Occupational Therapist
Our values are: We Care, We Respect, We are Inclusive – so we are looking for people who live and breathe these qualities when supporting service users and carers, and in their relationships with colleagues in the Trust and our partner organisations.
Job overview
Would you like to join our innovative and dynamic Occupational Therapy service? We are seeking a passionate and skilled Occupational Therapist to join our Working Age Community Mental Health Service on a fixed-term 12-month contract to cover maternity leave.
This exciting opportunity is based at the new, purpose-built Grove View Integrated Health & Care Hub, located at Court Drive, Dunstable LU5 4JD. You would working across Dunstable and Leighton Buzzard.
If you are ready to make a difference and bring your expertise to our team, we encourage you to apply!
Main duties of the job
This is a fantastic opportunity to work with individuals experiencing mental health difficulties, supporting them in their recovery journey. As part of a multi-disciplinary team, you will use your strong clinical assessment skills and specialist OT interventions to enhance the lives of people in the community.Your role will involve utilizing assessment and evaluation tools such as the Model of Human Occupation and AMPS, as well as implementing group-based programs to promote well-being and self-management of mental health.
You will also work closely with the Recovery Service to ensure clients have access to educational and self-help groups. As part of a large team of OTs in both Luton and Bedfordshire, you’ll contribute to maintaining an effective and supportive occupational therapy service.
Working for our organisation
Our mission is to make a positive difference to people's lives by improving the quality of life for all we serve.
Our values are: We Care, We Respect, We are Inclusive – so we are looking for people who live and breathe these qualities when supporting service users and carers, and in their relationships with colleagues in the Trust and our partner organisations.
Detailed job description and main responsibilities
Key Responsibilities:
- Manage your workload effectively, balancing individual interventions and group programs.
- Work as an integral member of the Community Team to ensure holistic care for service users.
- Collaborate with other OTs and multi-disciplinary professionals to provide comprehensive care.
- Support clients and their carers with a compassionate approach to mental health recovery.
- Participate in professional supervision, CPD events, and service development.
What We Offer:
- A supportive induction period to help you reach your full potential.
- Regular managerial and professional supervision to support your career development.
- Monthly CPD events and opportunities for quality improvement and professional development.
- A team that values staff well-being, with a focus on creating a positive and inclusive working environment.
If you’re passionate about making a positive difference in people’s lives and are ready to join a supportive and innovative team, we’d love to hear from you.
For more information or any inquiries, please contact Sihle Mwela at [email protected].
Person specification
Education/ Qualification/ Training
Essential criteria- Degree or Diploma in Occupational Therapy
- State Registration
- Fieldwork Educator Training
- UK Driving license with access to a vehicle with the requisite business insurance
- • Member of Royal College of Occupational Therapists
Experience
Essential criteria- Demonstrable experience highly related to the clinical field
- Experience of staff supervision
- Experience of CPD and role development activities
Knowledge and Skills
Essential criteria- Applied social, health and medical sciences required for the practice of Occupational Therapy including psychology, anatomy, physiology and sociology
- Applied psychological perspectives relevant to OT in mental health including behavioural, cognitive, psychoanalytic and humanistic perspectives
- The impact of mental health difficulties upon occupational functioning (self-care, productivity and leisure) and performance components (i.e. inter and intra personal, cognitive, physical)
- The theory and practice of occupational therapy including occupational science and holistic models of OT practice
- Clinical skills in order to carry out OT interventions (e.g. psychotherapeutic, interactive and activity based interventions, cognitive behavioural interventions, psychosocial and psycho-educational interventions)
- working application of risk assessment issues and its application to practice
- Equal Opportunities related to staff and Service Users
- the needs and rights of service users and / or carers in planning and service development
- research and auditing
Other
Essential criteria- Capacity to undertake physical skills required, facilitating a wide range of activities both on a one-to-one and group basis, including using equipment as required.
- Mental and emotional effort required to undertake intense concentration required for clinical consultations and interventions on both a one-to-one and group basis
- Mental and emotional effort required to undertake intense concentration for holistic formulations; report writing etc. with frequent interruptions
Making Things Better
Quality Improvement is a key part of our work to improve our services and refine how we do things. We have a global reputation for our quality improvement work and we don’t stand still! So we offer a fantastic opportunity for our staff to learn, lead and contribute towards improving our services.
We launched our Five Year Strategy in April 2018, which identified four main strategic outcomes to improve: population health outcomes, experience of care, staff experience and improve value. This complements the NHS Long Term Strategy and sets out our direction of travel.
Our Community
We provide a wide range of community health and mental health inpatient services to children, young people, adults of working age, and older adults in The City of London, Hackney, Newham, Tower Hamlets, Bedfordshire and Luton. We also provide psychological therapy services to the London Borough of Richmond, and provide Forensic services to the whole of North East London.We provide services in urban and rural settings, sometimes in our inpatient units, but mostly in the community close to where people live. Integrated care is key in making the best use of resources and providing effective care.
Aiming High
We were rated ‘Outstanding’ by the CQC in 2016, were proud to be rated ‘Outstanding’ again in 2018 and continue to be rate 'Outstanding' in 2021.. We were named in the HSJ’s Top 10 best places to work in healthcare and were voted Provider Trust of the Year in 2018.
Staff and Service Users United
We strive to ensure that staff feel valued by the Trust and as they are truly pivotal in delivering better outcomes for our patients and service users. Our aspiration is to help to make ELFT the best place to work. This Trust is clinician-led and provides the highest possible level of clinical expertise throughout its services.We pride ourselves on our service user involvement. A service user will be on your assessment centre and interview panel if you are invited to meet us.
We especially welcome people with lived experience of health difficulties, with insight and understanding of different backgrounds, cultures and lifestyles in our population as we believe that this will equip staff to deliver a high standard of care to our service users and patients.
Diversity
ELFT Is committed to being a diverse organisation and our workforce is reflective of the population and communities we serve. We believe that having colleagues with a range of backgrounds and life experiences enriches and adds value to the outcomes we have set out to achieve.Having partnered and endorsed by organisations who are representative and experts in various areas of equality and diversity, we can ensure we are meeting the pre-set standards all the way from recruitment stage throughout the career journey of our employees by being accessible, having fair inclusive practices and a host of staff networks to support, nurture and celebrate our valued staff in the workplace.
Other reasons to apply
As a flexible working friendly organisation, we want to be sure that you can work in a way that is best for us and for our patients, and for you. Speak to us about how we might be able to accommodate a flexible working arrangement whether that’s job share, part time or another flexible pattern.
As part of the relocation scheme we presently have, the Trust could support you with offering up to £10,000 for removal and associated expenses. This is subject to change and terms and conditions apply.
What Next?
If you like the sound of ELFT, don’t waste a moment. We sometimes close adverts early if there is a high response, so apply now!
As part of our recruitment process we may be required to share information you provide on the application form with NHS Counter Fraud Authority (NHSCFA) and/or other organisations for the purpose of the prevention, detection, investigation and prosecution of fraud or any other unlawful activity affecting the NHS.We also use third party providers to check and verify your qualifications who may be contacting you on our behalf to verify the same..
If you do not hear from us within four weeks of the closing date, please consider that you have not been shortlisted on this occasion. You must provide professional email addresses for all referees as we will contact them as soon as an offer has been made.Please note we do not request references prior to interviews. All applications made through NHS Jobs account will be processed by TRAC System. Please note that some emails may go to your spam/junk mailbox so make sure you check this regularly.
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