Senior Occupational Therapist

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South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust has a rich history, well-established community links and an international reputation. We deliver specialist services in the London boroughs of Croydon, Lambeth, Lewisham and Southwark, Bexley, Bromley, Greenwich, Wandsworth and Richmond.

We are committed to provide a high quality and specialist care to our service users and we are recognised for our care and treatment we provide. The Care Quality Commission already rates our services as 'good'.

We launched our five-year strategy, Aiming High; Changing Lives in 2021 together with Our Care Improvement System as our quality management system methodology to make a positive impact on patient care, outcomes and staff experience. By joining SLaM, all staff will get the opportunity to be part of this exciting improvement journey supported with learning and development to harness everyone's potential as change makers.

The trust recognises the unique and valuable contribution that people with lived experience of mental illness can bring to a role. We therefore welcome applications from people with lived experience and consider them as an asset to the Trust.

Our Values

We take pride in providing specialist care to our service users where our Trust values and our promise to be caring, kind, polite, prompt, honest, listen and do what I say I'm going to do is at the heart of everything we do. When you join us, you'll be part of something special.

As a Trust we are happy to talk flexible working.

Job overview

The Croydon Locality Teams cover working age adults aged 18-65 and a mixture of mental health conditions needing secondary care level community support.

This is an OT core skills-based role (not Care Coordination) and carries a caseload of clients to which they provide OT assessment and OT individual and group interventions. The OT works alongside Care Co-ordinators and the MDT to support needs led care planning, Care Act Assessments and provide interventions to support recovery.

The three Locality teams include support workers, IPS, Psychology, Medical, Social work and Nursing roles. Each team has two OT roles.

The OTs link with inpatient and HTT OT colleagues and liaise with external providers in the voluntary and Social Care sector. There are already links in the borough with OT colleagues working in Primary Care and physical health teams.

There is an established Croydon Community OT network and regular monthly Peer Group and OT supervision is also provided to support the development of the role. OTs can link in with the wider OT network within SLaM and all it has to offer including regular training and CPD.

All Locality teams are based at Jeanette Wallace House in Croydon which has good public transport links.

Main duties of the job

• To manage a caseload of community clients with complex needs, using evidence based and client-centred principles to assess, plan, implement and evaluate OT interventions in both community and home settings.
• Routinely provide recovery-based group interventions appropriate to the clients on the team caseload in collaboration with other professionals in the team.
• Liaise with Croydon Social Services departments and other external agencies to facilitate clients access to activities and resources to support their physical disabilities, social support, occupational needs and discharge planning.
• Work as part of the Multidisciplinary Team. Support Care Co-ordinator's with appropriate work to contribute towards Care Act Assessment and CPA activities.
• Carry out some generic and risk assessments and undertake duty responsibilities.
• Provide leadership, supervision and appraisal for OT students and junior OT staff and participate in the planning, development and evaluation of OT / MDT services, holding responsibility for defined projects and activities.

Working for our organisation

South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust (SLaM) provide the widest range of NHS mental health services in the UK as well as substance misuse services for people who are addicted to drugs and alcohol. We work closely with the Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience (IoPPN), King's College London and are part of King's Health Partners Academic Health Sciences Centre. There are very few organisations in the world that have such wide-ranging capabilities working with mental illness. Our scope is unique because it is built on three major foundations: care and treatment, science and research, and training.

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

Key Responsibilities:

