Senior Occupational Therapist | East London NHS Foundation Trust

An exciting opportunity has arisen to play a leading role in a dynamic OT team in Newham in East London. You will be supported in this by another B7 OT and a B8a Clinical Lead and become part of a well established AHP community at ELFT. Staffing in the OT team includes B6 OT's x 4, B5 OT's x 2, an OT apprentice, trusted assessor technicians and trusted assessors. You will be responsible for supporting and developing more junior staff, for assessing complex patients and for ensuring patients are allocated promptly and to the most appropriate member of the team. You will attend the bi-monthly senior OT meeting, where improvements to the team functioning are discussed and agreed. Other regular meetings include complex patients meetings, senior therapy meetings and management meetings. Your personal and professional development are important to us and you will be supported to work towards your potential.

· To provide specialised client-centered occupational therapy interventions to clients (aged 16 or over) who are resident in the community and are referred primarily due to a physical disability. This includes clients who may present with complex physical, cognitive, psycho-social and housing needs as a result of a wide range of medical conditions.

· To be an influential member of the multi-disciplinary team, providing expert, integrated, clien- centred, goal- orientated rehabilitation for clients.

· To work as an autonomous practitioner in managing a defined caseload of complex cases, in a community setting. To evidence high levels of problem solving and clinical reasoning skills in line with evidence based/client- centred principles. To formulate a diagnosis and treatment plan designed to reduce the impact of disability from a comprehensive assessment of the client's needs.

· To take a lead role in the supervision, teaching and appraisal of junior occupational therapists, rehabilitation support workers, students and other members of the multi-disciplinary team.

· To work collaboratively with members of the multi-disciplinary team in the planning, development and evaluation of the Extended Primary Care Team, taking a lead for designated projects. To continually engage with and develop the provision of occupational therapy within community services.

Our mission is to make a positive difference to people's lives by improving the quality of life for all we serve. Our values are: We Care, We Respect, We are Inclusive - so we are looking for people who live and breathe these qualities when supporting service users and carers, and in their relationships with colleagues in the Trust and our partner organisations.

To independently manage a caseload of complex cases, providing specialist occupational therapy assessment and interventions to clients with complex physical, cognitive and psycho-social needs arising from their medical conditions. To provide this service in the most appropriate setting to the client, e.g. clients' homes, workplace and other community settings, working closely with the client, his/her family/carer and other professionals in doing this.

To be responsible for prioritising the occupational therapy referrals within the service to ensure that clients with urgent needs are seen within appropriate timescales.

To establish excellent therapeutic relationships with clients/family/carers to gain their participation in the therapeutic process by employing advanced interpersonal skills (e.g. communication, reasoning, negotiation skills, motivational tactics) and overcoming any barriers to communication (e.g. different languages, lack of understanding of the spoken word, visual or hearing impairments, fear, anxiety).

To be responsible for the day to day management and provision of occupational therapy assessments and intervnetions in the NW locality by reviewing the appropriateness of referrals, prioritising referrals and managing junior staff on a day to day basis.

To work with the General Manager and Clinical Lead Occupational Therapist, using specialist knowledge and skills, to develop and evaluate the Extended Primary Care Team, e.g. through the use of audit and outcome measures, taking a lead responsibility for designated tasks.

To use specialist knowledge and skills to actively influence policies, procedures and service developments within the Extended Primary Care Team by working with the General Manager and Clinical Lead Occupational Therapist to ensure that the service meets the needs of the clients and also meets national and local priorities, e.g. by identifying unmet need and service pressures, by identifying and applying evidence based practice

To maintain and develop own professional knowledge and skills in relation to occupational therapy in the field of physical disability and community rehabilitation. To be conversant with professional developments and current evidence base in this field, evidencing critical appraisal skills and a sound understanding of clinical governance

To develop and maintain an agreed area of specialist knowledge and skills in relation to occupational therapy in the field of physical disability, e.g. seating/posture and positioning and/or splinting, and to act as an expert resource to other occupational therapists and members of the multi-disciplinary team for this subject area.

To participate in staff and service development through attendance at meetings and in-service training sessions, including taking a lead responsibility for designated sessions.

To undertake management and leadership training as required to meet the needs of the post, e.g. appraisal, supervision skills, time management, audit.