Specialist Paediatric Occupational Therapist
- The post holder works as part of the Community Paediatric Occupational Therapy Service.
The post holder works autonomously with emphasis being placed on multi
-disciplinary working and multi-agency collaboration under the supervision of a Band7 Occupational Therapist, they have specific responsibility for:- Holding their own clinical caseload.Clinical supervision and development of more junior staff Brief overview of post The post holder will carry out assessments and treatment and provide advice for children on their caseload in mainstream schools, special schools and other community settings.
They will attend multi-agency meetings and relevant discussions, including EHCP meetings and Tribunals if required.Main Duties and Responsibilities Patient contact: The post holder will participate in regular supervision from a Paediatric Occupational Therapist of a higher grade but will be expected to work autonomously to: Provide specialist, evidence-based assessment, treatment and/or advice to children (aged 0
- school leaving age), referred to the Paediatric Occupational Therapy team in liaison with families and other professionals within a multi-agency framework.
Children may present with life limiting, physical, multi-sensory disabilities and present with long term postural, functional and independence needs.
Appropriate involvement in Education Health Care Plans and the Education Tribunal process.Be responsible for the prioritisation and management of a specialist clinical caseload (children with highly complex needs) using specialist paediatric knowledge and evidence based practice.
Work collaboratively with multi-disciplinary / agency teams to provide a co-ordinated and integrated approach to patient care, e.g.
health, social services, education, voluntary sector and families.
To provide spontaneous and planned advice, teaching and instruction to relatives, carers and other professionals in order to promote understanding of the aims of Occupational Therapy and to ensure a consistent approach to the childs care.
To work with and provide specialist information to members of the multi-disciplinary team regarding the childs functional ability in order to:-
- reach a working diagnosis
- enable subsequent management of relevant functional difficulties
- deliver a comprehensive and co-ordinated treatment programme to each child.
This is based on their clinical need and may include, where appropriate participation in case conferences, school reviews and discharge planning.
Use clinical judgement/reasoning for the assessment and recommendation, of specialist equipment e.g.postural seating and toileting equipment, from budgets such as education.
To review and monitor the specialist equipment to ensure it meets the childs changing needs.
To report any issues affecting health and safety to the provider.
This includes the training of children and staff in the safe use of the equipment.
Work with children and families to identify Occupational Therapy child centred SMART goals and to formulate and recommend the best course of intervention.
These should address Occupational performance and skill deficits, enabling children to develop/improve in the areas of self-care, access to the National Curriculum, life skills, play and leisure activities.
To monitor, evaluate and modify specialised, individually tailored treatment (evidence based) in order to measure progress using outcome measures to ensure intervention is effective and complimentary to the childs development, lifestyle and educational programme.
To assess child/carer understanding of treatment plans, gain informed consent and have the capacity to work within a legal framework with children and their families/carers who lack capacity to consent to treatment.To facilitate a childs return to school following discharge from Hospitals (local and Regional) following acute admissions and surgery in liaison with relevant services including Hospital staff, Special Needs Community Nurse, Physiotherapist, Education Staff and Speech and Language Therapists.
To contribute to the planned admissions to hospital in collaboration with other members of the multidisciplinary team to ensure the childs care plan meets their needs and optimises the outcome of their stay.To follow Trust procedures for incident reporting, and safeguarding asking for support from appropriate other personnel, in order to report the incident To provide advanced specialist assessment, treatment, and/or advice to children referred to the Paediatric Occupational Therapy team in liaison with families and other professionals within a multi-agency framework.
Children may present with physical, learning, social/emotional and behavioural difficulties e.g.neuromuscular conditions, musculoskeletal conditions, developmental conditions, perceptual difficulties and genetic abnormalities, Muscular Dystrophy, Cerebral Palsy, Developmental Co-ordination Disorder, Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder or Autistic Spectrum Disorder.
To take an active role in and help organise/present as appropriate: o staff meetings o peer review o external courses Will be expected to manage and prioritise own workload balancing other clinical, non-clinical and professional demands.Often working under pressure and to tight deadlines.
Will use supervision with a more senior Paediatric Occupational Therapist as needed.
To triage referrals as delegated.
Work alone in different environments including patients own homes, nurseries, and schools; following CCS Paediatric Occupational Therapy Lone Working Policy.
Refer on to other professionals / agencies as required.
Seek assistance from colleagues where further advice or support is sought with regard to patient care.
Decide on appropriate clinical and non-clinical tasks to be delegated e.g.
to assistants, carers, admin staff, school staff.
Professionally and legally be responsible and accountable for all aspects of own work.
To demonstrate the ability to critically evaluate and benchmark current clinical practice against national guidelines, standards and Evidence Based Practice and Best Practice.
Interpret conflicting information (within specialist area) and recommend the best course of Occupational Therapy intervention to multi agency staff e.g., health, education and social care.