Therapy Support Worker (RAAR)

at  Kings College Hospital NHS Foundation Trust

Band 3 Therapy Support Worker (RAAR)
This therapy support worker post will support the clinical work of the Rapid Access to Acute Rehabilitation (RAAR) Team clinicians. The RAAR Team is an interdisciplinary team of rehabilitation professionals including occupational therapy, physiotherapy, psychology, speech and language therapy, rehabilitation nursing and therapy support workers, all overseen by rehabilitation medicine consultants. The RAAR team provides intensive rehabilitation to inpatients with complex rehabilitation needs including brain injury, spinal cord injury and polytrauma, within the acute setting.
The therapy support workers in the RAAR Team are expected to be multi-skilled across the spectrum of rehabilitation interventions including physical therapy interventions and exercise programmes, functional task practice, cognitive and emotional health interventions and communication and swallow interventions.
As there are physiotherapy/occupational therapy apprentice positions within the team, the Band 3 therapy support workers will have aditional skills to support speech therapy & psychology. This post would suit individuals with a particular interest in either of these areas.
We have a total of 1.5 posts available and would be open to either one full time and one part time post, or two part time posts.

Tasks will include, under the direction of the individual RAAR clinicians:

• providing individual rehabilitation sessions as prescribed by the treating clinicians
• assisting clinicians in providing sessions that require two or more people
• contributing to organising and running rehabilitation groups such as upper limb groups, standing groups, communication training, brain injury rehabilitation or kitchen based tasks
• assisting in preparing rehabilitation materials such as personalised orientation booklets, communication aids or personalised timetables
• supporting everyday routines including assisting with showering and dressing and bringing patients from the ward to the therapy gym, kitchen and treatment rooms
• assisting in therapy administration tasks such as maintaining and ordering equipment, maintaining paper based assessment stock

King’s College Hospital NHS Foundation Trust is one of the UK’s largest and busiest teaching Trusts with a turnover of £1 billion, 1.5 million patient contacts a year and more than 15,000 staff based across South East London. The Trust provides a full range of local and specialist services across its five sites. The trust-wide strategy of Strong Roots, Global Reach is our Vision to be BOLD, Brilliant people, Outstanding care, Leaders in Research, Innovation and Education, Diversity, Equality and Inclusion at the heart of everything we do. By being person-centred, digitally-enabled, and focused on sustainability, we aim to take Team King’s to another level.
We are at a pivotal point in our history and we require individuals who are ready to join a highly professional team and make a real, lasting difference to our patients and our people.
King’s is committed to delivering Sustainable Healthcare for All via our Green Plan. In line with national Greener NHS ambitions, we have set net zero carbon targets of 2040 for our NHS Carbon Footprint and 2045 for our NHS Carbon Footprint Plus. Everyone’s contribution is required in order to meet the goals set out in our Green Plan and we encourage all staff to work responsibly, minimising their contributions to the Trust’s carbon emissions, waste and pollution wherever possible.
Clinical Responsibilities
To provide treatment to patients following a pre-prescribed treatment plan utilising a variety of basic therapy techniques such as assisting a patient to carryout activities of daily living, assisting patients to walk with an appropriate aid, completing physical exercise programmes, undertaking specific speech exercises, swallow rehabilitation or communication programmes, providing basic mental health interventions such as relaxation techniques or breathing exercises or carrying out specific cognitive rehabilitation interventions such as orientation programmes
To assist the therapist(s) with individual treatments where a second or third person is require to provide safe and effective therapy
To assist the therapist(s) with planning, organising and running group treatment programmes
To be able to recognise change in the condition of a patient, decide whether to treat or monitor and document the patient response/reaction to any treatment undertake. To escalate concerns to the ward nursing and medical team and treating therapist(s) in a timely fashion
To assist with the care of patients including transporting them to a treatment area, preparing drinks, supervising or assisting with eating/drinking, toileting, dressing and undressing as part of their treatment programme, including assisting the ward nursing staff as appropriate
To assist with removal and application of functional/supportive aids e.g. prostheses, splints and assist in the manufacture of splints and ensuring comfort of new splints by accurate final finishing.
To assist therapists with the production of of bespoke therapy resources such as communication supports, brain injury rehabilitation booklets, orientation resources or timelines, and then provide appropriate practice and repetition of their use with patients
To monitor the safety of patients whilst carrying out activities of daily living or other treatment sessions in line with agreed protocol, documenting safety in patients’ clinical notes and feeding back to the treating therapist(s)

To collect data from patients for recognised outcome measures and document for the therapist(s) to interpret.

