Community Stroke and Neuro OT

Swydd-ddisgrifiad a phrif gyfrifoldebau manwl

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 understands 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 ensure a high standard of clinical practice using evidence-based practice, standardised assessment, outcome measures and national/local clinical guidelines.

7. To independently screen and assess complex multi-disciplinary referrals for therapy input. 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 act as a lead assessor for multidisciplinary initial assessments, supported by Senior Therapy staff.  Acting as a representative of the team and asking probing questions on behalf of other professionals within the team.

 9.  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 key worker role as indicated.

 10. 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.

11. To use developed physical skills in client interventions, such as upper limb rehabilitation, activities of daily living, splint fabrication/orthoses (hand splints).

12. To devise and manage a treatment plan individual to a client’s presenting condition through, for example, the use of functional rehabilitation, adaptation, equipment provision, education, and health promotion.

13. To modify the clients occupational therapy treatment/management plan as appropriate following ongoing re-assessment and evaluation of progress.

14. To ensure that the client/carer understands the clinical reasoning process and the management plan.

15. 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.

16. To use knowledge of other multi-disciplinary roles and external agencies to ensure effective referral management and achieve best client care.

17. To have the ability, knowledge and skills required for moving and handling people in community environments.

18. To be physically able to install specialist occupational therapy equipment in client homes always applying safe manual handling, especially when doing so in restricted spaces

19. To ensure that client and service records are recorded and maintained on IT databases and that client documentation is accurate, contemporaneous and is according to trust and local policies.

20. To prescribe, delegate and monitor the work of rehabilitation assistants and counter sign documentation.

21. To educate and teach the relevant carers/health workers to participate in on-going rehabilitation care programmes for clients, as appropriate.

22. To actively be involved in the development of new specialist clinical services within the Team, with support and guidance from Senior OT staff.

23. 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.

Management

1. To ensure that accurate and evaluative records of client care and OT statistics are maintained in accordance with the service policy.

2. To input and retrieve computerised information.

3.  To manage a clinical caseload supported by senior staff.

4.  To participate in the individual performance review and appraisal system.

5.  To provide supervision, annual appraisal, and monitoring of the clinical and administrative work of rehabilitation assistants and students, including informal day to day support, with support from senior staff.

6. To be responsible for the safe use of all equipment and to ensure that all equipment defects, accidents, and complaints are reported to the Team Leader immediately.

7. To comply with the Whittington Health Trust policies and procedures, and the Health and Safety at Work Act.

8.  To participate in the collection of accurate statistics and audit programmes as required by the Service for monitoring and evaluation purposes.

9.  To participate in the induction of new staff members.

10. To attend, actively participate in and as required initiate and lead multi-disciplinary meetings and case conferences.

11.  To attend Occupational Therapy staff meeting and other relevant meetings.

 12. To manage own diary in respect of the team’s priorities e.g., case load, in-service training, supervision, and meetings.

 13. To be involved in the implementation of the team’s clinical governance plan.

 14.  To contribute to the efficient, day to day running, of the team

Professional

1. To keep up to date with occupational therapy clinical practice through CPD activities and maintain a personal development portfolio.

2. To develop a knowledge base in rehabilitation, assessment, clinical reasoning and management skills

3. Undertake an evidence-based project and present findings to the Team for discussion and possible implementation of change.

4. To evaluate your practice through audit and outcome measures, with support of more senior occupational therapists when required.

5. To be actively involved in the occupational therapy service clinical groups, BAOT/RCOT Clinical Interest Groups and other professional developments.

6. To access library services, medical databases and the Intranet to further develop clinical practice and service initiatives.

7. To develop links and communicate with other members of the multidisciplinary team

8.  To be aware of Trust and RCOT guidelines relevant to community rehabilitation

Communication

1.          To use a variety of verbal and non-verbal communication skills to ensure that the client and/or their carer understands the relevant advice and education given.  This includes clients who have a non English speaking background, those with interpreting requirements, a hearing impairment, altered emotional states, a cognitive/learning/behavioural disability, not understanding or accepting a clinical decision based on sound reasoning, or with communication deficits.

2.          To communicate sensitive information in an understandable form to patients and their carers and enable client's co-operation in treatment.  Part of this process must reflect on ensuring the client and/or their carer understands the clinical reasoning process and the management plan and gives informed consent to intervention.

3.          To communicate closely with colleagues on all matters related to client care, service organisation and delivery.

4.          To attend and actively participate in any relevant meetings and conferences as required

5.          To provide specialist mediating and negotiating skills in situations where communication has broken down and assist in managing conflict with support from senior colleagues

6.          To establish and maintain lines of communication within the Team, with service users and with acute, and community services/agencies, including voluntary service

7.          To produce client reports and discharge summaries for G.P.’s, social workers, and referrers and to provide copies to clients following agreement.

8.          To comply with the Trust and operational policy on all documentation.

 Education

1.          To utilise opportunities to develop skills and knowledge, apply critical appraisal and keep up to date with current practice in the field and attend accredited courses.

2.          To participate in the in-service training, post registration training, lectures, and education programmes to other OT`s, other disciplines and to visitors to the department.

3.          To act as professional practice educator for occupational therapy students.

4.          To participate in education programmes for client groups.

5.          To actively participate in health promotion and health education initiatives within the locality and in the community directorate.

6.          To comply with all mandatory training requirements

Research and Development

1.       To participate in the evaluation of clinical practice .

2.       To keep up to date in the development of research and clinical practice in the field of community OT, rehabilitation, and related areas.

Other

1.    To maintain and develop specific departmental duties as designated by the senior OT/Service manager.

2.    To undertake any other duties that may be allocated.

3.    To work at other sites in the trust of required.

4.    To make use of various forms of transport (public, bicycle, walking, pool car, and taxi) as appropriate to visit clients in their preferred environment eg home, work place, residential home, and resource centres.