Paediatric Occupational Therapist | Cambridgeshire Community Services NHS Trust

The post holder works as part of the Community Paediatric Occupational Therapy Service. The post holder works autonomously with emphasis being placed on multi-disciplinary working and multi-agency collaboration under the supervision of more senior Occupational Therapist, they have specific responsibility for:-

Holding their own clinical caseload.

Clinical supervision and development of more junior staff

The post holder will carry out assessments and treatment and provide advice for children on their caseload in mainstream schools, special schools and other community settings.

They will attend multi-agency meetings and relevant discussions, including EHCP meetings and Tribunals if required. The post holder works with a more senior Occupational Therapist within designated special schools

"Please note that should we receive a high number of applications, we reserve the right to close the advert earlier than advertised."

Rated 'Outstanding' by the Care Quality Commission, we are proud to provide high quality innovative services across most of the east of England that enable people to receive care closer to home and live healthier lives.

There's one reason why our services are outstanding - and that's our amazing staff who, for the seventh year running, rated us incredibly highly in the national staff survey.

If you share our passion for innovative and high-quality care delivery, then please submit your application and join us on our exciting journey as a leading-edge specialist community provider. All are welcome to apply and our promise to you is a culture which prioritises staff engagement and development.
Main Duties and Responsibilities

Patient contact:

The post holder will participate in regular supervision from a Paediatric Occupational Therapist of a higher grade but will be expected to work autonomously to:

Provide evidence-based assessment, treatment and/or advice to children (aged 0 - school leaving age), referred to the Paediatric Occupational Therapy team in liaison with families and other professionals within a multi-agency framework. Children may present with life limiting, physical, multi-sensory disabilities and present with long term postural, functional and independence needs.

Appropriate involvement in Education Health Care Plan process.

Manage a varied paediatric occupational therapy caseload involving assessment, diagnosis, treatment and advice for patients referred to the Paediatric Occupational Therapy Service on a daily basis. This includes provision of treatment plans for conditions such as developmental coordination and cerebral palsy.

Work collaboratively with multi-disciplinary / agency teams to provide a co-ordinated and integrated approach to patient care, e.g. health, social services, education, voluntary sector and families.

To provide spontaneous and planned advice, teaching and instruction to relatives, carers and other professionals in order to promote understanding of the aims of Occupational Therapy and to ensure a consistent approach to the child's care.

To work with and provide information to members of the multi-disciplinary team regarding the child's functional ability in order to:-

- Reach a working diagnosis

- Enable subsequent management of relevant functional difficulties deliver a comprehensive and co-ordinated treatment programme to each child. This is based on their clinical need and may include, where appropriate participation in case conferences, school reviews and discharge planning.

Use clinical judgement/reasoning for the assessment and recommendation, of specialist equipment e.g. postural seating and toileting equipment, from budgets such as education. To review and monitor the specialist equipment to ensure it meets the child's changing needs. To report any issues affecting health and safety to the provider. This includes the training of children and staff in the safe use of the equipment.

Work with children and families to identify Occupational Therapy child centred SMART goals and to formulate and recommend the best course of intervention. These should address Occupational performance and skill deficits, enabling children to develop/improve in the areas of self-care, access to the National Curriculum, life skills, play and leisure activities.

To monitor, evaluate and modify individually tailored treatment (evidence based) in order to measure progress using outcome measures to ensure intervention is effective and complimentary to the child's development, lifestyle and educational programme.

To assess child/carer understanding of treatment plans, gain informed consent and have the capacity to work within a legal framework with children and their families/carers who lack capacity to consent to treatment.

To facilitate a child's return to school following discharge from Hospitals (local and Regional) following acute admissions and surgery in liaison with relevant services including Hospital staff, Special Needs Community Nurse, Physiotherapist, Education Staff and Speech and Language Therapists.

To contribute to the planned admissions to hospital in collaboration with other members of the multidisciplinary team to ensure the child's care plan meets their needs and optimises the outcome of their stay.

To follow Trust procedures for incident reporting, and safeguarding asking for support from appropriate other personnel, in order to report the incident

To provide assessment, treatment, and/or advice to children referred to the Paediatric Occupational Therapy team in liaison with families and other professionals within a multi-agency framework. Children may present with physical, learning, social/emotional and behavioural difficulties e.g. neuromuscular conditions, musculoskeletal conditions, developmental conditions, perceptual difficulties and genetic abnormalities, Muscular Dystrophy, Cerebral Palsy, Developmental Co-ordination Disorder, Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder or Autistic Spectrum Disorder.

To take attend and participate in, as appropriate:

o staff meetings
o peer review
o external courses
o in-service training

Will be expected to manage and prioritise own workload balancing other clinical, non-clinical and professional demands. Often working under pressure and to tight deadlines. Will use supervision with a more senior Paediatric Occupational Therapist as needed.

Work alone in different environments including patient's own homes, nurseries, and schools; following CCS Paediatric Occupational Therapy Lone Working Policy.

Refer on to other professionals / agencies as required.

Seek assistance from colleagues where further advice or support is sought with regard to patient care.

Decide on appropriate clinical and non-clinical tasks to be delegated e.g. to assistants, carers, admin staff, school staff.

Professionally and legally be responsible and accountable for all aspects of own work.
Project work
To contribute to on projects as required.
To participate in the Paediatric Occupational Therapy teams' clinical governance arrangements and quality agenda.
To adhere to and apply the Professional Standards for Occupational Therapy Practice, Conduct and Ethics (RCOT Version 2/2021).
To participate in the implementation of changes to the service which may have an impact on other services e.g. OT referral criteria, as appropriate.
To have an understanding of national guidelines and legislation relating to health and social care and their impact on local service provision.

HCPC registration

Knowledge of national strategies for children but want to learn more

Clinical experience and appetite for more training

Ability to consider various models and approaches in providing intervention

Excellent communication skills at all levels., Disability Confident
About Disability Confident
A Disability Confident employer will generally offer an interview to any applicant that declares they have a disability and meets the minimum criteria for the job as defined by the employer. It is important to note that in certain recruitment situations such as high-volume, seasonal and high-peak times, the employer may wish to limit the overall numbers of interviews offered to both disabled people and non-disabled people. For more details please go to Disability Confident.

Do you wonder what it's like to work for a Trust where the community is at the heart of everything we do?

Do you want to work in a multi-agency environment where your input is valued?

Do you have the experience to be pro-active in enhancing the service we provide?

Then maybe it's time to join us at CCS.

Ongoing development and further training

The chance to shape our service

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Opportunities to mentor colleagues

A range of benefits and services over and above normal NHS offer

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