Job summary
The post holder will be an autonomous practitioner, providing specialist occupational therapy assessment and intervention to clients within the emergency department and acute assessment unit with a focus on frailty, early intervention and, where practical, prevention of hospital admission for those who do not require an acute inpatient stay. The post holder is responsible for managing a caseload of clients with complex needs, whilst contributing to safe, multidisciplinary team discharge planning to support patient flow in an acute setting.

In addition to their clinical responsibilities the post holder will lead the ongoing development of this service with assistance from the Frailty consultant lead, Frailty operational lead and inpatient occupational therapy operational lead, and in line with local and national clinical guidelines. They will also be responsible for planning and delivering high quality teaching to Occupational Therapists, students and other professionals, whilst maintaining their own professional and highly specialist knowledge base related to admission avoidance and frailty.

The post holder will work 37.5 hours per week as part of the seven-day service

Main duties of the job
KEY RESPONSIBILITIES/OUTCOMES
Clinical/Professional:

• Able to work as an autonomous practitioner who is professionally and legally accountable for all aspects of own clinical and professional work, including the management of patients in your care;
• In collaboration with the Advanced Nurse Practitioner Lead, to be responsible for the overall Occupational Therapy & Physiotherapy caseload by managing service capacity and demand, and ensuring service delivery is carried out in an efficient and timely manner based on priorities and pressures;
• Able to prioritise and plan own workload to manage conflicting and competing priorities, both clinically and non-clinically. To facilitate this skill in others;
• To manage a caseload of complex cases within the defined Admission Avoidance & Frailty clinical areas whilst supporting the clinical reasoning and practice of other occupational therapists, physiotherapists, technicians and assistants under your line management;

Continued on attached JD...

About us
Development and staff wellbeing

Your growth and personal happiness matter to us. After all, we can't expect the best from you if we don't invest in your development and nurture your wellbeing. From the moment you join us, we're committed to fostering your professional and personal development within a supportive, empowering environment. Whether you're just starting your career or looking to advance further, we provide you with the tools and opportunities you need to succeed. We actively support colleagues to take part in research, quality improvement and innovation, whatever their role or level in the organisation.

To support your wellbeing, we offer an extensive range of resources, including an on-site staff nursery at Kingston Hospital, wellbeing practitioners, regular wellbeing classes, dedicated staff physiotherapist, comprehensive occupational health services, 24/7 employee assistance programme, and a range of other support and activities.

We also take every opportunity to thank and recognise the work our teams do, through weekly 'shoutouts' and patient feedback, monthly and annual awards.

Wherever you work across our organisation, we look forward to welcoming you.

Job responsibilities
***Please see the attached supporting document/s (JD) which contains more information about the role in the job description and person specification***

Note: ensure any supporting statements align with the job description and person specification, as your application will be assessed against these criteria.

Person Specification
Qualifications
Essential

• OT degree
• HCPC registration

Desirable

• Special interest group membership

Managerial
Essential

• Experience of supervision of junior staff and/or students
• Demonstrate good time management and organisation

Desirable

• Involvement in service development

Experience
Essential

• Previous NHS or equivalent healthcare experience
• Working in MDT setting
• Relevant experience as a junior therapist in acute or community setting including rotations working in medical and ITU/surgery, orthopaedics and Elderly Care/Frailty and rapid response etc.
• Working knowledge of a broad range of medical conditions and frailty syndromes
• Experience in managing complex discharges and taking positive risk (eg. Safeguarding, mental capacity, best interest meetings etc)

Desirable

• 4 years clinical experiece
• Involvement in audit, research and understanding quality issues
• Experience working in A&E, ED, AAU, CDU

Skills and Abilities
Essential

• Remain updated with professional practice and new research
• Able to present information, written and orally, in a clear and logical manner
• Ability to organise, prioritise and delegate
• Team work and presentation skills
• To have a good knowledge of acute discharge planning
• Ability to initiate and understand assessment of activities of daily living to identify care and/or equipment needs.

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.

Applicants must have current UK professional registration. For further information please see NHS Careers website (opens in a new window).