Promoting Independence Therapy Assistant

With an ageing population and pressures on Acute and Community Health and Social Care enabling people to stay at home and live as independently as possible is the great healthcare challenge of our time. Lincolnshire Community Health Services (LCHS) is creating a community therapy based rehabilitation service to support patients immediately after hospital discharge.

The service will facilitate acute discharges by providing short-term Assessment, Recovery, and Rehabilitation support, working collaboratively with Lincolnshire County Councils commissioned reablement provider with the goal of moving people to being as independent as possible. This will aim to enable people to return to their own home sooner after a hospital stay. This service will follow the ‘Discharge to Assess’ (D2A) principles where a person is assessed for their long term needs in their own home or place of residence.

This service will cover the whole county although people will generally work within a more locally based team. This means that roles are available across Lincolnshire. The hours of the service are set to be 0800 to 2200 and flexible plus part time working we will be happy to consider, 7 days a week

The role will be a mixture of domiciliary care but with the aim of making people as independent as possible, following rehabilitation plans set by registered therapists and contributing to the assessment of peoples long term needs.

The therapy assistants in this service will work closely with the LCHS Adult Community Therapy who will be providing Physiotherapy and Occupational Therapy input. The therapy assistants will follow these therapy based plans to help people become as independent as possible.

The right type of person for this role will be someone who can provide patient centred care, motivate individuals to carry out day to day activities as independently as possible and work both within a team and on their own. It will be fast paced with most patients in the service for no more than 3 weeks. Working within this service will open significant future opportunities for people within therapy and rehabilitation. LCHS currently has both OT and Physiotherapy apprentice posts as well as opportunities to progress which do not include professional registration.

Lincolnshire Community Health Services (LCHS) provide a responsive and professional countywide urgent care service to all residents and visitors. The service delivers person centred care for self-limiting and long term condition in building bases, home addresses and remotely over the telephone or via a video consultation. All staff within the service work, in collaboration with the patient, their carer and other statutory and voluntary organisation and agencies. The service supports the Lincolnshire sustainability and transformation plan values of hospital avoidance and urgent care teams should reflect these values in their day to day practices. The services are required to be flexible, responsive and timely in order to ensure accessibility and equity to all patients twenty-four hours a day.

To assist in the assessment and rehabilitation of individuals immediately post discharge from hospital with support from registered therapists.

To provide reablement care to patients in their own homes.

To work closely with all members of the multi-disciplinary team to promote independence and prevent dependence.

To undertake environmental assessment within the person’s home working single handed and without direct supervision.

To communicate effectively with patients, carers, health professionals and outside agencies where appropriate.

To work at times in conjunction with other agencies to determine a person’s long term care needs.

To participate in the delivery of complex care as prescribed by the qualified practitioner. Plan and progress simple patient interventions with autonomous assessing and planning on a daily basis with indirect supervision of qualified practitioner.

To be responsible for the safe use of all equipment within their scope of practice.

To identify needs and advice on equipment and resources, requisitioning where there is delegated authority and ensuring effective on-going use of equipment is monitored.