Senior Specialist Occupational Therapist

**Senior Specialist Occupational Therapist - £55,000**
Provider has a legacy of over 40 years and a proud track record of supporting hundreds of people each year with autism, learning disabilities, brain injury or physical impairments to live as independently as possible. Recently have begun to implement an ambitiousnew strategy; one which is predicated on the Trust delivering the greatest impact, for the greatest number of people, in a financially sustainable way.
Main Purpose: To work as part of a multi/ interdisciplinary team providing occupational therapy input within the Trust’s Neurobehavioural model to service users with acquired brain injury (ABI) and to lead on OT provision within the service. To liaise withinternal and external professionals, family members and service users.
Main Tasks & Responsibilities: Clinical / Professional Practice:

- To work within a specialist clinical area as an autonomous professional with highly developed skills and knowledge in neurological rehabilitation, potentially as the sole clinician but with supervision (which may be remote) of a more senior OT. To acceptprofessional accountability and responsibility.
- To manage and prioritise a caseload of service users with complex mental/physical health needs and/or challenging behaviour.
- To complete the OT process and to use evidence based/service user centred principles and clinical reasoning to assess, formulate a treatment plan, implement and evaluate interventions bringing specialist knowledge to more complex cases.
- To address occupational performance and skill deficits enabling the service user in areas of self-maintenance, productivity, education and leisure.
- To develop programmes of care, ensure adequate and detailed handover of programmes to rehabilitation support workers or therapy assistants, monitor through data gathering, evaluate and modify treatment in order to measure progress and ensure effectivenessof intervention according to the neurobehavioural model.
- To delegate tasks appropriately according to the competence of colleagues and take responsibility for handover, monitoring and review.
- To use highly developed interpersonal skills and empathy to engage those service users and families who may be resistant to the rehabilitation process or may be distressed.
- To carry out detailed risk assessments including for more complex issues and ensure these are regularly reviewed and updated and communicate this with the team effectively.
- To maintain detailed and accurate documentation in line with Royal College of Occupational Therapists (RCOT) guidance and produce professional reports demonstrating highly specialist knowledge.
- To work with service users, family/carers and outside agencies in a sensitive and flexible way considering the most appropriate environment for assessment and 9 intervention and responding to changing needs, circumstances and cultural issues. To maintainthe highest levels of integrity during all communications.
- To work as a member of the multi/inter-disciplinary team bringing specialist knowledge, actively listening, participating in meetings, engaging in shared decision making, contributing to overall treatment objectives agreed in the rehabilitation plan and workingcollaboratively to establish service user centred therapeutic goals that promote service user choices.
ESSENTIAL:
**Education**:

- Degree or diploma in Occupational Therapy.
- Registered with the HCPC.
- Practice placement qualification or willingness to undertake this qualification within the first year.
- Specialist knowledge of OT interventions in ABI e.g. cognitive rehabilitation, upper limb rehabilitation.
- In depth understanding of occupational therapy outcome measures.

**Knowlege**:

- Knowledge of occupational therapy models of practice.
- Knowledge of current legislation and policies affecting clinical area and professional practice.
- Knowledge of the principles of clinical governance and experience of service evaluation and audit.
- 12 Health, safety & risk awareness, ability to manage complex situations.
- Understanding of research methods and principles.

**Experience**:

- Evidence of continuing professional development.
- A wide range of experience including some inpatient and community settings.
- Experience of working with service users with neurological deficits or acquired brain injury.
- Minimum of 4 years post registration with at least 2 years’ experience working with neurological conditions.
- This may include experience as part of a mixed caseload or prequalification experience at the discretion of the clinical lead & depending on knowledge check at interview.
- Experience of the assessment and provision of specialist equipment. Proven experience of managing a team.
- Proven experience of supervision of junior staff and students and understanding of leadership skills.
- Experience of working within a multi / inter disciplinary team.
- Experience of planning and running goal directed therapeutic groups.
- Proven experience of working within a pressurised environment.