Therapy Assistant

We are looking for a Band 4 Therapy Assistant with an interest in Frailty and Emergency Care to join our ‘Home First’ Team at Ashford and St Peter’s NHS Foundation Trust. This is a full time post, but flexible working requests will be considered in conjunction with the service needs.

**The Home First Team covers the “front door” of the hospital**: Accident and Emergency, Clinical Assessment Unit and Older Persons Assessment Unit (OPAU) and you will have the opportunity to work alongside multidisciplinary team members from Nursing, Therapies, Adult Social Care, District and Borough and Community Healthcare Services.

The role will encompass working with patients, healthcare staff and families/carers with the support of a supervising Therapist to collate holistic and comprehensive assessments to support optimised discharges and avoid unnecessary hospital admissions. You will also assist with equipment provision and maintenance thereof and will be required to carry out administrative duties to support the day to day running of the service.

We have a positive approach to staff development and you will be supported by the team to receive regular supervision, complete competencies and have the opportunity to attend our established in-service training program for assistants.

Ashford and St Peter’s Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust operates a 7-day service and there is a requirement to support weekend working on a rota basis.

To carry own caseload, set by and under the direction of a qualified therapist
To work jointly with occupational and/or physiotherapists to assess patient’s ability to carry out functional tasks such as bed mobility, walking and toileting
To provide advice on the use and provision of equipment to aid activities of daily living.
To assist with personal care needs, including washing and dressing of patients if required
To undertake basic observational skills known as vital observations, to include the knowledge and ability to monitor blood pressure, pulse and respiratory rate, as well as oxygen saturation levels and report back to qualified staff if there are any concerns
To attend boardround/other meetings where appropriate and within scope of practice to feedback patient progress and receive further updates
To undertake non-clinical duties related to the treatment and management of patients, photocopying, filing, ordering/delivering equipment, recording patient contacts, arranging referrals to other agencies and note writing
To demonstrate physical ability to carry out treatments and interventions. This involves frequent light to moderate physical effort
Attend regular supervision and training as required

Ashford and St. Peters Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust serves a population of more than 410,000 people living in North-West Surrey, parts of Hounslow and beyond.

Over 3,700 highly trained doctors, nurses, midwives, therapists, healthcare scientists and other support staff make up our workforce, providing a wide range of services across our two hospital sites, Ashford, Ashford, Surrey and St Peter's, Chertsey, Surrey.

We also run many specialist clinics in the community and local community hospitals and other healthcare facilities.

Our vision is to be one of the best healthcare Trusts in the country. There has never been a better time to join us in the NHS at Ashford & St Peters Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust with our strong commitment to staff health and wellbeing. We are committed to providing continuous professional development, staff benefits and flexibility to shape our workforce around our patient care.

The duties and responsibilities below are a summary of the post. For the full detailed list, please refer to the attached job description.

Clinical
To work in collaboration with other team members to provide therapy input for patients within the speciality.
To provide therapeutic assessment and intervention for individual patients according to their diagnosis, prognosis and needs.
To work with a varied caseload of patients.
To advise on the use and provision of mobility and functional equipment.
To work in conjunction with patients and carers on specific issues, as directed by the therapy staff, and to deal with their concerns as they arise.
To be aware of problems that could affect the patient’s progress and report back any changes to the therapist.

Managerial
Manage and prioritise own patient caseload as delegated by the therapists.
To ensure supplies of equipment are maintained and prepare orders when appropriate.

Communication
To develop rapport with patients and their families, encourage their interest and participation, in a manner which promotes dignity, self-esteem and choice. This requires empathy, sensitivity and good interpersonal skills.
To use effective communication tools, verbal and non-verbal to communicate treatment programmes and plans to patients who may have barriers to understanding or communicating e.g. blind, deaf, dysphasic or who do not hav