Senior Occupational Therapist

Black Country Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust provides specialist mental health, learning disability, and community healthcare services for the population of the Black Country.

Across the Black Country we provide:

• Adult and older adult mental health services
• Specialist learning disability services
• Mental health services for children and young people
• Community healthcare services for children, young people and families in Dudley

Black Country Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust was formed on 1 April 2020, with the merger of Black Country Partnership NHS Foundation Trust and Dudley and Walsall Mental Health Partnership NHS Trust. Combining resources, strategies and talented workforce enables us to deliver a wider variety of outstanding services that are based on best practice and are continually improving.

We currently employ over 4,000 people and just like the population we serve, we are made up of diverse cultures and backgrounds. Whatever your role, working in a NHS Foundation Trust, like ours, is a demanding and extremely rewarding experience. Knowing that every day you can help to make a positive difference to someone's life is a very powerful feeling. We know that our Trust runs on this desire to help and support people, and our Trust vision expresses this. Our vision is to improve health and wellbeing for everyone, especially our colleagues to achieve the best possible work/life balance.

We proudly offer supportive, inclusive and family friendly employment and flexible working policies. We have a wide range of professional services and employee networks to help our colleagues be at their best - and find support if they need it. To find more about our staff benefits, please visit our website:  

Don't meet every single requirement? Studies have shown that women and ethnic minority candidates are less likely to apply to jobs unless they meet every single qualification. At Black Country Healthcare we recognise and value all forms of knowledge and expertise, so if you're excited about this role but your past experience doesn't align perfectly with every qualification or criteria in the job description/person specification, we encourage you to apply anyway. You may be just the right candidate for this or other roles.

For further supporting information to help you apply for this role please see documents attached under 'Additional documents'.

We have an exciting opportunity for a motivated Occupational Therapist (OT) to join our community mental health team. We are looking someone who has a passion for mental health and wishes to develop their skills and knowledge. You will be part of a dynamic, supportive and diverse multi-disciplinary team (MDT).

This is a great opportunity to join a team of highly skilled clinicians working to make a difference in our community.

This is an exciting time to join our Black Country Healthcare Foundation Trust to be part of the Community Mental Health Transformation. We are looking for enthusiastic and committed individuals to join our Sandwell North Community Mental Health Team.

You will be a qualified Occupational Therapist who has an enthusiasm for working in mental health. You will be responsible for an allocated caseload of OT specific patients, for some you will be the lead professional. You will have a combination of one to one and group work as part of your role.

You will be supported to develop your skills and knowledge of mental health services and the role of the Occupational Therapist within the community mental health team and the wider MDT. We currently use the Model of Human Occupation and associated assessments within our service.

Within the team we have a robust Occupational Therapy leadership and provide peer support, you will also have the opportunity to provide supervision and development to Occupational Therapy Assistants. You will have regular caseload supervision from an Occupational Therapy Team Lead. We have regular opportunities to develop clinical and professional practice in line with service user needs and organisational values.

The team is committed to providing safe, sound and supportive services.

As a trust we are committed to ensuring staffs wellbeing, providing access to various networks, trust wide mindfulness groups, self-referral physio services, staff counselling. In addition to this you will have access to the Vivup services, Car lease schemes and other benefits.

Main Duties/Responsibilities

To work effectively as a member of the community team as an autonomous practitioner in providing a range of therapy interventions (individual and group) using graded activity to achieve therapeutic goals, in collaboration with multidisciplinary team members

To manage a clinical caseload of adults with mental health needs requiring occupational assessment and treatment interventions with clients in the 
community as well as within their home environment.

To undertake occupational therapy assessments/treatment interventions
based on the model of human occupation, with designated service users, 
utilising investigative and analytical skills to formulate individualised treatment plans.

To work collaboratively with service users to identify occupational therapy goals as part of the overall recovery care plan.

To utilise standardised and non-standardised occupational therapy 
assessment tools as part of the assessment process.

To actively engage and motivate service users in the occupations of self-care, productivity and leisure.

To establish effective communication with service users, carers, and other health workers and agencies both internally and externally.

To ensure that electronic records are maintained in accordance with trust and professional standards and provide specialist OT reports 

To monitor, evaluate and modify treatment in order to measure progress to ensure effective intervention.

To work collaboratively with multi-disciplinary team members providing 
occupational therapy specific contributions to the care and treatment process of patients.

To utilise clinical reasoning skills, demonstrating critical thinking, reflection and analysis from which to inform practice.

To apply an experiential understanding of the effects of functional, cognitive and physical impairment related to mental health needs in the therapeutic process of treatment planning and intervention

To be responsible for the planning and delivery of occupational therapy 
interventions in a variety of environments, according to service user need.

To undertake any other duties of a similar nature consistent with the 
responsibilities of this post in order to provide a quality occupational therapy service.

** Please Note that Internal at Risk Employees will be given preference for this position**

We reserve the right to bring the closing date forward for this vacancy at any time should we receive an overwhelming response of applications. We therefore encourage applicants to apply early if you wish to be considered for this post.

If you do not hear from the Recruitment team within the advertised closing date please assume that you have been unsuccessful at the shortlisting stage. Please ensure that you check your emails on a regular basis for any recruitment updates regarding this vacancy. If you are not successful at the shortlisting stage and would like feedback, please contact the Recruitment Team directly for feedback. 

The salary range quoted is as per NHS Agenda for Change pay structures where applicable. This is based on the number of years' working directly within the NHS at the advertised pay band. Experience gained with other NHS Trusts will apply, but candidates without prior experience working direct for the NHS would normally be appointed at the lowest point unless they can demonstrate the equivalent experience and then be eligible for incremental increases in future years. Medical and Very Senior Manager roles are exempt from agenda for change and subject to alternative remuneration structures.

Successful applicants for clinical posts up to and including Band 4 are expected to hold the national Care Certificate qualification and will be supported to attain this once in post.

The Trust is committed to equal opportunities, providing opportunities for flexible working and is a non-smoking organisation.

As a Trust we are passionate about Anti-Racism, Disability Inclusion, and LGBTQ+ Equality, and are committed to diversifying our staff team in all areas and at all levels of seniority to better reflect the diverse communities we serve. Therefore, we particularly welcome and encourage applications from people who belong to a minority or marginalised community, including from Black and Asian, Disabled (including hidden disabilities such as Neurodiversity, Mental Health, etc), or Lesbian, Gay, Bi, Trans or Queer (LGBTQ+) people.    

Furthermore, Disabled applicants have the option of requesting that their application is considered under our Guaranteed Interview Scheme (GIS). Please indicate your intention to apply under the GIS in the relevant section of your application. Regardless of whether you participate in the scheme or have shared a disability, you will be provided the opportunity to request reasonable adjustments to the interview process at each stage of the recruitment process.

Due to the nature of the work some posts may be subject to a Standard Enhanced Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check, through the Disclosure and Barring Service as stipulated under part V of the Police Act 1997. Having a criminal record will not necessarily bar you from working with us; this will depend on the nature of the position and the circumstances of your offences.