Band 6 Occupational Therapist - Dementia and Older Adults MH

Job overview

An exciting opportunity is now available in Mental Health inpatient care of older adults. Over the last 12 months the OT service has had a complete overhaul with implementation of a band 7 manager and expansion of OT team.

This is a unique role which provides the opportunity to work on a functional and organic older adult wards. The OT service follows the VdtMOCA model and is now exploring specialist strands within this, including designing a sensory room.

Our current team consists of OT assistants, preceptor OT’s, band 6 OT’s and Zoe Tippetts, the manager. We work closely together delivering OT provision across 4 wards. The team have regular CPD sessions, team meetings and service development reviews.

We welcome all Occupational Therapist’s who have a keen interest in Mental Health and Dementia to apply for the job role. Please don’t hesitate to get in touch, we would welcome visits to meet the team and discuss the role further. We look forward to you joining our team.

Main duties of the job

You will work within the OT team to coordinate and support the day to day running of the OT service. You will supervise other OT staff and student. There will be an opportunity to develop within a speciality and progress your career journey in Occupational Therapy.

Within this post you will complete comprehensive OT assessments, to support independence, engagement in meaningful occupations and discharge planning. This is carried out through 1:1 assessments, group sessions and MDT work.

We believe that delivering person-focused care is central to helping our patients improve their mental health, recover independence and return to their community. Our staff are pivotal to everything we do and we are committed to involving them fully in the development of our services.

Working for our organisation

We are AWP (Avon and Wiltshire Mental Health Partnership NHS Trust) a diverse organisation with over 5,000 dedicated staff providing inpatient and community-based mental health care.

We provide services from a range of locations to approximately 1.8 million people living in Bath and North East Somerset (B&NES), Bristol, North Somerset, South Gloucestershire, Swindon, across the county of Wiltshire and in parts of Dorset.

Our outstanding people promote mental health and wellbeing. The expertise and resources within AWP are dedicated to a person-centred approach for those who use our services and for all employees. We recognise that happy and fulfilled employees give better care.

At AWP we actively encourage applicants from all backgrounds; we are particularly keen to encourage applications from people from Black, Asian and minority ethnic backgrounds, those with disabilities and from the LGBTQ+ community. We want people to bring their unique blend of experiences, backgrounds, perspectives and knowledge to AWP, as diversity makes us stronger.

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

Clinical Practice

To provide high quality, evidence based occupational therapy assessments & interventions, treatment planning and continued patient-centred care. We aim to enable service users to achieve their maximum level of function and independence in preparation for discharge.

This will include:-

Undertaking comprehensive, person-centred OT assessment and interventions.

Preparing and implementing treatment plans and rehab programmes in consultation with the service users.

Reviewing the effectiveness of therapy provided in partnership with service users.

Ability to implement research based practice.

Provide leadership and guidance to registered and non-registered staff and students.

Ability to undertake risk assessment and develop risk management strategies for individual service users, groups and a variety of activities.

Have an understanding of the relevant mental health legislation and be able within practice.

To be able to provide advice on lifestyle changes and adaptations to the service users social and physical environment.

Communications and Working Relationships

Establish and maintain effective therapeutic relationships with a client group that can be challenging due to their mental health issues eg dementia or acute psychosis.

Establish and maintain effective exchange of clinical information between relevant parties that may include MDT, carers, families, partner organisations or voluntary third section organisation.

To be responsible for communicating sensitive or complex information concerning service users to family and others involved in their care.

Provide professional advice and consultancy to the team manager, Multi professional team members, carers and other services.

Be aware of Trust developments through the use of intranet and e-mail.

Education and Health Promotion

To use skills, knowledge and resources to provide learning opportunities for staff and promote positive attitudes towards mental health. This will include:-

Providing clinical supervision through 1:1 and group base for registered and unregistered staff.

Continued support of OT students on practice placements within the Trust.

Provide a positive learning environment for students’, OT staff and the wider MDT.

There will opportunities for CPD development and training relevant to the role.

Continuing Professional Development Objective

To maintain and develop professional knowledge, skills and expertise to ensure that therapy reflects best practice and remains evidence based ensuring it is current and responsive to meet service needs and NHS needs to include:-

Abide by the Code of Ethics and professional conduct for Occupational Therapists and HCPC standards.

To take responsibility for post registration education and for continuing professional development as outlined in HCPC standards.

To provide and receive clinical/professional supervision in accordance with Trust supervision policy.

Most challenging part of this role

Working with and motivating a patient group whose mental health problems can be challenging and emotionally draining for staff. Work with distress, anxious and aggressive service users and carers. Also dealing with emotional situations when the person may have barriers to their understanding.

Maintaining links with other Occupational Therapists in a geographically widespread Trust.

Promoting the responsibilities and duties of an OT within an acute mental health setting.

Person specification

shortlisting

• Qualifications: BSc Hons Occupational Therapy or equivalent
• Registration: HCPC registered
• Knowledge: Understanding of Model of Human Occupation
• Experience: Experience of working in Mental Health Settings
• Clinical Reasoning: Evidence based and reflective practice
• Written Skills: Application content, organisation, relevance to post

• Knowledge of using the VTd Model of Creative Ability

This includes people with a variety of disabilities and neurodivergent conditions (for example autism, ADHD, sensory, physical and learning disabilities).

We encourage applications from people who wish to work on a flexible basis, recognising that flexibility may mean a range of different working patterns and hours, we do our utmost to work with our staff to meet their needs and the needs of our service users.

Click here to view our applicant guidance

Please apply to join us, we would love to hear from you. Any personal details you supply to us are kept safe in line with the General Data Protection Regulations.

Adverts normally close for application a few minutes before midnight on the closing date and we will let you know if we are offering you an interview by email via our recruitment system ‘TRAC’. We contact all applicants within 4 weeks after the closing date, so please check your emails regularly once you have submitted your application; you are welcome to contact us, via the TRAC system, if you have any queries about your application.

Please note the use of AI is monitored and if you have used it in your application you are required to declare this.