Frailty Occupational Therapist

at  Frimley Health NHS Foundation Trust

This is an exciting role for an experienced Occupation Therapist to work within the multidisciplinary frailty team. The Frailty Team is responsible for providing Comprehensive Geriatric Assessments and advice to older people attending the acute hospital trust with a frailty syndrome (e.g. falls, reduced mobility, altered cognition, new incontinence and polypharmacy). You will work collaboratively with, and be supported by, the Consultant Nurse, Consultant Geriatricians, GPs and a team of multidisciplinary frailty practitioners that includes nurses, medics, physiotherapists, and a pharmacist).
You will work within the Emergency Department assessing older patients who have experienced a frailty crisis leading to hospital admission. You will also work within the hospital providing advice or a Comprehensive Geriatric Assessment for older people with frailty on wards.
This post would suit an OT with experience of elderly care, emergency medicine and/or a rehabilitation background, but we would welcome applications from a variety of clinical backgrounds. Training will be provided to ensure that you are able to complete all aspects of the frailty practitioner role under the guidance of a senior clinician.
The frailty service operates 7 days a week, currently 7am-5pm (soon to expand to an 8-8 service model). The post holder will be required to work within these operating hours, including sharing weekend and bank holiday cover with the other members of the team.
To undertake Comprehensive Geriatric Assessments for individuals presenting with a frailty crisis and their carers where needs are highly complex. This will involve planning, implementing, and evaluating the care delivery according to changing healthcare need
To provide evidence-based holistic assessment and treatment planning for patients with frailty referred to the service, without direct supervision.
To work in conjunction with a wide range of clinical colleagues, specifically primary care and community teams and Social Care professionals, to lead and facilitate a patient focused, co-ordinated case management approach across primary and secondary care for people who are most vulnerable to, and at high risk of repeat admissions to hospital.
To provide expertise in their own discipline to the wider team and seek professional supervision from colleagues within their professional discipline.
To complete onward referrals to specialist teams, assess for and order any necessary equipment as appropriate for the longer-term maintenance and prevention of further frailty crises.
To advise on the promotion of health and prevention of illness, providing information to individuals and groups to prevent disease, within own professional boundaries. Recognise situations that may be detrimental to health for example housing, social and economic factors and refer to an appropriate agency and liaise with members of the community care teams.
Frimley Health NHS Foundation Trust provides NHS hospital services for around 900,000 people across Berkshire, Hampshire, Surrey and south Buckinghamshire.
As well as delivering excellent general hospital services to local people, we provide specialist heart attack, vascular, stroke, spinal, cystic fibrosis and plastic surgery services across a much wider area.
We have three main hospitals - Frimley Park in Frimley near Camberley, Heatherwood in Ascot and Wexham Park near Slough.
Our three core values , and the behaviours that support them, guide everything we do and set out what we expect of our staff in the way they treat patients, visitors, service users and each other, Committed to Excellence, Working Together and Facing the Future .
We are also proud to host the Defence Medical Group South East at Frimley Park with military surgical, medical and nursing personnel working alongside the hospital’s NHS staff providing care to patients in all specialties
Clinical
To provide evidence-based holistic assessment and treatment planning for patients with frailty referred to the service, without direct supervision.
Use assessment tools/skills that will ensure an appropriate level of recovery intervention so that patients who present with highly complex needs are timely referred to the appropriate clinicians/teams
Complete complex risk assessments, both as an independent clinician and drawing on the wider MDT as appropriate
Complex manual handling including urgent prescription of specialist equipment to manage immediate risks to patients during a crisis situation
Profession-specific assessments, generalist assessments and, where appropriate and within scope of extended practice, cross-profession assessments to maintain patient safety during acute medical / social crisis
Refer to appropriate clinical services to ensure patient safety is maintained

Please refer the Job description for details