• To select and apply Occupational Therapy assessment and interventions for a designated caseload, addressing occupational performance and skill deficits, enabling the service user in areas of self-maintenance, productivity and leisure.
• To demonstrate and apply a broad / high level of understanding of the effect of disability and recommend adaptations to the service users physical, occupational and social environments.
• To plan and implement individual and/or group interventions, in collaboration with the service user, using graded activity to achieve therapeutic goals.
• To liaise with Croydon Social Services departments and other external agencies to facilitate clients access to activities and resources to support their physical disabilities, social support and occupational needs and discharge planning.
• To communicate with service users in a way that respects their values, autonomy and culture and provide support to engage them in meaningful therapeutic activities that promote recovery and well-being.
• To collaboratively work as a member of the multi-disciplinary team by contributing to and implementing core decisions with regard to service users risk management and care/ recovery plans.
• To apply a comprehensive range of communication skills with service users and carers, team members, OT colleagues and external agencies to achieve effective networking and outcomes.
• To apply clinical leadership skills by undertaking the regular supervision and appraisal of junior OT staff and others as delegated by the Team Leader or Professional Head of OT.
• To actively participate in the governance, delivery and review processes of the Community Services and Community Mental Health Teams development plans.
• To actively participate in and be responsible for relevant planning, evaluation and audit of practice, clinical pathways and protocols within service area and corporate OT as required.
• To review, reflect and change own practice through effective use of professional and operational supervision, appraisal and continued professional development and learning opportunities.
• To demonstrate the ability to reflect on complex ethical issues and to provide guidance to junior staff as necessary and appropriately adapt clinical practice.

General

This is not an exhaustive list of duties and responsibilities, and the post holder may be required to undertake other duties which fall within the grade of the job, in discussion with the manager.

Person specification

Qualifications

Essential criteria

• Qualified Occupational Therapist
• HCPC Registered

Desirable criteria

• Post registration qualification in relevant area
• Practice Placement Educator Course

Experience

Essential criteria

• Post registration work experience at Band 5 OT grade
• Experience working with mental health service users
• Experience implementing individual and group interventions
• Experience of supervising Junior staff /students

Desirable criteria

• Membership of professional OT body or special interest group
• Experience of working with challenging behaviours
• Experience of working in inner city/ multicultural environment
• Experience working as part of a multidisciplinary team

Knowledge and skills

Essential criteria

• High level knowledge of mental health disorders and treatment models
• Commitment to collaborative working and service user involvement
• Knowledge of risk assessment and risk management
• Specialist knowledge of OT assessments and interventions
• Ability to respond to complex information

Desirable criteria

• Ability to self reflect
• Commitment to Student education
• Skills in use of outcome measures/ evidence based practice
• Ability to analyse ethical issues

The Trust is committed to providing services which embrace diversity and that promote equality of opportunity. We are a Disability Confident Employer, we welcome applicants from all sections of the community and people of all protected characteristics. We provide reasonable adjustments for candidates with a disability and are committed to treating people fairly with compassion, respect and dignity and in promoting equality and human rights. We aim to put this commitment into practice by:

• Embedding our commitment to tackling inequality, eliminating discrimination and harassment; promoting equality of opportunity and fostering good relations in our everyday practice
• Ensuring that all our services and all staff understand and support our commitment
• We believe that people who use our services, their carers and our staff, should be treated with compassion, respect and dignity

Please note:

• That all applications for this post will need to be made online
• That you read and understand the Job Description and Personal Specification attached to the role. Your Statement in Support should reflect the requirements specified as your application will be judged against these criteria
• That the closing date listed is a guide only and that the vacancy may close earlier should sufficient number of applicants have been received. We advise that you submit your application as early as possible
• That once you have submitted your application you agree to your application being transferred to a 3rd party e-recruitment system. All subsequent information regarding your application will be generated from apps.trac.jobs
• That should you not have heard from us within three weeks from the closing date your application has not successful
• That priority consideration for applications may be given to at-risk NHS employees
• That should you be successful and appointed, you authorise South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust to confirm your previous NHS service via an Inter Authority Transfer (IAT) process
• That we are a smoke-free Trust

SLaM is a Stonewall Diversity Champion , Stonewall is the largest Lesbian, Gay, Bi and Trans (LGBT) rights charity in Europe'

Employer certification / accreditation badges

Applicant requirements

You must have appropriate UK professional registration.

This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (Exceptions) Order 1975 (Amendment) (England and Wales) Order 2020 and it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service.

Documents to download

• Job description (PDF, 552.5KB)
• SLaM Staff Benefits (PDF, 1.1MB)
• Happy to Talk Flexible Working (PDF, 680.1KB)