Job Description

Surrey Downs Health & Care



As an Occupational Therapist at Surrey Downs Health & Care, you will deliver comprehensive and coordinated specialist occupational therapy services within community settings. Your primary focus will be to maintain or improve individuals' health, independence, and quality of life. Working as an integral part of a multidisciplinary/multi-agency team, you will apply specialist knowledge and skills to address a diverse range of complex health conditions.



To provide a comprehensive and co-ordinated range of specialist occupational therapy therapeutic and preventative services in community settings, which maintain or improve people's health, independence and quality of life.



Applying specialist knowledge and skills across the total range of complex health conditions, procedures and practices gained through practical experience, underpinned by theoretical knowledge.



Care group includes frailty, complex co-morbidities, discharge to assess and admission avoidance.



To assess and implement specialist treatment programmes as an autonomous practitioner, maintaining associated clinical records.



To work unsupervised reporting back to the clinical lead on a regular basis and to work as part of the wider MDT.



To participate in the day-to-day management of the service provision undertaking tasks as delegated by leadership, supporting new graduates and less experienced therapists, and non-registered staff members on a daily basis.



To provide formal supervision to nominated staff members and students.



Surrey Downs Health and Care deliver care closer to people's own communities through our Primary Care Networks, Community Hospitals, Specialist Services and our innovative partnership of local NHS organisations.



Surrey Downs Health and Care has a track record of providing person centered care that goes beyond organisational boundaries to do what is best for the individual. This partnership includes:



The three GP federations GP Health Partners, Dorking Health Care and Surrey Medical Network representing practices that operate in the Surrey Downs area



CSH Surrey



Epsom and St Helier's University Hospitals NHS Trust



Surrey Council County



Historically, there have been boundary lines between the organisations that provide care to people in their homes, in GP surgeries and in hospitals, but we have always been united in our mission to provide great care to the people who need us.



It's on those grounds that the Surrey Downs Health and Care was formed - we want local people to receive the care that they need in the right environment. By bringing together our expertise, we can improve patient care and enable local people to access the right support, care and treatment more easily than ever before.



In bringing this partnership together, we are working to the same set of values that will translate into better care for our residents.



Clinical



1. To carry and prioritise own patient caseload and other ongoing tasks, allocating appropriate work to technical instructors and students.



2. To carry out assessments and treatment in the most appropriate setting for the patient's needs, whether this in the patients home, Residential/Nursing Home, Surrey Downs area, appropriate community setting, or tertiary unit.



3. To perform specialist occupational therapy assessment of patients with diverse and complex presentations, using advanced clinical reasoning skills to analyse, interpret and make judgements on complex facts or situations.



4. To develop specialised programmes of care, treatment and advice to patients and their care givers, based on sound knowledge of evidence based practice and the range of treatment options and/or adaptive techniques and/or equipment provision, and/or care services.



5. To incorporate the appropriate standard assessment tools and outcome measures with patients, and apply additional relevant skills such as therapeutic handling, moving and handling risk assessment and hand related treatment strategies / equipment for housebound patients.



6. To communicate sensitively and reassuringly on complex conditions and functional risk/limitation. To gain consent to and co-operation in assessment and treatment, and in giving specialist advice to patients/carers regarding their options for ongoing care needs.



7. Being aware at all times of the sensitive nature of some recommendations, and the potential for patients/carers to have special communication needs resulting in barriers to understanding.



8. Attend multi-disciplinary meetings as the occupational therapist representative for individual patients, to inform complex discussions, gain a full range of information prior to planning person centred goals, analyse options for meeting goals and participate in the clinical decision making process and development of comprehensive MDT plans for discharge.



9. To evaluate patient progress, reassess and alter treatment programmes as required.



10. Work closely with the PCN MDT, patients/carers and wider service providers to ensure effective communication of information and co-ordination to achieve all agreed goals and safe appropriate discharge. Act as discharge key worker for individual patients.



11. To undertake pre-discharge home risk assessments where appropriate to inform discharge planning. Make arrangements to reduce risks and maximise potentials at home, including making referrals to statutory and non-statutory agencies for specialist support and services, as appropriate. Having gained patient consent to sharing information.



12. Liaison with the local Equipment provider for provision of daily living equipment and adaptations for patients homes where appropriate. To be aware of resource implications when considering options for prescription to meet patient's needs.



13. To manage clinical risk in relation to your own caseload, seeking guidance and help from senior therapist, as appropriate.



14. To maintain accurate, legible and complete clinical records of all patient related interventions, in line with the Information Governance Policy and Guidelines. To include the use of EMIS and Systm1 patient record systems.



15. To be professionally and legally accountable for all aspects of your own professional and clinical work. Ensuring that assessments and interventions are carried out in accordance with the ESTH/ Surrey Downs policies, College of Occupational Therapy standards and code of conduct, and have a good working knowledge of national and local standards to guide your practice. Monitor own and others quality of practice as appropriate. Seek guidance as necessary.



16. To deliver competency training for new members of staff, the wider team and support with the ongoing review of competencies within the wider team.



Please refer to the attached Job description and person specification for more details.