Specialty Occupational Therapist – Acute Stroke Rehabilitation

Job summary We are offering you an exciting opportunity to join our diverse and well-established Acute Stroke Occupational Therapy Service.The Acute Stroke Unit (ASU) located at the John Radcliffe Hospital, is a 20-bedded unit and works as a cohesive multiprofessional team (MDT), delivering hyper-acute and acute services to stroke survivors aiming to maximise recovery, patient experience and quality of life.
The ASU MDT consistently score grade A for quality outcomes in the national sentinel audit and provide services over a seven-day period.
Therapy and rehabilitation services are critical to the quality and operational performance of the stroke clinical service unit, as well as facilitating excellent service user outcomes and experience.This is an ideal opportunity for those with Band 5 level experience in several clinical areas looking to progress working in the speciality of neurological rehabilitation or those who are already working as a Band 6 seeking to gain more experience in this speciality.We support every Band 6 to protect a proportion of their time to development, both individually and as a service.
This includes CPD and leading on quality improvement projects, clinical audit and service development projects.
This role therefore provides a great opportunity to develop both clinical and leadership skills.You will develop leadership skills through supporting juniors, students, and unregistered staff.
Main duties of the job To act as an autonomous practitioner, providing therapuetic interventions of the highest standard, in alignment with national and professional guidelines, working across a range of disciplines and settings, including (but not limited to): To provide specialist Occupational Therapy (OT) assessment, treatment and discharge planning to patients with a stroke diagnosis as an autonomous practitioner.
To work effectively with the wider interdisciplinary team (IDT).
To clinically supervise junior OT's, assistants, and students.
To assist the Team Lead OT in the provision, monitoring and on-going development of the service to ensure it continues to meet the needs of the service users and responds to government and trust initiatives.
To actively participate in quality improvement, clinical audit and research projects.
About us Oxford University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust is one of the largest NHS teaching trusts in the country.
It provides a wide range of general and specialist clinical services and is a base for medical education, training and research.
The Trust comprises four hospitals - the John Radcliffe Hospital, Churchill Hospital and Nuffield Orthopaedic Centre in Headington and the Horton General Hospital in Banbury.
Our values, standards and behaviours define the quality of clinical care we offer and the professional relationships we make with our patients, colleagues and the wider community.
We call this Delivering Compassionate Excellence and its focus is on our values of compassion, respect, learning, delivery, improvement and excellence.
These values put patients at the heart of what we do and underpin the quality healthcare we would like for ourselves or a member of our family.
Watch how we set out to deliver compassionate excellence via the OUH YouTube channel.
Job description Job responsibilities Clinical To undertake specialist assessment and treatment of adults following a stroke diagnosis.To enact the professional and legal responsibilities for all aspects of the post-holders own clinical practice.To carry out comprehensive assessments following stroke diagnosis, including those with complex presentations, and form treatment and rehabilitation plans in partnership with the patient and their carers/family.To formulate and deliver comprehensive treatment, rehabilitation and discharge plans, based on clinical skills, evidence-based practice, and patient preferences.To evaluate patient progress against agreed treatment goals and be able to modify plans accordingly.To determine a patients mental capacity to understand and to gain informed consent for treatment.
To work within a legal framework with patients who lack the capacity to consent and are deprived of their liberty.To co-ordinate intervention where there is a need to collaborate across multiple disciplines.To maintain accurate written records using an electronic patient record system and maintain fidelity to professional standards.To determine and mitigate for risk of patient and staff harm using the agreed risk assessment frameworks and the Trusts manual handling policy.To demonstrate physical ability to carry out Occupational Therapy assessment and interventions.To demonstrate highly developed dexterity, co-ordination and palpatory skills for assessment and treatment of patientsTo represent Occupational Therapy and/or individual patients at multi-disciplinary team meetings, to ensure delivery of co-ordinated care.To be an integral part of the teams extended hours and seven-day service provision.
Communication To liaise with all members of the IDT, patients, carers, Health and Community Services, relevant external agencies and OUH staff to ensure a co-ordinated, consistent approach to service delivery.To communicate with individual patients and those involved in the patients care to gain consent and understanding of treatment programmes to ensure OT intervention is effective.
This will frequently be with patients who have complex emotional, physical and psychological conditions aphasia and cognitive problems and will need expert use of verbal and non-verbal communication tool, or with patients from different cultural/ethnic backgrounds where English is not their primary language.To be able to provide and receive complex, sensitive, and contentious information such as discussing limitations associated with diagnosis/procedures/prognosis, managing complex discharges and providing appropriate emotional support where persuasion motivation and reassurance skills are required.To be able to assess a patients understanding of treatment proposals, gain valid informed consent and have capacity to work within a legal framework with patients who lack capacity to consent to treatment.To keep accurate written records of assessment and treatment in accordance with the trust, NHS and professional OT standards including comprehensive discharge/home and progress reports to medical and therapy referrers.To attend and contribute to relevant service-related meetings.To promote understanding of the aims of OT intervention within the IDT team and with external agencies involved in the patients care.To assist the Team Lead OT in communicating relevant information efficiently and effectively to staff within each rotational service area and the wider therapy team.
Leadership and Management To be responsible for the competent use and maintenance of rehabilitation equipment and support others in the effective and safe use of this equipment.To assist in the supervision, teaching and appraisal of junior staff and assistants.To undertake delegated tasks and roles from the team lead and be able to deputise for them on occasions.To effectively plan and organise own time, patient caseload, meetings, training and be able to adjust plans as required according to staffing levels and unpredictable factors.To assist in the planning of junior staff, students and assistant timetables and deputise for senior staff in organisational duties.
Education, Training and Research To organise and contribute to the teams training and post-registration education programme.To contribute to the education of multidisciplinary groups, patients, families and carers as appropriate.To be responsible for individual undergraduate student Occupational Therapists supervision and practice-based learning.To adopt a proactive approach in learning from others within, and outside of the Occupational Therapy profession.To be responsible for continuing professional development and maintain a portfolio record to evidence this.To maintain contemporary knowledge to apply and maintain best practice in stroke rehabilitation.
Research and development To actively participate in the departments quality improvement and clinical audit programme through the completion of authorised projectsTo implement and maintain evidenced-based Occupational Therapy practice through continuing professional development.To ensure good working knowledge and application of national and local clinical standards Effort To be able to undertake episodes of moderate physical effort for several short periods during a shift.To be able to effectively maintain concentration at work despite frequent interruptions and, at times, an unpredictable working pattern.To tolerate and manage frequent exposure to distressing or emotional circumstances and maintain a high level of professionalism.To tolerate and professionally manage frequent exposure to unpleasant working conditions, such as exposure to bodily fluids and offensive odours.
Person Specification Qualifications and Skills Essential Degree in Occupational Therapy Registered with the Health & Care Professions Council Evidence of continuing professional development - post graduate level.
Able to present information, written and verbal, in a clear and logical manner.
Able to communicate complex and sensitive information, where there are barriers to communication.
Experience Essential Broad range of experience at band 5 level including core areas, such as respiratory, orthopaedics, neurology, older adults.
Experience of managing a complex varied caseload.
Broad understanding and application of clinical governance in Occupational Therapy practice Knowledge and application of outcome measures in stroke care