Therapy Assistant

at  Mersey and West Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust

An exciting opportunity has arisen for a therapy assistant to join the St Helens Community Intermediate Care Team.
This post will be working primarily in Brookfield Support Centre, supporting clients to achieve functional independence, and will involve leading and planning activity groups on a daily basis.
You will work alongside Physiotherapists and Occupational Therapists in Brookfield to provide rehabilitation to patients and help them progress towards their goals.
There may also be an opportunity for some community-based working, within the patient’s own home.
The role will consist of a range of duties and will include both clinical and non-clinical tasks.
To work within the Therapy service and support the delivery of Occupational Therapy, Physiotherapy, Speech and Language Therapy and Dietetics in our teams in a variety of hospital settings and the patient’s own homes.
To hold responsibility for delegated caseload and be responsible for a defined area of service or patient type linking back to the delegating therapist.
To participate in bank holiday, weekend and evening working if required, following appropriate training.
The successful candidate will have excellent communication skills, be able to work as part of a team and be able to work flexibly to help meet the demands of the service.
Due to the nature of the post it would be desirable that the successful applicant is able to travel independently, have access to a suitable vehicle for business purposes and hold a full UK driving licence.
Mersey and West Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust serves a population of over 600,000 with a workforce of over 9000 dedicated and skilled staff across 21 sites.
We strongly believe that the communities we serve should all have access to Five Star Patient Care.

KEY DUTIES

To assist in/support the identification of health needs and participate in the planning, implementation, and evaluation of individual care interventions under the direct/indirect supervision of a registered Practitioner depending upon competency/complexity of work.
To provide advice to clients and carers in relation to any needs and the wider public health remit of the Health and Social Care organisation under the direct/indirect supervision of a registered practitioner.
To maintain accurate, clear, concise, and contemporaneous records as per trust policy and communicate information to members of the Team as necessary.
To be aware of the role limitations of practice and when to seek further advice from a supervising Registered Practitioner.
Provide concise handover and information updates to other members of the Team as required.
To demonstrate a knowledge of external agencies who could be involved in patient care and work in partnership with these agencies under the direct/indirect supervision of a registered practitioner with regards to follow up and provide feedback to Registered Practitioners as appropriate.

CLINICAL & PROFESSIONAL RESPONSIBILITIES

Communicate routine service user information effectively and in accordance with local guidance with other health and social care professionals for the benefit of the service user.
To demonstrate skills in adapting personal communication to overcome barriers to communication and understanding.
Utilise Information Technology and Clinical Assessment Systems as required in the execution of your duties.
Maintain confidentiality within national and local guidelines.
Ensure organisational and professional codes of conduct are always adhered to when representing the Integrated Health and Social Care organisation.
Work collaboratively across teams, agencies, and organisational boundaries to ensure the delivery of an integrated service through effective communication.
Identify and use opportunities to promote healthy lifestyles e.g. nutrition, physical activity, individuals, and groups.
To carry out a range of diagnostic/assessment techniques to identify and respond to clients’ needs in a range of settings under the direct/indirect supervision of a registered practitioner.
To deliver a range of intervention techniques and skills to meet clients’ needs in a range of settings under the direct/indirect supervision of a registered practitioner.
To evaluate and feedback clients’ responses to interventions in discussion with registered practitioners and modify under the direct/indirect supervision of a registered practitioner.
Communicate sensitive service user information appropriately and in accordance with local guidance with other health and social care professionals for the benefit of the service user.
Adapt personal communication skills to overcome barriers to communication and understanding.
Utilise Information Technology and Clinical Assessment Systems as required in the execution of your duties.
Maintain confidentiality within national and local guidelines.
Ensure organisational and professional codes of conduct are always adhered to when representing the Integrated Health and Social Care organisation.
Work collaboratively across teams, agencies, and organisational boundaries to ensure the delivery of an integrated service through effective communication.
Staff will be trained to a leave appropriate to their responsibilities in this respect in line with current KSF post outline and the on-going PDR process.
To establish, maintain and develop professional working relationships with colleagues.
To personally contribute to the Trust health promotion strategies both internally and externally.
To be aware of, and responsible to, the changing nature of the Trust and adopt a flexible and pro-active approach to work.

ADMINISTRATIVE RESPONSIBILITIES

To maintain accurate, comprehensive, and up to date documentation, in line with legal and local requirements, and communicate assessment and treatment results to the appropriate disciplines in the form of reports and letters.
To undertake as directed the collection of appropriate data and statistics for the use of the department.
To communicate effectively and work collaboratively with the Multi-Disciplinary Team (MDT) to ensure delivery of a co-ordinated multidisciplinary service. This will include participating in a variety of MDT, internal and external agency meetings, and forums plus other forms of verbal/written communication as necessary including report writing and referrals to other agencies.

TEACHING & TRAINING RESPONSIBILITIES

• Evaluate the effectiveness of learning opportunities and alerts others to benefits and problems
• Maintain a personal development plan and competency portfolio, in line with requirements for the job role.
• Participate in individual and group supervision in line with organisational policy.
• Participate in an individual performance review on an annual basis and be proactive in Continuous Professional Development.
• Utilise informal and formal learning opportunities both independently and with others.
• Participate in the delivery of Learning and Development opportunities to all bands of staff.
• To personally contribute to the Trust health promotion strategies both internally and externally.