• To follow a timetable of work as provided by the supervising therapists, keeping to prescribed times and activities, and feeding back in a timely fashion where this has not been possible

To maximise patient engagement in rehabilitation through effective communication skills, utilising verbal and non-verbal skills and tailoring communication to the patients’/carers’ level of comprehension or cognition, following advice from the treating therapist(s)

Information Management and Communication

• To provide and receive information from patients, carers and other professionals regarding a patient’s condition and treatment progress.
• To take and relay messages accurately on the telephone and face to face with patients, relatives, health care professionals and others

§ To develop skills in participating in meetings and handovers, taking and receiving therapy information.

• To book transport for access visits and home visits
• To maintain accurate and timely patient notes and activity records in accordance with departmental policy and to ensure the safekeeping and confidentiality of these records, using Trust systems such as EPIC

Governance / Quality Control
To be responsible for competent use and maintenance of all equipment used, to report defects in equipment in a timely manner to the senior clinicians on the ward or part of the team as appropriate
To understand the function and use of departmental equipment and be able to use safely jointly with therapy staff or independently with own patients.
To undertake routine light cleaning/tidying tasks of clinical equipment e.g. wheelchairs, electrical equipment
To administer any equipment loan monitoring system and liaise with maintenance engineers where appropriate.
To undertake administrative tasks particularly related to maintaining assessment and treatment resources such as printing, copying, collating and laminating
To be responsible for stock control within clinical areas ensuring consistent supply and request new orders from the team admin including using catalogues for new equipment.
To collect, unpack and store new supplies
To administer appropriate systems for the managing the petty cash and stock control in relevant place of work.

Administrative Responsibilities

• To liaise with managers, other administrative and support staff as necessary to ensure the smooth running of the department, both clinically and administratively.

Research and Service Development

• To contribute to team service development initiatives as appropriate
• To participate in the department’s ongoing audit and research programme as required.
• To assist in gathering patient experience data as directed

Performance

• To participate in regular performance appraisal meetings, contributing to the assessment of own learning needs and take an active approach to personal and professional development

General
The post holder has a general duty of care for their own health, safety and wellbeing and that of work colleagues, visitors and patients within the hospital, in addition to any specific risk management or clinical governance accountabilities associated with this post.
To observe the rules, policies, procedures and standards of King’s College Hospital NHS Foundation Trust together with all relevant statutory and professional obligations.
We want to be an organisation where everyone shares a commitment to delivering the very best care and feels like their contribution is valuable and valued.

AT KING’S WE ARE A KIND, RESPECTFUL TEAM:

Kind . We show compassion and understanding and bring a positive attitude to our work
Respectful . We promote equality, are inclusive and honest, speaking up when needed
Team . We support each other, communicate openly, and are reassuringly professional
To observe and maintain strict confidentiality of personal information relating to patients and staff.
To be responsible, with management support, for their own personal development and to actively contribute to the development of colleagues.
This job description is intended as a guide to the general scope of duties and is not intended to be definitive or restrictive. It is expected that some of the duties will change over time and this description will be subject to review in consultation with the post holder.
All employees must hold an ’nhs.net’ email account which will be the Trust’s formal route for email communication.
Everyone is responsible for promoting inclusion no matter their role or team. At King’s, we want to create an environment where everyone feels valued, respected and welcomed
Safe Guarding
The Trust takes the issues of Safeguarding Children, Adults and addressing Domestic Abuse very seriously. All employees have a responsibility to support the organisation in our duties by;
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attending mandatory training on safeguarding children and adults
familiarising themselves with the Trust’s processes for reporting concerns
reporting any safeguarding child or adult concerns appropriately
Infection Control Statement
The post holder has an important responsibility for and contribution to infection control and must be familiar with the infection control and hygiene procedures and requirements when in clinical areas.
The post holder has an important responsibility for and contribution to make to infection control and must be familiar with the infection control and hygiene requirements of this role.
These requirements are set out in the National Code of Practice on Infection Control and in local policies and procedures which will be made clear during your induction and subsequent refresher training. These standards must be strictly complied with at all times

Tasks will include, under the direction of the individual RAAR clinicians:

• providing individual rehabilitation sessions as prescribed by the treating clinicians
• assisting clinicians in providing sessions that require two or more people
• contributing to organising and running rehabilitation groups such as upper limb groups, standing groups, communication training, brain injury rehabilitation or kitchen based tasks
• assisting in preparing rehabilitation materials such as personalised orientation booklets, communication aids or personalised timetables
• supporting everyday routines including assisting with showering and dressing and bringing patients from the ward to the therapy gym, kitchen and treatment rooms
• assisting in therapy administration tasks such as maintaining and ordering equipment, maintaining paper based assessment stoc

Administrative Responsibilities

• To liaise with managers, other administrative and support staff as necessary to ensure the smooth running of the department, both clinically and administratively