Advanced Practitioner Occupational Therapist

at  Cambridgeshire Community Services NHS Trust

We are looking for an experienced and autonomous Occupational Therapist who is enthusiastic about providing rehabilitation support and making a difference for people who are living with an Acquired Brain Injury.
With a strong foundation of working together this role will be employed by CCS Bedfordshire Neuro Therapy Service but work as a key role in the inter-disciplinary team at Headway Bedford.
Headway’s client group consists of people who have acquired a brain injury (including stroke) since their birth. Headway Bedford can offer these clients a specialised day rehabilitation service delivered by an in-house inter-disciplinary team and enthusiastic volunteers . In this job role at Headway Bedford will expect you to work with not only the clients but also their family members and a broad range of outside agencies involved in their life. You will be part of a team who aim to assist in providing physical, cognitive, social, and emotional rehabilitation to all referred clients and their families, to help them regain a meaningful life.
The role will also provide an element of skills sharing with the team and Headway volunteers.
(Please note that should we receive a high number of applications, we reserve the right to close the advert earlier than advertised).
The successful candidate will work as an autonomous specialist practitioner to provide an Occupational Therapy Service for service users attending Headway Bedford.
They will work as part of the Multi-disciplinary team at Headway in the provision of rehabilitation based on assessment and understanding of the needs of people who have experienced brain injury.
The successful candidate will provide a formulation of assessment results to inform individualised goal setting and treatment planning .
They will work with service users, carers and family members to provide interventions that meet the service user’s goals and evaluate the outcomes.
Rated ‘Outstanding’ by the Care Quality Commission, we are proud to provide high quality innovative services across most of the east of England that enable people to receive care closer to home and live healthier lives.
There’s one reason why our services are outstanding – and that’s our amazing staff who, for the seventh year running, rated us incredibly highly in the national staff survey.
If you share our passion for innovative and high-quality care delivery, then please submit your application and join us on our exciting journey as a leading-edge specialist community provider. All are welcome to apply and our promise to you is a culture which prioritises staff engagement and development.
Nature of work
To manage a caseload and organise timely Occupational Therapy assessment. Assessment will include use of a range of standardised assessments and assimilation of own observations and those reported by the service user, their family and other members of the team at Headway. Where necessary additional information may be required through liaison with other services
To support service users with complex perceptual, physical and cognitive presentations, delivering individualised treatment programmes underpinned by sound knowledge of the latest evidence-based practice within Neuro-rehabilitation. To prioritise effectively to reduce risk and manage the service user’s disability or rehabilitation needs.
To develop and provide a range of individual rehabilitation interventions based on the outcomes of assessment. Interventions will be provided directly or through instruction and guidance to the key workers.
To participate in moving and handling assessments, use a range of moving & handling equipment and guide others in their practice. This may include sustained physical effort and ability to physically support the service user during moving & handling.
To achieve a therapeutic relationship with service users, to explain the role of the Occupational Therapy and to encourage participation in the rehabilitation programme
Due to the busy nature of the Headway environment there may be interruptions to planned work of an unpredictable nature. The post holder to support other priorities / emergencies as required
To work with the management and team at Headway to develop the scope of delivering groups where appropriate. To deliver those groups and workshops on topics relevant to specialist occupational therapy skills e.g. vocational rehabilitation, fatigue management, cognitive strategies
To involve service users and their carers in the planning of rehabilitation programmes and encourage self-management where appropriate. The post holder will liaise with the team at Headway regarding any specific strategies or approaches required to support individual service users.
To identify and contribute towards person-centred SMART goals in collaboration with the service user and other members of the Headway Team. To attend care reviews as necessary and summarise the occupational therapy interventions, outcomes and future goals.
To contribute towards complex decision making and planning during regular MDT meetings,
To liaise with referrers to identify aims of attendance at Headway. This involves identifying outcomes of previous rehabilitation, identifying potential further rehabilitation and any barriers to achieving this.
To identify training needs within the MDT including Headway staff and volunteers and deliver training on topics related to specialist occupational therapy skills
The postholder will be the nominated Clinical lead for Headway’s SSNAP data and develop systems / reporting structure
To have an excellent knowledge of supporting services available to service users from health, social care and voluntary agencies and work with these services to achieve positive outcomes for Headway service users
Communication
To establish and maintain positive interpersonal relationships with service users, their carers and other staff members. Positive relationships are characterised by open communication, trust and respect.
To recognise potential communication barriers due to impairments of speech and cognition and implement effective strategies to facilitate communication.
To use tact and diplomacy to provide and communicate complex, sensitive information where motivational negotiating, empathetic and reassurance skills are needed. To work with service users to enhance understanding where barriers to communication may exist. To maintain confidentiality within Trust Policies
Communicate and work together with other teams from a range of statutory services & stakeholders to ensure optimum patient centred care. To advocate for service users using various methods of communication, this will include accurate written reports and correspondence
People Management
Responsible for the instruction, allocation of work and supervision of other Headway staff & volunteers who are delivering treatment plans to individual service users.
To actively participate in the training and support of new staff
Required to attend and contribute to quarterly meetings with Clinical Supervisor and the Operational Lead for Headway
Ensure compliance with mandatory training and develop own clinical skills and knowledge
Responsible for maintaining own professional development and requirement to take part in appraisal and supervision

Please refer the Job description for details