Job summary
North Staffordshire Combined Healthcare NHS Trust aims to provide accessible, non-stigmatising local services that contribute to the assessment, intervention, treatment, rehabilitation and enablement of Older Persons within the Acute and Urgent Care Directorate. To provide specialist assessment and interventions to identify and address occupational performance needs in self-care, productivity and leisure to support the safe and effective assessment and discharge of patients. The service is wholly committed to working with older people and their families and carers using Person Centred Planning approaches and affording older person's with mental health or cognitive decline the opportunities to maximize independence, choice and control. The Occupational Therapist has a lead role in promoting, enhancing and maintaining the health and wellbeing of older people with a mix of complex health needs.

Main duties of the job
To provide high-quality occupational therapy assessment and intervention for adults aged 65 years and over with cognitive impairment admitted to Ward 4, a 15-bedded Discharge to Assess (D2A) ward. The post holder will play a key role in supporting safe, timely, and person-centred discharge planning, ensuring patients are discharged to the least restrictive environment with appropriate support in place.

About us
As a Trust we remain bold and ambitious with plans for both service and system collaborative transformation over the coming years to improve the health and wellbeing of our local people through high quality care.

We pride ourselves on ensuring our team has their wellbeing put first and as such provide a range of wellness opportunities including flexible working.

We are committed to the Greener NHS national ambition to becoming the world's first 'carbon net zero' national health system by 2045 (Greener NHS (england.nhs.uk). As part of this, sustainability is embedded in our strategy as one of our four key enablers. In order to deliver on this commitment, we recognise that we need a workforce that is as passionate as we are about achieving these goals, for the benefit of our service users, workforce, local communities and the planet alike.

The Trust is committed to ensuring that a diverse workforce is representative and inclusive at all levels. We would very much welcome applications from all under-represented groups including women, people with disabilities, people from global majority backgrounds, and those from the lesbian, gay, bi and trans communities.

The Trust is committed to the Step into Health scheme and actively encourages applicants from the Armed Forces Communities to apply.

Job responsibilities
Key Duties/Responsibilities

• Be a member of the Ward 4 Older Persons Team, demonstrating the ability to make decisions and influence the development of services, and work with clients in a variety of health / community settings.
• Participate in the development of an evolving Acute and Urgent Care service.
• Participate in the development and provision of the Older Persons Occupational Therapy role in North Staffordshire.
• To participate in the planning, development and evaluation of occupational therapy services within a designated area / team holding responsibility for a defined caseload and projects.
• Effectively manage and prioritise a designated caseload
• Will be required to teach staff including both students and qualified and unqualified team members.
• To actively promote and maintain effective communication between multi-disciplinary/agency professionals across agencies to ensure co-ordinated and high quality care for patients and their families.

Qualifications
Essential

• Diploma/Degree in Occupational Therapy.
• Hold Health and Care Professional Standards of Proficiency for Occupational Therapists (HCPC) Registration.
• Evidence of post registration training

Desirable

• Evidence of an ability to implement a broad range of therapeutic interventions

Experience
Essential

• Post graduate experience within the role of Occupational Therapist.
• Knowledge of current best practice in older persons Occupational Therapy
• Ability to work single-handedly without direct supervision
• Experience of working in clinical practice and demonstrate ability to be responsible for own caseload.
• Use of functional assessment and activity analysis.
• Experience of supervising students and junior members of staff
• Demonstrate an ability to reflect and critically appraise own performance

Desirable

• Experience of working with older persons and their families
• Experience of working with individuals with a complex mix of comorbidities
• Experience in facilitating group work and project management.
• Experience of working with clients who have a sensory impairment

Knowledge
Essential

• Demonstrates an understanding for the need to use evidence based interventions and how these relate to this post.
• Well-developed skills in the ability to communicate effectively, orally and in writing, complex, highly technical and/or clinically sensitive information to clients, their families, carers and other professional colleagues both within and outside the NHS.
• Possess good written communication skills to maintain clear, concise, contemporaneous records and the ability to write reports
• Has received training (either formal or through experience) in carrying out risk assessments within scope of practice
• Computer literate
• Demonstrates an understanding and ability to evaluate using audit, research and outcome measures.
• Has a clear working knowledge of the application of the Royal College of Occupational Therapy Code of Ethics and Professional Conduct, College of Occupational Therapy Professional Standards

Desirable

• Awareness of national and local policies and how these impact on service provision

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.