Occupational Therapy Assistant

**Come and join the UK's largest provider of complex care. We proudly employ over 4000+ people - no matter what your experience, we have jobs for everyone.**

The Frenchay Brain Injury Rehabilitation Centre in Bristol is the Level 1 service for patients with complex neurological rehabilitation needs for the South West of England. We have 52 rehabilitation beds and offer both Level 1 (intensive) and Level 2 (slower stream) specialist inpatient rehabilitation for patients with brain injury and other neurological conditions. The service is run by Active Care Group in partnership with North Bristol NHS Trust.

We are offering an exciting opportunity to join and support our Occupational Therapy team as an Occupational Therapy Assistant. The role will involve supporting individuals who have a wide range of physical, cognitive and communication difficulties, to develop their independence in their activities of daily living. You will also support the Occupational Therapy team with routine departmental tasks.

Training will be provided on the job and you will be supported to develop within the role through regular supervision and appraisal. You will be part of a multidisciplinary team that includes Speech and Language Therapists, Physiotherapists, Neuropsychologists, Doctors, Nurses, Rehabilitation Technicians and Rehabilitation Assistants.

**What you'll be working**:
This role is full-time
- 35 hours per week
- Monday - Friday
- 08:00 - 15:30
- 1 year fixed term contract

**What you'll be doing**:

- Be able to work independently with patients by following treatment plans delegated to them by an Occupational Therapist.
- Be able to run Occupational Therapy groups safely and independently including collecting the patients, following individual guidelines, providing motivation to the patients and completing appropriate documentation.
- Participate in joint treatment sessions with an Occupational Therapist following their guidance to maximise the effectiveness of a patient's session.
- Provide regular feedback to the Occupational Therapist on a patient's performance / progress in sessions and explanation if a treatment session cannot be carried out.
- Through training and self-directed learning, have an understanding of the cognitive, physical and communication difficulties patients experience and how these can impact on their functional abilities.
- Be aware of when an activity needs to be reviewed/ graded and feed this back to the responsible Occupational Therapist.
- Develop an ability to recognise when therapy breaks down due to emotional / behavioural issues.
- Have an awareness of general medical issues and how these may impact on therapeutic activities. Be able to recognise a change in a patient's condition and report findings to the most appropriate person.
- Be involved in setting up equipment for splinting, assisting with splinting and supporting all staff involved in a patient's splinting programme to maximise treatment results.
- Assist Occupational Therapists on home visits, including taking relevant measurements and supporting patients to practise tasks within their home environment.
- Full job description can be provided upon request_

**What you'll have**:
We are interested in applicants who:

- Have a keen interest in Occupational Therapy, brain injury and rehabilitation
- Are passionate about helping those with disabilities to maximise their potential
- Have excellent interpersonal and organisational skills
- Work well in a team
- Are dynamic and enthusiastic
- Please note the unit works in partnership with North Bristol Trust but the employment contract is with Active Care Group, not the NHS_

**What to look forward to**:

- 25 days plus bank holidays
- Birthday off
- Join the **Active Learning Hub **and benefit from a wide range of e learning and face to face training and development opportunities
- ** Active Reward App** giving discounts and savings on your weekly shop
- Free 24 hour confidential **Employee Assistance Programme Helpline & App **to support with legal, health, wellbeing, relationship and consumer advice
- A salary sacrifice** **Aegon 5% matched pension**:

- Access to join a **Medicash Health Plan** for you and your family to save money on everyday health essentials like going to the dentist or opticians
- We recognise outstanding **Active Behaviours** via the **Active Awards** programme
- Enhanced Sick & Maternity Pay benefits
- ** Refer a Friend** **Scheme** and earn yourself up to **£1000** by recommending someone you know
- and, of course, the support and guidance of our qualified clinical and business leadership teams so that you can really develop your career with Active Care Group