Occupational Therapy Assistant

Working as an Occupational Therapy Assistant at Potters Bar Clinic, you will be part of an inclusive and supportive team that will work together to provide care to for adult men and women and two CAMHS Tier 4 low secure wards for young people.

A warm and nurturing environment is supported, allowing for the understanding of symptoms, patterns, and origins of psychological distress, and will actively encourage the young people to personalise bedroom spaces to make these feel like a home from home.

The activity programmes will be based on a therapeutic approach to care and will be monitored daily, ensuring safety is maintained and all participate your programmes and to support those who lack motivation within sessions.

You will work alongside the team at Potters Bar Clinic to ensure service users have access to therapeutic interventions to meet their recovery needs and are provided with a range of activities and initiatives to promote healthier lifestyles and skill development.

As an Occupational Therapy Assistant, you will work 37.5 hours a week and will be working flexible hours to support the needs of the service, this includes some evenings and weekends. This a great opportunity to utilise and develop your creative and organisational skillset as you will be responsible for providing cultural events for the ward and hospital.

**Hours**: 37.5 Full-Time. Working hours will tend to be Monday - Friday 9am-5pm but may involve working some weekends.
- *You must live in the UK and have the Right to Work in the UK full time*_

**Our Occupational Therapy Assistant role involves**:

- Daily, monitoring programme activity and being proactive in ensuring that meaningful therapeutic activity is provided safely
- To facilitate meaningful activities on an individual and group basis
- Assist in writing and updating Risk Assessments for activity and risk of environment for all relevant interventions
- Working collaboratively with the Multi-Disciplinary Team members on patient activity
- Working flexible working hours to suit the needs of the service
- Contributing to the creation of patient and ward timetables, ensuring that patients have access to therapeutic interventions to meet their recovery needs and are provided with a range of activities to promote healthier lifestyles and skill development
- Providing effective and accurate clinical entries and outcome of activities using an electronic patient database system
- Developing patients’ programmes as informed by individual patient’s needs
- To use creative and organisational skills in providing cultural events for the ward and hospital
- Supporting patients in developing vocational skills using activity and engagement
- Supporting patents within community integration, running community-based activities using public transport and locally based resources
- Supporting the MDT by contributing within ward discussions, community meetings and reflective practice discussions
- Working with patients individually in specific interventions as recommended by the Multidisciplinary team, in order to enable patients to meet their recovery needs
- Working individually with patients that lack motivation, supporting them to engage
- Liaising with the MDT to enhance staff/client working relationships
- Participating in monthly clinical supervision with the Occupational Therapist and the organisation's system of appraisal
- Participating in team building and other staff support measures to help the team develop
- Participating in and actively supporting the clinic’s quality improvement programme
- Being conversant and follow corporate, hospital and local policies and procedure
- Complying with the requirements of the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974, and related legislation
- Engaging in Continual Professional Development (CPD) opportunities when available
- Experience developing and facilitating psychoeducational sessions
- Develop links with other supportive external agencies as well as facilitate onsite workshops
- Be able to manage the activities budget; including petty cash; reconciling receipts etc
- Managing resources and timely re-ordering in order stock levels of craft and art activities
- Coordination of Community Meeting; chairing the meeting in absence of volunteer; subsequent completion of actions and documentation and dissemination of minutes to all staff

**To be successful in this role, you'll need**:

- Previous experience of working with adults and or young people with mental health disorders
- Any other specific skills which can be utilised in this setting: Art & Craft, Horticulture, Cooking, Music
- Good communication, effective computer, and good organisational skills
- Previous experience of organising/facilitating social events and activities
- Any relevant certificates, courses, and skills that would enhance the delivery and diversity of therapeutic activities
- Ability to design meaningful activity timetables and source inventive activities suitable an