We will support you to develop specialist areas of practice and your leadership skills through internal and external programmes.
About us
We are the main provider of NHS community services across East and West Sussex. Our 6,000 staff serve a population of 1.3 million providing essential medical, nursing, and therapeutic care to adults and children.
Our Trust vision is to provide excellent care at the heart of the community, helping people plan, manage, adapt to changes in their health, supporting avoidable hospital admissions and reducing hospital stay times.
We have opportunities for everyone across our wide variety of services including medical, clinical, support and corporate services.
Why work for us?

• Positive 2022 NHS Staff Survey results, scoring highly in compassionate culture & leadership, and staff wellbeing support
• Variety of working environments across the community, in patients' homes, within our community hospitals and bases across the county
• Supportive flexible working patterns such as: part time, flexi time, annualised hours, and flexi retirement options
• Excellent training and development opportunities
• Research opportunities
• Cost-effective workplace nurseries in Crawley, Hove and Brighton
• Thriving BAME, Disability and Wellbeing, LGBT+ and Religion and Belief staff networks
• Level 3 accredited Disability Confident Leader, committed to creating inclusive workplaces
• Veteran Aware Trust, achieving accreditation from Veterans Covenant Healthcare Alliance (VCHA)
• Located in stunning Sussex, with easy access to the South Downs and the coast
• Access to a wide range of benefits and discounts for NHS staff

Job description
Job responsibilities
Job title:
Clinical Lead (Therapist)
Grade:
Band 7
Directorate:
Operations
Division:
Adult Services
Service:
Community Therapy Team or Urgent Community Response

Job summary

The post holder will be required to provide Clinical and Professional Leadership, ensuring effective governance for staff working in allocated area or service. They will work with the Area Head of AHPs and Professional Leads to ensure staff are clinically competent, services are clinically effective and safe, and an excellent patient experience is delivered. There will be an expectation to embed the principles of interdisciplinary working and cross skilling for all staff, including implementing the competency frameworks. The post holder will be expected to provide specialist clinical advice regarding complex patients as well as providing specialist clinical assessment and intervention for highly complex patients as required. They will work with the Area Head of AHPs and Professional Leads in supporting an audit plan in the appropriate clinical area and participate in research as appropriate, to inform future service development. As an active part of the team, the post holder is expected to develop key partnerships, working to ensure effective whole system working, through effective communication and networking with other disciplines and by working across professional boundaries. They will ensure services continue to develop in line with Trust Strategy and act as deputy to the line manager.

Communication and working relationships

To communicate complex/sensitive information to service users where there might be barriers to understanding
To lead brave conversations around sensitive aspects of care planning
To work collaboratively with relevant SCFT service managers, AHP Professional Leadership Team and clinicians as well as leads within other organisations to ensure delivery of effective Clinical Leadership across sites and services.
To ensure effective lines of accountability are in place for all bands of clinical staff.
To lead relevant clinical handover meetings.
To take a lead on communication within the service through team meetings, in order to update staff on relevant clinical changes/developments, including clinically related policies and procedures, and to ensure effective governance structure are in place.
To work with SCFT AHP Professional Leadership Team as specified above and to ensure effective and efficient service delivery within the defined clinical area.
To represent the teams at wider SMTs, leadership exchange events, transformation meetings and any other appropriate.

Key responsibilities

To retain own clinical competency to carry out assessment, treatment, rehab interventions and to contribute to timely discharge where appropriate, particularly for highly complex patients.
To use advanced knowledge, skills and expertise to facilitate and drive future service development.
To work with AHP Professional Leadership Team to ensure delivery of evidence based clinical practice.
To facilitate the delivery of a robust clinical supervision structure in line with Trust policy.
To ensure all staff work to appropriate competency frameworks and manage performance of individuals through the appraisal and supervision process.
To work collaboratively with other leads to facilitate effective operational management of allocated services.
To ensure that the service functions within the financial constraints through collaborative working with the budget holders, and to contribute to the annual business planning process.
To ensure effective delegation as per Trust guidelines and to support the implementation of the Calderdale framework and skill sharing initiatives.
To manage own caseload of complex cases within defined clinical area.

