Job Description

An experienced occupational therapist is required to cover a secondment until September 2026 at Audrey House, the female enhanced care unit at Kingsway Hospital, Derby. This position offers an excellent opportunity to gain experience in delivering occupational therapy (OT) in a challenging inpatient setting, where full support to develop will be provided. At Audrey House, you would be a crucial part of a very active multi-disciplinary team where trauma informed care and sensory modalities are at the heart of service delivery, and the emphasis is on practical OT to return to function.



You must obtain prior approval from your current line manager before submitting a secondment application.



To lead and deliver the OT service to Audrey House, the female enhanced care unit at Kingsway Hospital Derby, including providing assessment and interventions to eight patients who require more enhanced care.



To supervise the Occupational Therapy Assistant and Recreation Worker in their delivery of the OT based service.



To work within the MDT offering an occupational/functional perspective to patient care and recovery.



The OT role primarily uses the Model of Creative Ability, and full training and support will be provided.



Audrey House is a newly established specialist service for women with enhanced mental health care needs in DHCFT. It has a strong multi -disciplinary ethos and approach, embodying trauma informed care and sensory modalities at its heart, in addition to drawing on more traditional medical models. Occupational therapy is at the heart of services, believing in enabling women to return to their optimum level of functioning, no matter how unwell they are. To this end it draws on the Model of Creative Ability as a model of OT delivery, which is particularly appropriate for those who are more severely unwell. Full training and support is offered to those who want to extend their skills and experience during this secondment.

Managerially r esponsible to:

Ward Manager

Professionally a ccountable to:

OT Clinical Lead for Audrey House



As a registered practitioner you are personally accountable for your professional practice and have a legal / professional responsibility t o patients , colleagues, employers, and self , according to the Professional Code of C onduct and S tand ards for Occupational Therapy Practice. As s enior o ccupational t herapist , you will support the ward manager and OT clinical lead in providing strong clinical leadership, ensuring that wherever possible evidence-based practice is delivered to improve the quality of practice and to create responsive services. The post holder will present a professional image of o ccupational t herapy to pr omote a positive image for the T r ust to patients , carers, and the community .



As a member of team, the post holder will be expected to adopt the policies and philosophy of the service , in cluding trauma-based care and the recovery model. They will provide occupational assessment and treatment inc luding a range of standardised assessments and appropriate practically orientated interventions , commonly i nc orporating sensory modulation strategies . As the patients at Audrey House will have enhanced care needs of different type s , including severe mental health needs, physical health needs, trauma-based needs , neuro-diversity needs and sensory needs , the occupational therapist will draw on a range of occupationally based assessments and interventions as appropriate.



The post holder will be proactive in initiating and sustaining a respectful, consistent, and reliable therapeutic relations hip with patients that enhances their ability to build social networks and work in partnership with other agencies.



As lead er of the o ccupational t herapy provision at Audrey House, the role includes supervising , supporting and working alongside j unior members of the o ccupational t herap y and recreation team .



Clinical Professional Issues



The post holder will provide a professional role model for the delivery of high-quality o ccupational t herapy, working as a member of the multi-disciplinary team .



Have a high clinical profile that includes the provision of individual treatment, as well as having a global overview of therapeutic interventions and clinical activities at the ECU, alongside other members of the team, including psychology, physiotherapy and nursing.



Act as a resource for the service, advising staff regarding o ccupational t herapy approaches in the treatment of people with acute mental health problems and other needs, focu sing primarily on i nterventions to addres s f unctional n eeds .



Actively engage in the promotion and implementation of sensory modulation strategies throughout the environment and culture of Audrey House, including the devising of individualised sensory modul a tion -b ased care plans as needed.



Ensure evidence-based practice and research awareness is used as the foundation for the assessment, planning, implementation, and evaluation of occupational therapy.



Actively manage own workload, effectively and efficiently prioritising competing demands .



Work within a blanket referral system, assessing and treating all patients who are admitted to Audrey House, in consultation with the multi-disciplinary team.



Conduct rigorous occupational and risk analyses ensuring that appropriate evidence based clinical risk assessments are undertaken.



Assess the n eeds of patients in complex situations using professional knowledge, judgements and skills to account for decisions made .



