Occupational Therapy Assistant

We are looking for a committed Band 3 Occupational Therapy support worker to work as part of the Acute Day Service Team based at Langley Green hospital, Crawley.

The Acute Day Service is designed to support individuals experiencing an acute episode of mental illness of mental illness and run a six-week rolling programme, offering a range of practical, creative and psycho-educational groups delivered in both virtual and face to face settings

You will be responsible for delivering both group and individual therapeutic interventions to patients experiencing acute mental health difficulties. You will use specific psychosocial, occupational, and practical interventions to promote a patient's recovery and wellbeing goals under the direction of an occupational therapist.

Relational support and understanding of a patient's experience is essential and you will be expected to work with a range of diverse needs in a non judgemental, personalised way., As a band 3 occupational therapy assistant, you will be expected to help support the occupational Therapy needs of the client group and deliver treatment programmes accordingly. The activities will involve both one to one work and groupwork, both within the hospital therapy environment and with individuals' accessing community resources., You will be working within a mental health setting and supporting individuals' patients and their families/friend/carers. Your communication and organisational skills will be highly valued as will your experience in health or social care. You must possess the skills to work in a team and on your own. It is important that you have good written and verbal communication skills for liaison with colleagues, service users and external agencies. You will be self-motivated, keen to learn, and have a good understanding of how to support individual's recovery to help aid discharge. There will be opportunities to develop your group facilitation skills working alongside the Occupational Therapist and MDT to develop evidence-based groups.

Skills and experience in planning and facilitating a range of groups is listed as desirable but essential for success in this environment.

We are a small dedicated team so the ability to work either autonomously or collaboratively and flexibly for the needs of the service is required.

You will need computer literacy for the administrative aspects of the role., You will receive good support and supervision. Training will be actively encouraged to develop your skills and knowledge appropriately for the requirements of the post. Applicants should have previous experience working with people who have mental health needs either in a paid or voluntary capacity and an NVQ, technical skill or equivalent.

We provide mental health and learning disability care for children, young people and adults across Sussex and for children and young people in Hampshire.

Working in Sussex:

• Travel easily between coast and countryside, with a blend of picturesque villages and seaside towns there's always new experiences to be enjoyed


• Embrace the city life with great access to visit Brighton and London


• With easy access to Gatwick and Heathrow and excellent railway links across the UK there is plenty of opportunity for adventure


We'd love you to join our organisation that is rated 'good' overall and 'outstanding' for caring by the Care Quality Commission. Our staff agree, with 82% of people in our recent staff survey telling us that they recognise that care for patients is our top priority.

Other key staff survey results include:

• 70% highlighting flexible working opportunities as a key point for satisfaction at work


• 79% reporting feeling able to make suggestions to improve the work within their team


• 77% identifying the opportunities to show initiative in their roles