Job summary
An exciting opportunity has arisen for Occupational Therapists to join our innovative, proactive well established Occupational Therapy Team within Acute Discharge Services based at Wansbeck General Hospital. We take a home first approach and work collaboratively with the MDT to assist with discharge from hospital at the earliest available opportunity.

The post will allow the successful candidates to gain enhanced clinical experience across a wide range of specialities including, but not limited to, Care of the Elderly, Acute and Emergency Medicine, Surgery, Respiratory, Orthopaedics.

This post provides opportunities for development in your clinical specialist area of interest. Elements of this role include leadership, quality improvement, opportunities for audit and research.

Core working hours are 0830-1630 Monday to Friday with rostered weekend working., However service contacted hours are between 8am-8pm 7 days per week.

Please note we reserve the right to close this vacancy prior to the closing date once the required number of suitable applications have been received.

Main duties of the job
We are looking for candidates who are motivated, enthusiastic and willing to engage in current service developments & audits and use highly developed Occupational Therapy skills and evidence-based practice to enhance the health and wellbeing of patients. The candidate will be expected to work closely with the wider multi-disciplinary team to foster an environment of high quality and seamless therapy pathways across North Tyneside and Northumberland. This will ensure high quality individualised care is delivered which focuses on promoting independence and optimising recovery after illness or injury. The successful candidate will be supported by supervision and appraisal processes and will have opportunities to complete specialist training to enhance key skills and knowledge.

Candidates will be responsible for their own clinical practice, delegating work to Occupational Therapy Technical Instructors and support workers where appropriate, and supporting students on clinical placements. The successful candidate will comply with the Royal College of Occupational Therapists Code of Ethics and Professional Conduct and National and Trust procedures to deliver a seamless therapy pathway. The candidate will work autonomously respecting the individuality, values, cultural and religious diversity of patients and contribute to the provision of a service sensitive to these needs.

About us
We manage three major locality hospitals at North Tyneside, Wansbeck and Hexham, plus a number of smaller community hospitals and clinics from Tynemouth to Berwick on Tweed, in addition to our state-of-the-art Northumbria Specialist Emergency Care Hospital, the first of its kind in England. We also care for people in their homes and provide services from facilities in local communities such as health centres.

We give people greater choice and control over their care to help them to live independently at home and avoid hospital admission where appropriate. High quality patient care is at the heart of everything we do and we strive to ensure every single patient and service user has an exceptional experience with us. We have one of the most extensive patient experience programmes of any trust in England.

Job responsibilities

• To provide a comprehensive Occupational Therapy service in the specific specialist area(s) following Trust policies and procedures to ensure safety and clinical excellence.
• To ensure service provision in the specialist areas is prioritised and service delivery is made effectively within resource constraints.
• To practice within the multidisciplinary team, providing specialist Occupational Therapy assessments, diagnosis and treatment using clinical reasoning skills.
• To manage a defined caseload of patients (often with highly complex needs), using evidence based clinical reasoning to assess, plan, implement and evaluate interventions.
• To provide leadership for junior and support staff, through supervision, appraisals and mentoring.
• To support service provision across sites when needed, in line with needs of the service.
• To regularly supervise undergraduate Occupational Therapy students on practice placement and participate in placement experience of other professionals.
• To complete home visits with patients where appropriate.

The successful candidate's may be required to work within a 8am-8pm rostering system. Working patterns between these hours will be considered to accommodate individual needs, in line with needs of the service. Please do not hesitate to get in touch if this appeals to you.

It is an essential requirement of the role that the post holder has a valid driving licence and is either a car owner and able to use the car for work purposes, or has a Trust personal lease vehicle which may be used for the role. However, the Trust would consider making reasonable adjustments to the role, if necessary, to enable a disabled person to undertake the role.

Person Specification
Qualifications
Essential

• Diploma/Degree in O.T.
• State registered with Health Care Professions Council
• Qualified for a minimum of 18 months
• Practice placement qualification

Experience and knowledge
Essential

• Documented evidence of continuing professional development

Desirable

• Experience of O.T. practice in varied settings.

Other Requirements
Essential

• It is an essential requirement of the role that the post holder has a valid driving licence and is either a car owner and able to use the car for work purposes, or has a Trust personal lease vehicle which may be used for the role. However, the Trust would consider making reasonable adjustments to the role, if necessary, to enable a disabled person to undertake the role

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.

Certificate of Sponsorship
Applications from job seekers who require current Skilled worker sponsorship to work in the UK are welcome and will be considered alongside all other applications. For further information visit the UK Visas and Immigration website (Opens in a new tab).

From 6 April 2017, skilled worker applicants, applying for entry clearance into the UK, have had to present a criminal record certificate from each country they have resided continuously or cumulatively for 12 months or more in the past 10 years. Adult dependants (over 18 years old) are also subject to this requirement. Guidance can be found here Criminal records checks for overseas applicants (Opens in a new tab).

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