Ensure all patients have their occupational therapy needs included within the ir up-to-date care plan.



Provide individual and / or group interventions as needed, recognising that individual therapy may be more common in this context. Be able to apply a range of Models of OT, with the main emphasis being on the Model of Creative Ability, in combination with the Model of Human Occupation.



Ensure that occupational needs of patients are regularly reviewed and report any changes in occupational functioning that may indicate either positive or negative effects of treatment.



Implement an effective communication system for the co-ordination of care and ensure Trust professional guidelines for record-keeping are maintained .



Ensure that assessment and treatment is person centred ensuring the gender, sexual orientation, ethnic, cultural and spiritual n eeds of patients are adhered to.



Prom ote patient a nd carer involvement, ensuring that autonomy and choice are embedded into the philosophy of the Team.



Use effective interpersonal skills that relate t o patients , c arers and team members on an equal and respectful basis.



Ensure the Trust Policy for Clinical Supervision is implemented



In collaboration with the Ward manager and/or the Clinical Lead OT as appropriate , e nsure good practice is maintained by taking a lead in challenging practice that requires change or development or that does not meet required standards.



The post holder will be aware of and work within all legislative requirements relevant to occupational therapy (Mental Health Act, Code of Practice, Human Rights Act, Disability Discrimination Act etc ), and ensure that Child and Adult protection procedures are followed.



Leadership



Actively support the development of the Trust's o ccupational t herapy role guidelines.



Demonstrate an understanding of leadership theory and how strategies can be adapted according to need.



Demonstrate an understanding of management processes and theory and actively participate in processes of change.



Demonstrate an understanding of how to empower ward team members to participate in implementing change.



Nurture a culture of respect for others, and an environment that values and is pro-actively respectful of ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, culture and individuality for patients a nd staff.



Ensure Tr ust policies, procedures, and legislative directives are adhered to e.g. Equal Opportunities, Human Rights Act, Disability Discrimination Act, Race Relations, and Sex Discrimination etc.



Ensure that awareness of clinic al and resource management information is used analytically to inform decisions that meet patient , team and organisational objectives .



Re ceive management supervision from the Ward Manager and clinical/professional supervision from the Clinical Lead OT for Audrey House



Clinical Governance / Quality Assurance



Take a lead on developing and delivering the clinical governance agenda / plan in consultation with the W ard M anager and Clinical Lead OT .



Facilitate the development of evidence-based standards of treatment that include patients , carers and team members.



Identify and participate in developing clinical audit and research activity, taking the lead as necessary.



Participate in incident investigation and reporting, promoting a 'learning the lessons culture '.



Education and Development



Demonstrate the ability to monitor personal practice ensuring that Health Professions Council registration is maintained .



Ensure personal professional development promotes good practice, prevents poor practice, and intervenes in unacceptable practice.



Promote a culture of Lifel ong Learning, participating as required in the development, education and training of occupational therapy colleagues and students .



Actively participate in clinical practice development through mentoring and coaching, in particular facilitating student education and fieldwork placements .



Receive and where necessary co-ordinate Staff Development, Annual appraisals and Personal Development Plans.



Function within the parameters of their professional role, extending and expanding these where appropriate to meet the service users' needs and ensure that junior team members do likewise .



Speciality Specific Requirements



1. Working wi th patients within the limitations of the unit environ ment and being aware of potential hazards.



2. Working with patients who experience high levels of distress and adopting appropriate support strategies to cope with challenging and demanding behaviours .



3. Taking responsibility for utilis ing local support systems as necessary e.g. manual handling, management of violence and aggression, lone worker policy etc.



Data Security and Protection



The Derbyshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust requires its staff to co mply with data security and protection related standards and policies at all times when dealing with confidential information, which includes any information relating to t he business of the Trust and it s patients and employees.



All NHS employees are bound by a duty of confidentiality and must conduct their duties in line with the NHS Confidentiality Code of Practice, Data Protection Act , Freedom of information Act, Human Rights Act and common law confidentiality.



Any breach of confidentiality or computer misuse could lead to disciplinary action, and in serious cases could result in dismissal. Breaches after the post-holder's employment has ended could result in the Trust taking legal action.