Main task

To provide high level clinical expertise and decision making regarding patient care
To support Band 6 clinicians with complex case management, caseload management, prioritisation skills and delegation skills.
To work alongside other leads to manage the support staff workloads, integrating skill sharing initiatives.
To encourage undergraduate student placements within the relevant areas of work and support the band 6 staff supervising the students.
To provide performance information to service managers to support the delivery of KPIs, management of demand and capacity and to inform future workforce, skill mix requirements and service development.
To report incidents, manage incidents and complaints to reduce risk. To share the learning from incidents and risk with the team and wider organisation as appropriate.
To ensure all staff attend statutory and mandatory training
To organise and deliver in service training to clinical staff and to the wider MDT as appropriate.
To be responsible for ensuring effective induction for all staff within the area of responsibility and relevant students.
To lead the recruitment of clinical staff.
To act as an authorised signatory for time sheets, travel and payments within a specified amount.
To raise any significant budgetary issues with the budget holder (eg requirement to use agency staff), and to contribute to the annual business planning process.
Person Specification
Qualifications and/or professional registration
Essential

• Currently registered with the Health and Care Professions Council
• Post registration qualification or training to Masters level or equivalent, or be willing to undertake

Desirable

• Advanced Physical assessment course or Masters level module
• Mentoring course or equivalent or Qualified Practice Assessor
• Recognised Leadership Qualification

Experience
Essential

• Experience with clinical case management
• Experience working within a multi-disciplinary team
• Evidence of a consistent pattern of learning from education and training
• Experience working across the boundaries of primary, community and secondary care

Desirable

• Evidence of Clinical Leadership within a service
• Experience of leading service development and change
• Experience of participation in research

Skills and Knowledge
Essential

• Up to date knowledge and skills within clinical area
• Up to date knowledge of health and social care policy
• Up to date knowledge of Professional code of Conduct
• Up to date knowledge of clinical governance, risk management and clinical audit
• Able to use advanced reasoning and assessment skills in a wide range of approaches to treatments and management of conditions
• Able to analyse complex situations and problem solve as necessary
• Able to direct and co-ordinate programmes of care working autonomously and collaboratively
• Able to advocate for patients to improve their outcomesAble to mentor, supervise and develop other professionals
• Able to communicate effectively where barriers or obstacles exist and able to deploy strategies to overcome these
• Able to work in a fast-paced and dynamic health service
• Able to use recognised IT packages e.g. Microsoft Office including Excel
• Able to identify the training needs of self and others and to provide relevant and appropriate learning
• Knowledge of team dynamics and strategies to develop high performing teams
• Able to work in partnership and collaboration with other professionals in other services and challenge and negotiate with them as needed
• Able to meet conflicting deadlines, prioritise effectively and manage own and others workload
• Able to manage, diffuse and resolve conflict
• Able to teach patients and carers to participate and manage their own care as appropriate
• Able to monitor, maintain and improve standards of care
• Able to demonstrate a high level of understanding of self and able to identify their own personal limitations and an openness to addressing them

Other requirements
Essential

• Flexible approach to working
• Car driver (Valid Driving License for use in the UK)
• Access to a vehicle for work purposes
• An understanding of the principles of equal opportunities in relation to staff and patients
• Willingness to undertake training to develop within the role

Disclosure and Barring Service Check
This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (Exceptions Order) 1975 and as such it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service (formerly known as CRB) to check for any previous criminal convictions.
Certificate of Sponsorship
Applications from job seekers who require current Skilled worker sponsorship to work in the UK are welcome and will be considered alongside all other applications. For further information visit the UK Visas and Immigration website (Opens in a new tab).
From 6 April 2017, skilled worker applicants, applying for entry clearance into the UK, have had to present a criminal record certificate from each country they have resided continuously or cumulatively for 12 months or more in the past 10 years. Adult dependants (over 18 years old) are also subject to this requirement. Guidance can be found here Criminal records checks for overseas applicants (Opens in a new tab).
UK Registration
Applicants must have current UK professional registration. For further information please see NHS Careers website (opens in a new window).
Employer details
Employer name
Sussex Community NHS Foundation Trust
Address
Sackville House
Brooks Close
Lewes
BN7 2FZ
Employer's website
https://www.sussexcommunity.nhs.uk/work-with-us/ (Opens in a new tab)