Therapy Assistant

We have an exciting opportunity for Therapy Assistant to join our therapy team at Malvern Community Hospital. The post is part time working 30 hours per week. We are looking for a motivated and dynamic person who enjoys working with people and supporting patients to achieve their goals and return to the community. Malvern Community Hospital is a modern purpose-built unit with 24 inpatient beds. You will work as part of an integrated physiotherapy and occupational therapy team, supporting qualified therapists to assess, treat and rehabilitate a wide variety of patients with a strong focus in frail older people and complex care. You will need to have excellent communication skills, the ability to work as part of a team as well as independently and be willing to learn new skills. You will benefit from a robust supervision, appraisal and training model and work very closely with other assistants, newly qualified and very experienced senior therapists. We offer both on the job training as well as access to further education opportunities in related subjects or even apprenticeship to become a qualified therapist., The duties include:

• Gathering information of social history, pre-admission abilities, and compiling documentation from a range of sources.
• Assisting qualified therapists in assessments, using therapeutic techniques and principles of Occupational Therapy and Physiotherapy.
• Have awareness of medical conditions, medical treatments and physical conditions and their potential impact on patients and their engagement in rehabilitation.
• Monitor, assess and analyse patient progress within therapy interventions and effectively report back to qualified staff at regular intervals.
• Work alone in environments where assessment and management of risk may be required. Once trained complete visits to patients homes to set up equipment.
• Undertaking moving and handling tasks regularly supporting patients to safely mobilise/transfer after training.
• Demonstrate awareness of discharge planning process from point of admission and actively assists with this.
• Encourage patients to engage in planned interventions and take part in quality improvement projects as part of the therapy team and multidisciplinary team.
• Organising and maintaining ward stock of equipment, updating handover documents and referrals.
• Plan and prioritise own workload in accordance with departmental standards and in conjunction with the therapy team members
  
  Previous experience in a health or care setting is desirable but not essential and you will receive training for manual handling, equipment and computer systems used.
  
  At Herefordshire and Worcestershire Health and Care NHS Trust, we are working together to deliver outstanding care. We run community hospitals and community health services across Worcestershire and provide mental health and learning disability services across both Herefordshire and Worcestershire.
  
  Our people (all 4500+ of them) provide services for people of all ages, experiencing both physical and/or mental health conditions from over 100 sites.
We will support you to thrive; offer flexible working options for a great work-life balance, help you fulfil your ambitions, and empower you to make positive changes within your team or service. We value diversity and encourage applications from people of all backgrounds, cultures, and ethnicities. What we offer;
• 27 days leave plus bank holidays, increasing up to 33 days with long service
• Generous NHS pension and enhanced pay when you work unsocial hours
• Flexible and agile working opportunities
• Great maternity, paternity, and adoption support
• Wide range of supportive staff networks
• Health and wellbeing opportunities