Children's Occupational Therapist

Job summary

An opportunity has arisen for an experienced Band 6Occupational Therapist to join our Children's OT Team within the North of CountyDurham & Darlington Foundation Trust. This 12 month fixed term post is coveringmaternity leave.

The OT role focuses on providing high quality assessment andinterventions to children and young people -supporting families and carers topromote the independence and functional skills of children and young peoplewith a wide range of needs - at home, school and clinical settings. You willprovide both health and social care OT interventions for children, young peopleand families residing across County Durham and Darlington and will be supportedby a well-established team possessing a wealth of clinical expertise andknowledge.

The service offers high levels of support and opportunitiesfor continued professional development, robust appraisal and clinicalsupervision.

County Durham and Darlington NHS FoundationTrust is one of the largest integrated care providers in England, with apopulation of around 600,000 people. We are a high performing organisation witha track record of posts will be based across two main localities inthe Trust.

Main duties of the job

Within this role, the successful candidate will be expectedto:

- provide high quality Occupational Therapy assessments andintervention programmes to children and young people referred into the service.

- assess for and provide recommendations for major and minorhome adaptations as part of the social care remit of the service

-work in collaboration with children, young people, parentsand carers as well as other professionals and colleagues across a wide varietyof sectors, including health, education and social care.

- work as an autonomous practitioner in managing a variedand often complex caseload with the supervision and support of the locality OTteam

- take an active part in the development and delivery oftraining packages to parents, carers and colleagues, as well as activleyparticipate in their own continued professional development, appraisal andsupervision

- take an active part in service development and qualityimprovement initiatives

- demonstrate a high level of skill in clinicaldocumentation including accurate case records and compilation of professionalreports

- participate in the supervision of studentoccupational therapists and therapy assistants

About us

If you are being interviewed you must accept an interview slot in the system to continue, even if you have arranged with the manager

You must be able to produce ALL certificates stated essential in the person specification or you will not be able to complete pre-employment checks

We provide hospital services from two acute sites - Darlington Memorial Hospital and University Hospital of North Durham. We have a centre for planned care in Bishop Auckland and provide care from community hospitals in Chester-le-Street, Shotley Bridge, Barnard Castle, Sedgefield and Weardale as well as over 80 other community based settings and providing care in patients' homes.

We particularly welcome applications from disabled and Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic (BAME) candidates as BAME and disabled people are currently under-represented

From April 1 2024 we are unable to offer sponsorship for healthcare roles that do not meet the minimum salary, If you are in the UK on a VISA please ensure you have no restrictions that would prevent you from taking this post.

Full Job Descriptions can be found in the adverts supporting documents

Job description

Job responsibilities

Clinical Requirements

To be professionally and legally accountable for allaspects of your own work, including the management of children in your care.

To undertake skilled assessment of children and youngpeople, including those with diverse or complexpresentations/multi-pathologies.

To formulate and deliver outcome focused, individualtherapy treatment programmes, based on evidence based practice using clinicalassessment, reasoning skills and knowledge of treatment skills.

To take delegated responsibility from Team LeadOccupational Therapists for managing children with particular conditions and beresponsible for providing specialist therapy assessment and treatment plans.

To formulate accurate prognoses and recommend best courseof intervention.

To use effective communication skills, verbal andnon-verbal to communicate treatment programmes to children who may havebarriers to understanding or communication children with developmental delays, visual impairment, hearingimpairment, impairments of cognition and difficulties with verbal communicationetc.

To evaluate and review the progress of OccupationalTherapy interventions, making changes to treatment programmes as required.

To work as an autonomous practitioner with regularsupervision and support from supervising therapists.

* To prioritise the health and wellbeing of children andyoung people at all times and immediately raise any Safeguarding concernsthrough the correct channels and processes.

To supervise assistant and student therapists in line withProfessional and Service standards.

To represent the Occupational Therapy Service and/orindividual children at the multi-agency team meetings, to ensure the deliveryof a co-ordinated multi-disciplinary service, and integrate therapy into thetreatment programme.

To be responsible for the safe and competent use of allequipment, appliances and aids used by children and young people, ensuring thatassistants and students are competent in their use.

To maintain comprehensive contemporaneous clinical andstatistical records in line with professional and service standards.

* To contribute to multi-agency assessments includingEducation, Health and Care Plans, Child Safeguarding reports etc

Professional

To be responsible for maintaining own competency topractice through CPD activities, and maintain a portfolio which reflectspersonal development.

To teach, assess and contribute to the performanceassessment and appraisal of therapy assistant staff.

Participate in the staff appraisal scheme as an appraiseeand be responsible for complying with your agreed personal developmentprogramme to meet set knowledge and competencies.

Undertake measurement and evaluation of your work andcurrent practices through the use of evidence based practice projects, auditand outcome measures, as required, under the direction of senior therapists.

Be an active member of in-service training by attendanceat, and participation in events such as in-Service programmes, tutorials,training sessions, external courses and peer review.

Be actively involved in professional clinical groups, suchas Children Young People and their Families, Occupational Therapy specialinterest group, Peer Review Groups and other professional developmentactivities.

Organisational

Ensure that your own practice meets the requiredprofessional standards of therapy practice.

Deputise for other Occupational Therapy staff in theirabsence, taking responsibility for caseload management, allocating andorganising the work of assistant staff to meet service priorities on dailybasis.

To be responsible for organising and planning your owncaseload to meet service and patient priorities. Readjusting plans at short notice assituations change/arise.

Work safely at all times and report all untoward incidentsvia the quality and safety reporting systems within the Trust.

Any other duties commensurate with role and responsibilitiesof the post.

Ensure the corporate identity guidelines forthe Trust are implemented and adhered to at all times.

Person Specification

Special Skills & Knowledge

Essential

Ability to communicate effectively verbally and in writing with a wide range of people Working knowledge of assessment and treatment approaches in paediatrics, developmental and neurological impairment Ability to prioritise workload Ability to work as a member of a Multi-agency team Flexible approach to work

Desirable

Specialist skills in related fields such as in postural management, fine and gross motor skills, handwriting skills development, skills related to provision of aids and adaptations

Statutory Registration

Essential

Qualified Occupational Therapist registered with

Special Requirements

Essential

Ability to travel independently across the County to fulfil the requirements of the post.

Qualifications

Essential

Diploma, BSc or MSc in Occupational Therapy.

Desirable

Specialist post graduate training linked to this field of Clinical Practice eg. Paediatric Assessment and Interventions, Social Care Assessment, Sensory Interventions, Learning Disabilities

Experience

Essential

Specialist level OT experience in a Community Paediatric setting. Supervising assistant therapy staff Experience in delivering training packages to carers and professional groups

Desirable

Working experience and knowledge related to provision of specialist aids and environmental advice/adaptations. Clinical experince of working with children and young people with complex needs

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