Band 2 Occupational Therapy Assistant
Job overview
We are looking for an enthusiastic, hardworking team member to join our Occupational Therapy Department as an Occupational Therapy Assistant.
Our department, based at Wexham Park Hospital, works across a range of specialities which include: elderly medicine, Acute Medicine, A&E, Stroke, Orthopaedics, Surgery, palliative care.
Experience working within occupational therapy is not essential for this position, but applicants must have a good understanding of OT, good people skills and have had experience of caring for another person (personally or professionally).
On the job training will be provided for this post and will include enrolment in the care certificate programme. We are also able to offer Level 3 Support Worker Apprenticeships to our Support Worker staff.
Please note that we are unable to provide visa sponsorship for this position. Applicants must have the right to work in the UK.
Main duties of the job
The post holders would support qualified Occupational Therapists in the assessment and rehabilitation of a wide variety of patients. Additionally, there are also clerical and housekeeping duties in the role.
Post holder must hold a driving licence to be able to deliver and fit essential equipment into a patient’s home to support patient discharges. We have a department lease car for this purpose.
Working for our organisation
Frimley Health NHS Foundation Trust is committed to being an inclusive and disability confident employer and has been awarded the Gold for the Armed Forces Employment Recognition Scheme.
We provide first class development opportunities for all staff and have a wide range of professional, clinical skills, management and leadership training available.
Here at Frimley Health NHS Foundation Trust, we know how important it is to have a healthy work life balance; this benefits not only individuals but the patients we care for too. 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 and its users.
Frimley Health Trust benefits on Vimeo
Detailed job description and main responsibilities- Work under the guidance of qualified OTs in providing functional treatment for patients experiencing physical and cognitive deficits;
- Support qualified therapists during home assessments in the community;
- Communicate relevant information on patients’ conditions and performance;
- Communicate effectively with other disciplines both internally and externally;
- Take responsibility for training and supporting new OT Assistants and Students;
- Co-operate with other department staff in the efficient management of department stocks and equipment levels
- Contribute towards individual and team objectives within the departments quality / Business Plan
A detailed job description can be found attached to this advert.
Person specification
QUALIFICATIONS
Essential criteria- Good general education
- GCSE or equivalent (in Maths and English)
- NVQ or equivalant in OT or relevant care areas
COMPETENCIES
Essential criteria- Ability to work single handedly with individuals and groups
- Efective written and verbal communication skills
- Team Player - understanding of team dynamics
- Computer literate
- Excellent time management and organisational skills
- Use of Electronic Patient record or similar medical system
- Able to work in challenging circumstances and remain calm in an emergency
Professional
Essential criteria- Work with people in a caring capacity
- Good understanding of the role of OT in the acute hospital setting
- Understanding of the demands of an acute hospital setting
- Work as an OT assistant
- Customer care training or awareness
Special
Essential criteria- Willingness to rotate clinical area of work
- Willingness to work flexibly
- Can travel independently between base and patients home, carrying equipment
Frimley Health NHS Foundation Trust (FHFT) has an outstanding reputation and a proud record of achievement. As a well performing, well led and ambitious Foundation Trust, we have exciting times ahead of us. We have an ongoing commitment to improving the health and care services for the 900,000 people we serve across Berkshire, Hampshire, Surrey and south Buckinghamshire.
We are proud of the ambitions laid out in our strategy, Our Future FHFT, including our vision to be a leader in health & wellbeing, delivering excellence for our communities.
We continue to invest in our services and facilities, including a £10 million upgrade to the hospital maternity unit as well as £49m major new Emergency Assessment Centre on our Wexham Park site. The opening of a brand new £100m state of the art hospital which replaced the existing hospital facility at Heatherwood and are planning to invest further in diagnostics and inpatient capacity at Frimley Park.
We have also made significant investment in our quality improvement and digital programmes to support our vision and we will ensure that we achieve our aim of providing the highest quality healthcare to our patients. Our new EPR – Epic – went live in June and we are already beginning to reap the benefits of this ambitious investment.
Our three core values, and the behaviours that support them, guide everything we do and set out what we expect of our staff in the way they treat patients, visitors, service users and each other, Committed to Excellence, Working Together and Facing the Future.