Occupational Therapy Assistant - Cheltenham - ref. r99146215

We love what we do and we think you will, too!

At Gloucestershire Health and Care NHS Foundation Trust (GHC), we provide joined-up mental health, physical health and learning disability services to people of all ages across Gloucestershire. We run community hospitals and provide care and support in people’s own homes and in a range of other locations across the county.

We are on a mission to enable people to live the best life they can and we have a vision to work together to provide outstanding care. We put people at the heart of our services, focusing on personalised care by asking ‘what matters to you’.

We’re passionate about making sure that everyone can contribute to achieving our mission and we are continually working to support healthy and happy high-quality teams in all areas of the Trust.

Our application process aims to understand each candidates knowledge, skills and experience. We have found that candidates that use AI to generate their answers can lack specificity and fail to address key criteria outlined in the job description.

It is really important to personalise your application to convey your individual skills, knowledge, and experiences effectively and for us to understand why you are applying for this role with GHC. We discourage over reliance on AI-generated applications as it will lessen your chances of success in securing an interview with us .

Job overview

An exciting new opportunity has arisen within the Cheltenham locality integrated community team. We are looking for a dynamic and enthusiastic Occupational Therapy Assistant B4 to complement our existing team; delivering community based care.

The ICTs consist of nursing, therapy and reablement staff along with administrators. We work closely with GPs, the local communities, the community hospital(s) and other partners to enable people to live as independently as possible at home. The ethos of the team is a rehabilitative and person-centred approach to recovery and self-management; ensuring we offer care close to home and avoid unnecessary admissions to bed based services.

This may be within the patients’ own homes or within our locality bed-based rehabilitation facility. All of our ICT staff are equipped for mobile working to include use of a laptop and smart phone.

• You have a passion for rehabilitation
• You have relevant experience
• You thrive working within a multidisciplinary team but are also able to work autonomously.
• You have innovative ideas to develop and deliver personalised care plans that support people to maintain their health and wellbeing.
• You are committed to support people to live not just exist and have a commitment to high quality patient care.
• You have excellent communication and IT skills.
• Applicants will have an interest in developing trusted assessor knowledge and skills, within in the community.
• You are highly motivated to contribute to the exciting developments within the OT service.
• You are committed and enthusiastic about your continuing professional development.
• You have good organisational and time management skills.

The qualification, training & experience requirements for the role are underlined in the Job Description/Person Specification.

Working for our organisation

We have in excess of 5000 staff working over 50 sites, providing a diverse range of services. We strive to support an organisational culture that is welcoming, builds and celebrates inclusivity and diversity and provides a sense of belonging and trust.

The annual NHS Staff Survey gives our people the opportunity to tell us about their experience working at the Trust. For the 2023 survey just over 2800 colleagues gave us their views (58.5%). It was great to see from the results that colleagues are saying that:

• 89.7% believe they are making a positive difference to patients/service users;
• 73.3% would recommend the organisation as a place to work;
• 82.4% agree that care of patients and service users is the organisations priority;
• 76.7% would be happy with the standard of care for a friend or relative

Our results put us as 5th nationally as a Community, Mental Health and Learning Disabilities NHS Employer of Choice and 1st equal amongst all NHS Provider Trusts in the South West. However, we know we have more to do and will continue to drive forward our commitment to making GHC a Great Place to Work.

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

Please see attached Job description & Personal Specification for full job role details

Clinical:

• To assess, devise, implement and evaluate therapeutic treatment programmes collaboratively with the person, their families and or carers, within the framework established by the occupational therapist
• To be able to understand and apply knowledge of a range of conditions, appreciating the impacts these have on a person’s occupational functional ability
• To utilise a health coaching approach to work with individuals in developing collaborative goals and action (care) plans
• To exchange information with patients, their families and or carers that may require tact, reassurance or persuasion. To provide receive sensitive or complex information and relay appropriately
• To be able to work with people to facilitate learning of skills or gaining of independence.
• To plan and provide therapy interventions, acting within competencies and modifying treatment programmes as appropriate
• To understand and use relevant outcome measures

Professional:

• Maintain accurate, comprehensive and timely clinical records of all care, advice and support delivered with clear reasoning for interventions in accordance with trust and national guidelines
• To employ effective time management skills to organise and prioritise caseload under the guidance of the occupational therapist
• To ensure that confidentiality and patient dignity is respected and maintained at all times
• Comply with current policies and procedures e.g. health and safety, moving and handling, data protection and confidentiality
• The role may develop into a 7 day working pattern to accommodate service demands

Leadership:

• Identify and propose service development changes where relevant
• To be able to delegate tasks appropriately to Band 3 assistants
• To take personal responsibility for lifelong learning through reflective practice, supervision and annual appraisal.

In addition to the programme we also offer all preceptees the opportunity of enrolling and completing the level 7 (Masters) 15 credit validated module “Preceptorship for Healthcare” (AP7026).

Newly qualified Social Workers are offered the Assessed and Supported Year in Employment programme (ASYE) which is similar to a preceptorship programme.

Person specification

QUALIFICATIONS

• NVQ Level 3 in health and social care or other health related subject. Trusted assessor qualification or a Commitment to complete trusted assessor training within 12 months.

• GCSE level or equivalent in English and maths

LENGTH AND / OR NATURE OF EXPERIENCE

• Experience of working to occupational therapy principles of practice
• Experience of working in a health and or social care environment
• Experience of working autonomously managing own caseload
• Experience of working within a therapy or multidisciplinary team
• Experience of passing on skills to patients /carers /health and social care staff /other agencies
• Experience of working as a lone worker

PROFESSIONAL / MANAGERIAL / SPECIALIST KNOWLEDGE

• Able to demonstrate knowledge of therapeutic interventions
• Able to demonstrate knowledge of a range of health conditions that impact on occupational function
• Able to provide appropriate interventions for distressed patients or those who have behaviours which challenge us
• Awareness of own competency limitations
• Able to apply moving and handling training
• Able to apply knowledge of equipment and adaptation training

• Health coaching training or equivalent Dementia training.

PERSONAL SKILLS ABILITIES AND ATTRIBUTES

• Good organisational skills
• Good time management skills
• Evidence of initiative and be able to make appropriate decisions within clear guidelines
• Ability to delegate tasks appropriately
• Ability to work effectively in a team environment as well as individually
• The ability to adapt to changes in work routine
• Commitment to lifelong learning

When joining us, as well as becoming part of a team that makes a difference, we also offer:

• Free car parking at many of our sites
• 27 days leave plus bank holidays, increasing up to 33 days with long service
• A broad range of training and development opportunities, including apprenticeships up to Level 7 qualification.
• A multi-professional preceptorship programme for all Newly Qualified; Nurses, Nursing Associates, Internationally Educated Practitioners, Allied Health Professionals and Return to Practice Practitioners.
• Generous NHS pension and enhanced pay when if you work unsocial hours
• Flexible, family friendly and agile working opportunities
• Recognition and long service awards
• Fast Track physiotherapy
• Our Wellbeing line
• Access to discounts and salary sacrifice schemes; including Cycle to Work, Car scheme and discounts on travel, leisure and retailers.

Applicants are advised to apply early as if a large number of applications are received for this post, we reserve the right to close the vacancy prior to the advertised date. Good luck with your application.

For more information please see the attached 'Additional Information for Applicants' document.