Islington Community Occupational Therapist Urgent ResponseinIslingtoninIslingtonPUBLISHED MON 24 MAR 2025

Community Occupational TherapistUrgent Response

The role of the Occupational Therapist is to assess and treat community patients in their own homes within the Islington borough as part of an urgent community response team whose objectives are to support admission avoidance and hospital discharges. The post holder will have the opportunity to work with the rapid response and virtual ward teams as part of the larger UCRT team. The post holder will receive a thorough induction and regular supervision.

Come and join our friendly and supportive community team and receive;

1. Golden handshake of £1,000 after a year in post for external candidates.
2. A refer a friend scheme where both WH referrer and external new starter receive £250 after 3 months and a further £250 each after the new starter has been in post for a year.

Click tofind out more about our Adult Community Services, what it is like to work for Whittington Health, and why you should join our team

• The post holder will provide a comprehensive and high quality OT and care management to community patients with simple to complex needs within the Islington borough.
• The post holder will be actively involved in team and service developments with the support of line manager.
• To develop strong working relationships within the multidisciplinary team.
• To provide supervision to junior therapy staff, and OT students whilst on placement in the service.
• To be actively involved in Continuing Professional Development.
• To be involved in caseload management with varied patients who have mobility, musculoskeletal, cognitive, neurological problems, terminal illnesses and life limiting conditions.

About us

CLINICAL

1. To be professionally and legally accountable for all work undertaken. To work within the standards and guidelines of the team, the Trust, BAOT, HPC AND COT code of ethics.
2. To ensure that the client and or their carer has an understanding of treatment protocols and gives informed consent to assessment and treatment.
3. To undertake specialist occupational therapy assessment of clients with diverse needs through subjective questioning, objective assessment and other written material available.
4. To prioritise factors involved in the clients presenting condition through clinical reasoning based on knowledge of current professional opinion, clients prognosis and other physical, social emotional and mental health issues.
5. To set goals for treatment with clients and/or their carer and ensure that care is client centred and agreed by the client and/or their carer.
6. To set and maintain a high standard of clinical practice which is evidence based where possible, using standardised assessment and outcome measures, where appropriate.
7. To independently screen and assess complex multi-disciplinary referrals from a variety of sources. This screening requires individual responsible action when at times no other professional is currently involved. This screening will establish priority, determine needs and initiate a plan of intervention.
8. To manage a caseload of clients with simple to complex needs with supervision and guidance as necessary from senior staff. To successfully monitor, evaluate and review occupational therapy treatment/interventions within a multi-disciplinary framework and to modify as necessary taking a care coordinator role as indicated.
9. Develop and conduct Occupational Therapy intervention with clients assessing their occupational needs and addressing quality of life, and physical, cognitive, affective, social, and environmental issues utilising appropriate individual or group treatment methods.
10. To use developed physical skills in client interventions, such as upper limb rehabilitation, activities of daily living, splint fabrication/orthoses (hand splints).
11. To devise and manage a treatment plan individual to a clients presenting condition through, for example the use of functional rehabilitation, adaptation, equipment provision, education and health promotion.
12. To work autonomously in isolated community situations which vary in relation to local socio-economic and multi-cultural issues with telephone support available if required.
13. To use knowledge of other multi-disciplinary roles and external agencies to ensure effective referral management and achieve best client care.
14. To have the ability, knowledge and skills required for moving and handling people in community environments.
15. To be physically able to install specialist occupational therapy equipment in client homes applying safe manual handling at all times, especially when doing so in restricted spaces
16. To ensure client and service records are recorded and maintained on IT databases and that client documentation is according to trust and local policies.
17. To prescribe, delegate and monitor the work of rehabilitation assistants and counter sign documentation.
18. To educate and teach the relevant carers/health workers to participate in on-going rehabilitation care programmes for clients, as appropriate.
19. To actively be involved in the development of new specialist clinical services within the Team, with support and guidance from Senior OT staff.
20. To manage clinical risk in own caseload and ensure that rehabilitation assistants and students comply e.g. manual handling risk assessment and local policy regarding lone working.
21. To be responsible for management of clinical risk within own caseload and that of rehabilitation assistance and work delegated to students.
22. To maintain and update a Continuing Professional Development Portfolio (CPD).