Occupational Therapy Assistant

At Gloucestershire Health and Care NHS Foundation Trust (GHC), we provide joined-up mental health, physical health and learning disability services to people of all ages across Gloucestershire. We run community hospitals and provide care and support in people's own homes and in a range of other locations across the county.
We are on a mission to enable people to live the best life they can and we have a vision to work together to provide outstanding care. We put people at the heart of our services, focusing on personalised care by asking 'what matters to you'.
We're passionate about making sure that everyone can contribute to achieving our mission and we are continually working to support healthy and happy high-quality teams in all areas of the Trust.
Our application process aims to understand each candidates knowledge, skills and experience. We have found that candidates that use AI to generate their answers can lack specificity and fail to address key criteria outlined in the job description.
It is really important to personalise your application to convey your individual skills, knowledge, and experiences effectively and for us to understand why you are applying for this role with GHC. We discourage over reliance on AI-generated as it will lessen your chances of success in securing an interview with us ., We are recruiting an Occupational Therapy Assistant that will work as part of the community occupational therapy team within an Integrated Community Team (ICT). Their work will be underpinned by the principles and philosophy of occupational therapy. They will hold their own autonomous caseload triaged and delegated by an occupational therapist. They will be responsible for the assessment, implementation and evaluation of patient treatment programmes within assessed competencies.
The occupational therapists and occupational therapy assistants in the ICTs work with adults with physical disabilities, cognitive impairment, mental health issues and complex social and community needs, experiencing occupational performance difficulties within and around their home environment.
Interventions will be varied because they are 'person centred', tailored to the specific needs of the individual, their families and or carers. The main aim is for the occupational therapy assistant to enable a person to engage within their home environment, and wider social and cultural environments to support their meaningful occupations so increasing their well-being and independence whilst self-manging risk. This includes providing advice, practicing different ways of doing things, signposting to relevant services, the provision of equipment and referring on for minor or major adaptations., + To assess, devise, implement and evaluate therapeutic treatment programmes collaboratively with the person, their families and or carers, within the framework established by the occupational therapist
+ To be able to understand and apply knowledge of a range of conditions, appreciating the impacts these have on a person's occupational functional ability
+ To utilise a health coaching approach to work with individuals in developing collaborative goals and action (care) plans
+ To exchange information with patients, their families and or carers that may require tact, reassurance or persuasion. To provide receive sensitive or complex information and relay appropriately
+ To be able to work with people to facilitate learning of skills or gaining of independence.
+ To plan and provide therapy interventions, acting within competencies and modifying treatment programmes as appropriate
+ To understand and use relevant outcome measures
The qualification, training & experience requirements for the role are underlined in the Job Description/Person Specification., For more information please see the attached 'Additional Information for Applicants' document.
Salary Update
With effect from 1 April 2024, there is a 5.5 per cent consolidated uplift for all Agenda for Change (AfC) staff on NHS terms and conditions. This may change the salary that is advertised on this advert.
The national NHS Employers team are working through the processes required to implement the recently announced new Agenda for Change pay award for 1st April 2024 to 31st March 2025. The related national Pay Advisory Notice (which confirms the details including dates) is yet to be issued to employers.
If there is any further information, we will ensure you are updated accordingly.

We have in excess of 5000 staff working over 50 sites, providing a diverse range of services. We strive to support an organisational culture that is welcoming, builds and celebrates inclusivity and diversity and provides a sense of belonging and trust.
The annual NHS Staff Survey gives our people the opportunity to tell us about their experience working at the Trust. For the 2023 survey just over 2800 colleagues gave us their views (58.5%). It was great to see from the results that colleagues are saying that:
+ 89.7% believe they are making a positive difference to patients/service users;
+ 73.3% would recommend the organisation as a place to work;
+ 82.4% agree that care of patients and service users is the organisations priority;
+ 76.7% would be happy with the standard of care for a friend or relative
Our results put us as 5th nationally as a Community, Mental Health and Learning Disabilities NHS Employer of Choice and 1st equal amongst all NHS Provider Trusts in the South West. However, we know we have more to do and will continue to drive forward our commitment to making GHC a Great Place to Work.

Previous unsuccessful applicants within the last six months will not be short-listed.
When joining us, as well as becoming part of a team that makes a difference, we also offer:
+ Free car parking at many of our sites
+ 27 days leave plus bank holidays, increasing up to 33 days with long service
+ A broad range of training and development opportunities, including apprenticeships up to Level 7 qualification.
+ A multi-professional preceptorship programme for all Newly Qualified; Nurses, Nursing Associates, Internationally Educated Practitioners, Allied Health Professionals and Return to Practice Practitioners.
+ Generous NHS pension and enhanced pay when if you work unsocial hours
+ Flexible, family friendly and agile working opportunities
+ Recognition and long service awards
+ Fast Track physiotherapy
+ Our Wellbeing line
+ Access to discounts and salary sacrifice schemes; including Cycle to Work, Car scheme and discounts on travel, leisure and retailers.