Rotational Occupational Therapist (Fixed Term), Band 5
Join us at an exciting time for Gloucestershire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust! We have an ambitious plan for our journey to Outstanding and are looking for aspirational, committed individuals to join us, making a real difference to both staff and patients.
As a former winner of England for excellence award: Tourism destination of the year, the beautiful city of Gloucester and the scenic regency spa town of Cheltenham are fantastic places to work and live.
As a hospital Trust we are currently involved in over 100 clinical trials and studies, whilst also providing acute elective and specialist services to a population of over 620,000.
By joining Gloucestershire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust new colleagues can look forward to a warm welcome and a future full of opportunities and support.
Job overview
We are looking for an enthusiastic Occupational Therapist to work with patients attending Gloucestershire Royal Hospital and Cheltenham General Hospital, as part of a supportive integrated therapy service on our Stroke wards.
This role is for a fixed term contract until June 1st 2026 and is for 37.5 hours .
You will have an opportunity to work closely with the multi-disciplinary team on the ward, providing comprehensive assessments and intervention.
Main duties of the job
To work within the Therapy team providing an effective and evidence based service through assessing, planning and implementing treatment programmes.
To deliver therapeutic interventions, using the principles of Occupational Therapy in an integrated and client-centred way supported by the Therapy Competency Framework.
To be well organised and responsible for the organisation of own caseload and be able to work independently using own initiative and work collaboratively as part of a team.
About us
The Therapy service provides Occupational Therapy to inpatients and outpatients at Gloucestershire Royal and Cheltenham General Hospitals.
We are an integrated service providing patient centred care. Our mission is to 'enable people to maximise their potential to live well'
Main duties of the job
The post holder will have no budget or managerial responsibilities. They will be expected to progress to supervise and appraise less experienced therapists, support workers and undergraduates, with the support of the team leader.
There will also be progression to taking on increasing responsibility for the day to day management of the clinical area, in the absence of more senior staff.
The post holder is supervised by a named therapist, although they may not be present at all times.
Clinical and professional supervision is in the form of regular clinical reasoning sessions, observed practice, peer review and formal training. Access to advice and support from specialist therapists isavailable as required
Working for our organisation
Gloucestershire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust operates hospitals on our two main sites in
Cheltenham and Gloucester, and we’re one of the largest NHS trusts in the country.
Our workforce of almost 9,000 staff provide high quality emergency, elective and specialist care across a range of clinical areas
Detailed job description and main responsibilities- To use clinical reasoning skills and techniques to assess, diagnose, plan and offer a range of treatment options; deliver, evaluate and amend the treatment plan. This will include patients with diverse or complex presentations/multi-pathologies in individual or group therapy sessions.
- To maintain clear, accurate and concise patient records in line with departmental and professional standards and include relevant outcome measures. This will include writing patient reports for e.g. medical practitioners and solicitor’s requests.
- To work with senior staff undertaking audit and research projects, to further own and team’s clinical practice within each rotation. To be involved in making recommendations for changes to practice and procedures for the relevant clinical area, and the implementation of these changes.
- To contribute to the Clinical Governance and Quality agenda by active participation in service initiatives, health and safety and risk management.
- To participate in the out of hours service at Gloucestershire Royal Hospital and/or Cheltenham General Hospital after appropriate induction and training as required.*
- To comply with Trust and Departmental policies and procedures e.g. Health and Safety at Work Act (1974), Manual Handling, clinical equipment competency, risk management, Data Protection Acts and patient confidentiality at all times. This will include demonstrating compliance with the terms of all safeguarding policies and processes relevant to the safeguarding of adults and children in the care of GHNHSFT and to undergo regular mandatory training concerned with safeguarding matters.
- Applies to Physiotherapists only: When performing on call duties, staff must be available on the ward within 45 minutes of the call. For staff living more than 45 minutes from the hospital, a designated on-call room for overnight stay is available in Cheltenham and is free of charge. This
room can be used by staff at both sites, but if this room is unavailable other rooms can be booked but incur a charge. This charge must be borne by the staff member and is not reimbursable.
