Job summary
We have an exciting opportunity for an Occupational Therapist seeking to develop their clinical experience and knowledge within a acute mental health setting.

The post holder will be expected to effectively manage a caseload of patient's who have co-morbidities as an autonomous practitioner, using evidence based/ patient centred principles to assess, plan, implement and evaluate interventions of the patient group.

The post holder will participate in planning, development and evaluation of therapy services within a designated area/team. The post holder takes a holistic approach in the assessment and treatment of service users / patients, being responsible for the provision of appropriate, high-quality care to a defined caseload which may be of a complex nature, using theappropriate model of care and evidenced based practice.Work in partnership with other professional to enable patients / clients to be maintained in an appropriate environment. To work within Trust clinical guidelines, HCPC and Registrant Body guidelines and to have a working knowledge of national and local standards and monitor own practise against these.

Main duties of the job
To undertake a comprehensive holistic Occupational Therapy assessment, devise treatment plans individualised to patient needs, reviewing and adapting during patient journey from initial assessment through to discharge.

To gain consent through engaging patients / clients through their therapy journey, enabling them to experience choice and as part of their recovery.

To plan and implement patient centred individual and/or group interventions, using graded activity to achieve therapeutic goals within ward setting.

To monitor, evaluate and modify treatment in order to measure progress and ensure effectiveness of intervention.

To monitor and offer professional advice to all team members with regards to their caseloads and working practices.

To liaise with family members, carers and other professionals as necessary when completing the assessment and carrying interventions.

About us
Mersey Care is one of the largest trusts providing physical health and mental health services in the North West, serving more than 1.4 million people across our region and are also commissioned for services that cover the North West, North Wales and the Midlands.

We offer specialist inpatient and community services that support physical and mental health and specialist inpatient mental health, learning disability, addiction and brain injury services. Mersey Care is one of only three trusts in the UK that offer high secure mental health facilities.

At the heart of all we do is our commitment to 'perfect care' - care that is safe, effective, positively experienced, timely, equitable and efficient. We support our staff to do the best job they can and work alongside service users, their families, and carers to design and develop future services together. We're currently delivering a programme of organisational and service transformation to significantly improve the quality of the services we provide and safely reduce cost as we do so.

Flexible working requests will be considered for all roles.

Job responsibilities
To support the delivery of high quality specialist assessment and intervention in the development of effective clinical services within acute mental health.

To meet the complex needs of people with consideration with the management and mitigation of risk, and to reducing restrictive practice.

See Job Description and Person Specification for further information.

Person Specification
Skills
Essential

• Up to date knowledge and application of current best practice in relevant area of practice
• Application of therapeutic Outcome measures and Models of practice
• Application of the process of standard setting, audit, evaluation and review
• A sound knowledge of the core Occupational Therapy skills and their application in this field
• Be able to communicate effectively with service users within the specific client group
• Demonstrates a good knowledge of the Health and Care Profession Councils standards of Proficiency and the therapeutic responsibility to identify gaps in their knowledge base
• Demonstrate knowledge of the concepts of mentorship, and supervision
• Evidence of active participation in supervision and the appraisal process
• Experience of group and individual interventions with the specific client group
• Experience working in a collaborative way with the MDT and service users/carers.
• Good time management skills
• Apply and promote therapeutic skills, to include carrying out assessments, setting clear reablement goals and facilitating a wide variety of therapeutic interventions.
• Able to apply Person Centred Approaches
• Apply clinical skills and able to reflect on own and others practice.
• Self-management and motivation skills
• Risk assessment skills.
• IT literate
• Awareness of factors contributing to good health and the importance of promoting these in line with organisational public health policy
• Understanding of partnership working
• Awareness of local agenda in health and social care

Desirable

• Demonstrate leadership skills to be able to initiate, monitor and implement change and fully
• Apply Professional skills to enable MDT working partnerships and liaise with external agencies

Knowledge/Experience
Essential

• Experience of relevant Occupational Therapy functional assessment
• Experience of successful team working Experience of liaison with internal and external services and agencies
• Knowledge and ability to express an understanding of the Occupational Therapy process including formulation of intervention plans grounded in clinical reasoning
• General knowledge of the principles of clinical governance
• Have an understanding of clinical and environmental risk assessment
• Evidence of CPD/Short courses

Desirable

• Experience of service development audit and research practice relevant to the clinical area
• Experience of planning and facilitating therapeutic groups for patients / clients
• Familiar with Electronic Patient Records Management and clinical leadership
• A basic understanding of Relevant legislation including The Mental Capacity Act

Qualifications
Essential

• Registration with the Health and Care Professions Council
• Occupational Therapy Diploma / Degree (BSc/MSc)
• Enhanced DBS Disclosure

Desirable

• Membership of professional Body

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 (opens in a new window).

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.