Occupational Therapist inTolworth inTolworth PUBLISHED MON 4 NOV 2024

Our satisfying and rewarding roles, sit within the Community Service Line, which includes all community based mental health teams, such as our Integrated Recovery Hubs, Recovery and Support Teams and Early Intervention services. Our teams are expanding with new and exciting roles following a period of Transformation, resulting in new opportunities for Occupational Therapists (OTs) to work as pure OTs, fully using their innovation and creativity, to support clients with complex mental health needs to recover and step down from Mental Health Services.

The post involves working closely with our colleagues in the Multidisciplinary Team (MDT), in particular, working with Recovery Support Workers and Employment Specialists, with whom we have a close professional relationship, invested in supporting clients with their occupational goals. We are committed to offering an excellent service and actively promote Occupational Therapy within the teams.

The OT will also promote working with our partners in the Involvement Team, to encourage service users and carers to feel supported and involved in the development with our services, as well as developing relationships with wider and external community organisations, such as social prescribers and peer support workers.

The Occupational Therapy team across the Trust is well managed with a thought through leadership structure. OTs joining the Trust, have commented favourably about the accessibility and responsiveness of senior OT managers, who are committed to developing and supporting staff. We also have a dedicated Allied Health Professional Workforce team and Practice Development team. As such, we can offer:

• Good quality and regular supervision and appraisals
• Evidence- based practice to ensure the clinical effectiveness of our interventions.
• A menu of high-quality OT interventions, which deliver consistency and clarity across the Community Service line.
• A centralised online system to access MOHO manuals and assessments, and helpful guidance to support staff with building confidence is using MOHO tools.
• Quarterly learning events for OTs. Recent events have included sensory profiling, vocational work and dynamic ways of utilising the Model of Human Occupation, focusing on volition and motivation.
• Special interest peer supervision groups for sensory profiling and physical health/equipment assessments.
• Regular forums for Community OTs, to discuss professional development and to keep updated with relevant business matters.
• Regular organised opportunities to discuss career progression with senior members of the OT management team.
• A supportive Preceptorship / Preceptorship Plus programme for developing OTs.

About us

• To provide Occupational Therapy four days a week with a maximum of one day duty cover in the team.
• To manage an OT caseload of clients with complex needs, using evidence based /client centred principles to assess, plan, implement and evaluate interventions.
• To take responsibility for completing standardised assessments using The Model of Human Occupation and other frameworks as agreed by the Therapy Leads.
• To offer manualised interventions, both group and individual for example, GLOW (Graduated Living Outside of the Ward) and IPEL (Increasing Participation in Everyday Life)
• To offer Sensory Profiling to clients with sensory challenges
• To participate in the planning, development and evaluation of OT services within the Community Team, holding responsibility for defined projects.
• To engage with the OT referrals process, identifying and prioritising the need for OT specific interventions.
• To provide leadership to junior staff through supervision and appraisal.
• To regularly supervise OT students on practice placement (expected standard is two students per year).
• To provide professional leadership to the Recovery Support Workers and engage in co-working pathways.
• To promote recovery and social inclusion.
• To work alongside the Involvement Team to actively promote service-user engagement and co-production.
• To work collaboratively with the Employment Specialist in the team, to enhance a positive vocational outcome for clients.
• To contribute to the maintenance and development of the Trust OT Service
• To contribute to streamline working from admission to discharge in keeping with the principles in the Adult Services Recovery Care pathway.
• To advocate for and promote the contribution of occupational therapy as a valuable resource with helping people to manage the impact of their symptoms on their ability to cope with daily occupations.
• To act as the designated Disability Champion leading the multi-disciplinary team in Disability Equality matters within the service and other areas as required.