Occupational Therapist / Senior Occupational Therapist

List of core/duties/responsibilities undertaken on a regular basis: Communication & relationship skills Utilise highly developed communication skills to conduct functional assessments of service users. Communicate complex information related to an individuals mental health needs, outcomes and recommendations from assessments to service user, carer, relatives and other professionals. Effectively communicate complex and/or sensitive information where there are barriers to understanding. This includes communication concerning adult protection, abuse, cognitive impairment and other risks surrounding a clients mental health. Barriers to understanding include: working with clients who could be hostile or highly emotional and who have complex needs and may be vulnerable. Maintain and develop effective communications and working relationships within the team and with external agencies, contributing to decisions with regard to service user care programmes by reporting back on the outcome of OT assessments and interventions. Instigate, develop and maintain a relationship with the service user and/or carer to facilitate the accurate assessment and delivery of care. Manage highly confidential information in respect of members of the public in accordance with local and national policy. Act as the lead professional where the main intervention is Occupational Therapy. Promote the OT role through regular participation in meetings, presentations and feedback of OT clinical activities. Knowledge, training and experience The post-holder will hold current registration with the Health and Care Professions Council as an Occupational Therapist. Have specialist knowledge and training, gained through formal and post registration experience and/or training, relating to older people and mental health and apply this knowledge when delivering care to service users. Have skills and experience in developing and facilitating training to staff and students. Provide advice, training and support to other agencies around issues relating to mental health. Maintain and develop a Continuing Professional Development portfolio to demonstrate ongoing learning and professional competence. Participate and contribute to local OT forums and networks. Analytical & judgement skills Make decisions about the range of options for OT interventions and care plans based on clinical judgement of a service users need. Conduct comprehensive OT assessments of both service users and carers in line with team operational policies. Analyse service users occupational performance areas and adapt interventions as required in order to maximise and maintain service users skills and function. Formulate detailed assessments to inform the decision making regarding service users ongoing needs. Planning & organisational skills Plan and coordinate OT care plans for both individuals and groups according to their identified occupational needs. Coordinate transfer or referral of clients to other teams or services where required. Prioritise, plan and coordinate own workload and activities in line with the changing needs of the team and service. This includes planning and monitoring service user occupational needs and presentation, conducting assessments, ensuring patient records are up to date and supporting colleagues on a daily basis. Participate in caseload management audits and ensure relevant information is available for this to take place. Physical skills To undertake training in RESPECT techniques and undertake regular updates. Responsibilities for patient/client care Undertake OT assessments with service users using standardised and non-standardised OT assessment tools, to identify and address occupational performance and skill deficits. Assess and review service users clinical risk management plan using the service's current risk assessment and OT risk assessment tools. Collaborate with service users/carers to identify OT goals as part of the overall care plan. Plan and implement individual and/or group interventions, in collaboration with the service user, using graded activity and person centred principles to achieve therapeutic goals. Identify the needs of carers and refer for a carers assessments when appropriate and work collaboratively with other professionals/agencies to develop support and educational activities for carers. Participate in clinical governance activities. Responsibilities for policy & service development implementation. Adhere to all trust policies and legislation relating to the role. Contribute to the evaluation and development of the service by participating in the planning, evaluation and audit of practice, clinical pathways and protocols within your area. Comment on policies, procedures and developments where required. Propose improvements and changes to own work area and critically explore new ways of working where required. Comply with the RCOT Code of Ethics and Professional Conduct. Responsibilities for financial and physical resources Use equipment and resources in a careful and responsible manner. Respect the resources within the restraints of the team budget. Responsibilities for human resources To participate in regular clinical supervision with the Senior Occupational Therapist. Provide clinical supervision and training for other colleagues Act as a mentor for students and assist other members of the team in supervising and teaching their students. Assist in induction of new staff. Participate in PDR, identify own developmental needs and maintain professional portfolio. In addition, participate in PDR with junior colleagues where required. Responsibilities for information resources Accurately document episodes and information relating to care in electronic patient notes, using agreed methods of documentation. This will be done in accordance with trust policies, professional guidelines and data protection legislation. Record personally generated information as required by the team or service, as directed by the Service Manager. Provide oral/written clinical reports as required. Manage highly confidential information in respect of members of the public in accordance with local and national policy. Ensure that the requirements of the Data Protection Act 1998 are met. Responsibilities for research and development Participate in surveys or audits or research in relation to own work, as required by the team or service. Be aware of up to date relevant published research, benchmarking and innovative practice in other areas and ensure own practice is evidence based. Freedom to act Deliver care for service users and carers, working within professional codes of practice, organisational policies, local protocols and national legislation. Have the ability to work independently, with peer support and supervision where required, to deliver care for service users/carers and resolve complex professional problems. Physical effort Work in office based environment and in addition, various community, inpatient and residential settings appropriate to service users needs. Regularly drive to visit clients in their own homes or in a community setting (provision to make reasonable adjustments under the Disability Discrimination Act applies). Mental effort Concentration is frequently required in order to carry out service user assessments and write up patient episodes in notes on the majority of working days. Work is carried out in an unpredictable environment. This includes, for example, working with service users who display unpredictable behaviour, responding to immediate risks to service users and others, and to deal changes and queries from service users carers and other professionals and agencies. Emotional effort Work directly with difficult family situations and circumstances. For example, communication with service users, families and other agencies around receiving a diagnosis of dementia, adult protection, suicide and overdose, and other mental health issues. Work with service users who display challenging and potentially verbally and/or physically aggressive behaviour. Working conditions There may be some exposure to unpleasant working conditions. Other duties Actively promote service users and carers involvement in all aspects of care planning/delivery, in line with local guidance, whilst respecting the rights, capabilities and wishes of the person concerned. Facilitate empowerment and choice and promote equality for service users. Report actual or potential problems that may put health, safety and security at risk. Report all adverse incidents as per the Trust incident reporting policy. Report all incidents of bullying or harassment, as per the Trust personal harassment policy. To undertake any other tasks or duties associated with the post, appropriate to the level of responsibility, and as directed by line manager.