Leadership and management- To be responsible for the organisation of own caseload and appropriately delegate to support workers or other staff members in order to ensure effective time management. To assist the team in the day to day running of the clinical area.
- To communicate with the multi disciplinary team (MDT) to aid effective patient care, which will include taking an active role in team meetings, joint treatment sessions, case conferences and specialist interest group meetings. Either working alone or as part of the multi-disciplinary team, to make recommendations for appropriate and timely discharge/transfer from hospital
- To consolidate and learn new skills and competencies to provide holistic care using the Therapy Competency Framework. To develop clinical reasoning and treatment techniques through the active
participation in training and development. To consolidate knowledge and skills learned through this process with the direction of senior staff, and deliver research based presentations as part of in-service training. This will involve facilitating own learning opportunities, reflecting on practice and learning through this process.
- To participate in the supervision, caseload monitoring and clinical education of support workers, progressing to supervising undergraduates and less experienced staff with support of senior staff, as required. Providing support, guidance, training, and assessing and evaluating competence, in order to fulfil clinical governance requirements and retain a skilled workforce. To progress to participating in the undergraduate education process, as a clinical educator for undergraduates from the University of the West of England. This involves the assessment of student’s competency to practice and contributes to their BSc honours award
Professional values
To deliver therapeutic interventions, using the principles of Occupational Therapy in an integrated and client-centred way supported by the Therapy Competency Framework.
To work within the Therapy team providing an effective and evidence based service through assessing, planning and implementing treatment programmes.
Communication and interpersonal skills
To communicate effectively with patients and carers potentially complex, sensitive or distressing information; in order to provide patient centred care, to encourage self-management, maximise rehabilitation potential and to ensure understanding of the condition.Patients may have communication, perceptual or cognitive/understanding difficulties.
To communicate effectively and work collaboratively with medical, nursing, other allied health professions and other colleagues to ensure delivery of a co-ordinated multidisciplinary service.
Leadership, management and team working
To take on increasing responsibility for personal development and supporting the development and supervision of others by CPD (continuing professional development), linked to appraisal.
Weekend working as per weekend rota
Person specification
Qualifications
Essential criteria- Degree/ Diploma in Occupational Therapy
- Registered with the Health & Care Professions Council
Experience
Essential criteria- Experience of working in the NHS in the UK
Knowledge / Skills
Essential criteria- Deliver evidence based occupational therapy assessment and treatment
- Apply a practical approach to problem solving.
- Demonstrate effective communication skills, both verbal, non-verbal and written when interacting with other team members, clients and other professionals.
- Demonstrate clear, concise and accurate communication when conveying written information
- Manage own workload and prioritise appropriately
The health and wellbeing of our staff and patients remains the priority of the Trust. Vaccination remains the best chance we have of conquering COVID and the Trust encourages everyone to take up this offer.
Please note, this vacancy may close as soon as sufficient applications have been received, so please apply as soon as possible if you are interested. The Recruitment Team are unable to accept any applications after the position has closed on NHS Jobs.
Committed to safeguarding our community
If applicable for the post, all successful candidates will be required to pay for their own Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check. The cost will be £29 (standard checks) or £46 (enhanced checks), and will be recovered through two instalments from the candidate's salary.Please contact [email protected] for further information.
The Trust is a safeguarding employer committed to the safeguarding and promotion of welfare of children, young people and vulnerable adults and expects staff and volunteers to share this commitment. The Trust is committed to safe recruitment practices to protect children and vulnerable adults, and any appointment will be subject to satisfactory clearance.As part of the organisation's commitment to Safer Recruitment, candidates may request copies of relevant policies and procedures by contacting the Recruitment Team at [email protected]
Committed to supporting service personnel
As part of our commitment to support Service Personnel, Gloucestershire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, in collaboration with the Career Transition Partnership, offer a Guaranteed Interview Scheme for all qualifying Service and Ex-Service Personnel.To qualify for a guaranteed interview, candidates must meet the essential criteria for the post and be either a current member of the Armed Forces, or be within the two year period of resettlement. If this applies to you please email the job reference number and your AR number to the Recruitment Team at [email protected]
Follow us on Twitter: @GHNHSFTCareers