OPAL Therapy Technician

Job overview

Are you ready for the next step in your career? Do you have the passion and desire to support people in regaining and maintaining their own independence? Can you be a spokesperson for your patients and promote their wellbeing? If so, this may be the position for you.

The service has two posts available: One at OPAL House, and one across OPAL House and the acute OPAL therapy service.

The  OPAL team are the specialist frailty service based at Wythenshawe hospital. The acute OPAL team cover the ED, Clinical Decisions Unit and the OPAL frailty unit, supporting discharge planning and preventing unnecessary hospital admissions. 

OPAL House is a specialist reablement unit based at Wythenshawe Hospital and has the aim to support older people in the transition from the acute hospital site to their own home following a period of acute illness. 

Following specialist competency-based training, you will support the therapy team in undertaking therapeutic activity and treatment with the specific aim to instil functional independence and improve quality of life of your patients.

You will also carry out your own assessments for non-complex patients, identify appropriate goals, amend treatment plans and make recommendations which ensure safe discharge planning with the support of a registered clinician.

This role is suitable for experienced therapy assistants seeking to further develop their skills. You will need to be versatile, adaptable and a team player with good organisational skills.

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The acute OPAL Therapy Technician is a vital team member supporting the Geriatrician, frailty nurses and therapists with all aspects of patient assessment, treatment and discharge. In addition, you will support the assessment and delivery of therapeutic interventions and action plans under the guidance of qualified therapists.

As part of the team dedicated to assessing older people, you will ensure all administrative and therapeutic functions are completed and from the time of referral to the time of discharge, in line with specific care pathways and instructions to facilitate the smooth running of the patients’ journey directly out from hospital ensuring supported discharge is achieved.

The OPAL House Therapy Technician will support the Occupational Therapists,  geriatricians, frailty nurses and integrated discharge team by assisting with coordinating all aspects of patient care, ensuring safe and supported discharge from hospital. This will be achieved by supporting the qualified clinicians in carrying out assessments and treatment programmes for patients.

You will use technical and creative skills in the provision of therapeutic group and individual activities for patients and will be responsible for evaluating and amending treatment programmes with guidance from a qualified clinician. You will support in arranging all aspects of patient discharge, ensure onward referrals are processed, care is in place and additional community-based services arranged if necessary.

Working for our organisation

MFT is one of the largest NHS Trusts in England with a turnover of £2.8bn & is on a different scale than most other NHS Trusts. We’re creating an exceptional integrated health & social care system for the 1 million patients who rely on our services every year.

Bringing together 10 hospitals & community services from across Manchester, Trafford & beyond, we champion collaborative working & transformation, encouraging our 30,000 workforce to pursue their most ambitious goals. We set standards that other Trusts seek to emulate so you’ll benefit from a scale of opportunity that is nothing short of extraordinary.

We’ve also created a digitally enabled organisation to improve clinical quality, patient & staff experience, operational effectiveness & driving research, and innovation through the introduction of Hive; our Electronic Patient Record system which launched in September 2022.

We’re proud to be a major academic Research Centre & Education provider, providing you with a robust infrastructure to encourage and facilitate high-quality research programmes. What’s more, we’re excited to be embarking on our Green Plan which sets out how MFT continues to play its part in making healthcare more sustainable.

At MFT, we create and foster a culture of inclusion and belonging, provide equal opportunities for career development that are fair, open, and transparent, protecting your health and wellbeing and shaping the future of our organisation together.