Hand Therapy Assistant - Occupational Therapy
Job overview
We are seeking a Band 4 Occupational Therapy Support Worker to join our integrated OT/PT Hand Therapy team. The successful candidate will have a proven background of at least Band 2/3 level or the equivalent, within the acute hospital therapy, community rehabilitation or rehabilitation hospital.We may consider applicants with a proven background of relevant studies and experience in a related field e.g. sport therapy or sports science.
We have a strong leadership structure within Occupational Therapy, with a head of service, principal Site lead OT's on each main site and specialty Team lead OT's. Come and join us and be part of our friendly and supportive department.
Ours staff receive regular support through formal and informal supervision, appraisals and training.
Our broad and varied workload offers every opportunity to further your experience and our location is great - set within 1-hour commuting distance of London. In fact, no other department will offer you more.
Main duties of the job
Generic
To work as an integral and active part of the Hand Therapy and multi-disciplinary team. They will be responsible for supporting the Hand Therapy team in the provision of a patient centred service, in an efficient and cost effective way
Role specificResponsibilities are in clinical management of patients and relevant documentation.
Contribute to the continued development and maintenance of efficiency and safety in the Hand Therapy Department.
Be flexible at times of increased capacity to the service
Working for our organisation
Frimley Health NHS Foundation Trust provides NHS hospital services for around 900,000 people across Berkshire, Hampshire, Surrey and south Buckinghamshire.
As well as delivering excellent general hospital services to local people, we provide specialist heart attack, vascular, stroke, spinal, cystic fibrosis and plastic surgery services across a much wider area.
We have three main hospitals - Frimley Park in Frimley near Camberley, Heatherwood in Ascot and Wexham Park near Slough.
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.
We are also proud to host the Defence Medical Group South East at Frimley Park with military surgical, medical and nursing personnel working alongside the hospital's NHS staff providing care to patients in all specialties.
Detailed job description and main responsibilities
ClinicalGeneric
Once competent, to be responsible, unsupervised, for implementing the standards and policies relevant to the Hand Therapy team
Within specific guidelines and following training, to be solely responsible and accountable for a clinical case load working within codes of practice and professional guidelines. This includes patient documentation in both professional and medical notes.
Solely responsible:
- For the primary assessment of patients relevant to the scope of the Band 4 role
- Once competent teach, supervise and progress exercises for a specific caseload without direction.
- This may include (but not exclusively):
o Wound care and soft tissue techniques
o Strengthening exercises
o Upper limb rehabilitation classes
o Issuing and ordering equipment
o Functional assessments including personal and domestic tasks
- Motivating patients to exercise and address barriers to compliance
- To be responsible for performing given tasks and reporting any concerns to the Band 7 therapist or appropriate member of the clinical team through daily feedback.
- To be aware of and adhere to Trust and local policies and procedures.
- To provide programmes (exercise prescription) of activity that have a therapeutic basis following evidenced based guidelines laid down by the Specialist therapists.
- To be aware of safe practise and the need for onward referral, particularly when carrying out exercise testing and exercise programmes.
- To demonstrate a physical ability to carry out therapy interventions and therapeutic handling without direct supervision. There is a frequent requirement to exert moderate physical effort for several short periods during the day.
- To be responsible for the safe use of therapy equipment, adhering to the Trust medical device policy. This includes competency and accuracy to use equipment by you, other healthcare professionals, carers and patients.
This job will involve frequent exposure to unpleasant working conditions e.g. bodily fluids, surgical wounds, unpleasant smells and occasional exposure to hostility in the form of verbal and physical aggression.
Education- To gain the required knowledge and skills in the relevant technical and clinical areas.
- To be responsible for maintaining these skills under the supervision and with support from the clinical specialist therapist in that area.
- To attend external courses where appropriate giving feedback from any attended.
- To be responsible for and actively record your own personal development.
- To contribute to the induction of new therapists, therapy students to the Therapy Department
- To participate in the Therapy audits
- To take part in the Therapy team IST rota through attendance and delivered presentations.
- To acquire, complete and maintain competencies in order to participate an appropriate weekend rota.
- To prioritise a delegated caseload and balance other patient related and professional activities in accordance with the departments requirements. This will require occasional concentration in an unpredictable and busy environment and may include responding to urgent referrals and occasionally unpredictable work patterns.
- To organise ongoing outpatient/community therapy treatment on patient discharge if required
- To be able to manage potentially upsetting or emotional situations in an empathetic manner including but not limited to, Post-op complications, high levels of pain.
- To work within the therapy team to provide an efficient and effective service and to be involved in the implementation of department policies and the yearly performance plan.
- To maintain and provide accurate and timely statistical information.
- To participate in the Trust Appraisal Scheme as an appraisee.
- To ensure that all equipment defects accidents and complaints are reported to your line manager and the Therapy Manager immediately to ensure that appropriate action may be taken.
- To be responsible for cleaning and checking the conditions of relevant
- Management and organisation of all equipment in stores.
- To maintain and manage ordering of stock – ordering specific pieces for patients on behalf of the lead therapist
- Undertake associated admin for the role
Generic
- Demonstrate a courteous and helpful approach to patients and their families, ensuring patients feel reassured and supported.
- Take patient phone calls and seek advice from relevant specialist therapists when appropriate, and to use reassurance skills that require tact and persuasion on occasions.
- To maintain accurate clinical records, ensuring compliance with hospital, Frimley Health, professional standards and local guidelines.
- Report untoward incidents, accidents, complaints and any other relevant information to specialist therapists immediately.
- Participate fully as a team member, sharing knowledge and information and supporting colleagues, to promote a cohesive team.
- To attend and be an active member in speciality and department staff meetings.
- To use interpreters when required to ensure effective communication occurs with patients who are hard of hearing or do not speak/understand enough English for the purposes of consent and cooperation for treatment.
- In line with Trusts commitment to Clinical Governance to participate in the therapy departments clinical audit programme
- To contribute to the therapy annual business plan.
Person specification
Qualificaion/ skills exprience
Essential criteria- GCSE or equivalent qualification in English and Mathematics.
- Knowledge of anatomy/physiology/ clinical knowledge of specialty
- NVQ Level 3 or equivalent
- Foundation Degree or equivalent in related field / or willingness to work towards
Competencies
Essential criteria- Interpersonal skills to include concise and effective verbal and written communication.
- Ability to instruct and motivate
- Organisational skills, ability to prioritise and manage day.
- Logical, ability to problem solve
- IT skills
- Ability to conduct and respond to risk assessments
- Ability to critically appraise own performance.
- To be able to organise and deliver a health education session either in 1:1 or group sessions.
- Basic understanding of the patient condition and its impact on the therapy intervention.
- Negotiation skills, able to overcome barriers to exercise.
PROFESSIONAL/ experience
Essential criteria- Experience as Band 2/3 Occupational Therapy or Physiotherapy assistant within an NHS setting or equivalent private health setting
- Leading and delivering therapy programmes in a hospital setting
- Working within a team
- Experience of working directly with patients
- Experience working with falls
- Evaluating outcomes of exercise or use of equipment
- Knowledge of therapy interventions acquired through training or experience within a healthcare setting
Special reuirements
Essential criteria- Willingness to work flexibly
- To be able to travel cross hospital sites if needed
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.