Job summary
There is an exciting 12-month opportunity for a Band 6 Occupational Therapist, based at Felixstowe Community Hospital with the expectation of occasionally working at the other community hospital sites if required.

Felixstowe Hospital is one of four East Suffolk inpatient sites where we deliver rehabilitation and reablement services, the other sites are Bluebird Lodge, Avocet and Aldeburgh Community Hospital. We work in close partnership with Ipswich Hospital and local health care teams as part of the wider ESNEFT NHS Trust.

You will report to a Team Leader responsible for therapy across the sites and work as part of a close knit therapy team at Felixstowe consisting of an Occupational Therapist (this role), physiotherapist and a therapy assistant practitioner. This team optimises patient outcomes through a rehabilitative and reablement approach and promotes appropriate discharge to assess pathways for in-patients.

We are looking for a proactive Occupational Therapist with commitment and enthusiasm, who has a passion to work as part of a team to progress patient's rehabilitation goals and use a range of therapy interventions to facilitate timely and appropriate discharges. Felixstowe Community Hospital also has dedicated delirium beds to support patients with more complex cognitive needs, providing an excellent opportunity for Occupational Therapists to utilise their specialist cognitive assessment and rehabilitation skills.

Main duties of the job

• To be responsible alongside the multi-disciplinary team for daily caseload management of therapy interventions ensuring all patients receive timely, appropriate, effective treatment and discharge planning.
• In collaboration with the patient, planning and implementing single or a programme of interventions using treatment techniques to meet the patient's needs. These will be achieved using professional and theoretical knowledge, broad clinical knowledge, and clinical reasoning.
• To apply understanding of effects and impact of illness and disability on patient's abilities and provide advice and education regarding lifestyle changes / adaptations to their physical and social environment.
• To participate in own and others continuous professional development, appraisal processes and other developmental activities according to professional registration and trust policies.
• To supervise and assist in the development of junior clinicians, non-qualified staff, and students on placement.
• To undertake audit of both clinical practice and processes to increase efficiency and effectiveness.
• Contribute to quality improvement projects and initiatives aimed at improving service delivery and patient rehabilitation outcomes.

About us
We are ESNEFT and we provide hospital and community health services to almost one million people across east Suffolk and north Essex. Our dedicated staff deliver care from acute hospitals in Colchester and Ipswich, community hospitals, surgeries, community clinics and in patients' own homes.

We are one of the largest NHS organisations in England, employing more than 12,000 staff.

We pride ourselves on supporting our staff. We offer a wide range of training and development opportunities, as well as flexible working options.

Along with supporting you to achieve your career goals we offer a generous pension scheme, unsocial hours payments (where applicable), 27 days annual leave on commencement (pro rata) and access to a range of NHS discounts. Our Staff Health and Wellbeing programme offer a variety of services.

Our philosophy is that Time Matters to everyone. Across the Trust, we concentrate on improving the things we do and removing those which cause time delays for our staff and patients.

We are investing in our commitment to Time Matters with a partnership with leading electronic patient record (EPR) supplier Epic. This digital transformation will bring what's widely regarded as the world's best EPR system to ESNEFT, transforming life in hospital for staff and patients.

If you are passionate about patient care and want to develop your skills and knowledge, then we want to hear from you.

Details
Salary: £39,959 to £48,117 a year per annum
Band: Band 6
Pay scheme: Agenda for change
Contract: Fixed term, 12 months
Working pattern: Full-time
Location: Ipswich Hospital, Heath Road, Ipswich, IP4 5PD

Person Specification
Qualifications (Essential)

• BSc / MSc Occupational Therapy
• HCPC Registered Occupational Therapist
• Practice Educator Course

Qualifications (Desirable)

• Wheelchair assessor course

Experience (Essential)

• Experience of multi-disciplinary working
• Comprehensive range of complex caseload management
• Experience of facilitating discharges from the acute setting and/or managing a caseload of patients within the community setting
• Experience of moving and handling skills including hoisting
• Experience of supervision and professional/clinical development of staff
• Experience of working with therapy assistants/Health care assistants
• In-service training and reflective learning
• Evidence of continuing professional development
• Prioritisation of workload

Experience (Desirable)

• Participation in project Leadership
• Participation in audits
• Participation in service development

Knowledge (Essential)

• Knowledge of and application of OT assessments and interventions relevant to acute and community care
• Knowledge and application of OT models of practice
• Knowledge and adherence to infection control principles and guidelines
• Knowledge of Discharge to Assess Guidance and discharge pathways and approaches to discharge planning/therapy interventions
• Knowledge and application of relevant legislation and current best practice with in clinical/care settings (i.e. NICE guidelines)
• Knowledge and application of principles of clinical governance processes
• Health and Safety and risk awareness

Knowledge (Desirable)

• Knowledge of secondary prevention measure re: Clinical Frailty, falls prevention
• Knowledge of local community agencies, services and resources

Disclosure and Barring Service Check
This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (Exceptions Order) 1975 and as such it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service (formerly known as CRB) to check for any previous criminal convictions.

UK Registration
Applicants must have current UK professional registration. For further information please see NHS Careers website.

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