As the regulatory body, the Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC) plays an important role in safeguarding the public by regulating the work of both occupational therapists and physiotherapists. All therapists must be registered with the HCPC and adhere to the relevant Professional Standards and Code of Conduct.

Clinical Outcomes

The Senior Occupational Therapist will often work with people who have complex needs and contribute to the effectiveness of services by:

• Being confident, autonomous practitioners who take responsibility for the care they give to patients but also take responsibility for overseeing the work of others in the team including less experienced therapists and staff without a professional qualification
• Providing skilled, evidence-based care which adheres to agreed policies and procedures
• Working with patients and families in all stages of the care planning process including assessing risks and needs
• Acting as patient advocates in the multi-disciplinary team and overseeing the work of others to ensure that they are also responding to the needs of patients and providing clinically effective care
• Working as autonomous practitioners and taking responsibility for the care they give to patients but also work as team members

Contributing to creating and maintaining high performing teams by:

• Communicating well with all members of the team
• Understanding their role in the team and how they help the team achieve its objectives
• Reflecting on their own practice regularly and encouraging the whole team to reflect on their practices in handovers and team meetings
• Encouraging the team to learn from adverse events or respond to data analysis from audits or benchmarking exercises and implement sustainable initiatives which improve clinical outcomes

Patient Experience

The Senior Occupational Therapist will contribute to the people using our services feeling respected and empowered to make decisions about their health and wellbeing by:

• Working in partnership with patients and their families and carers
• Gaining consent and, as far as possible, involving people in all decision making
• Signposting patients and carers to the courses provided by the Recovery and Wellbeing College or services provided by the local authority or voluntary sector
• Reassuring people by being professional, responsive, knowledgeable and confident
• Demonstrating clinical leadership and challenging any poor behaviour to patients, families or other staff members and creating a positive, inclusive culture in which everyone is treated with kindness and respect and the trust’s values are embedded in all practice
• Responding to complaints or concerns effectively and quickly in line with the Trust policy.

Supporting yourself and others

All services and teams in the Trust should be able to demonstrate that they are meeting the Care Quality Commission (CQC) standards of care. The Senior Occupational Therapist is expected to be a clinical leader playing an active role in ensuring that the team understands the CQC standards and what individual team members do to help achieve those standards by:

• Taking a lead role in gathering and recording evidence which demonstrates that CQC and locally agreed standards are being met: assessing the performance of the whole team by using audit and benchmarking exercises and often contribute to the implementation of quality improvement initiatives
• Contributing to the performance management of teams and creating a positive culture in which the team can learn from mistakes and is enthusiastic to improve
• Deputising for the Therapy Lead and ensuring that there is no fall in performance in their absence. This may include managing the team and coordinating shifts.
• To undertake the role of Practice Supervisor

Engaged staff are more productive and the Senior Occupational Therapist will play a role in engaging in other staff members in the trust and the work we do by:

• Providing supervision and annual appraisals to individuals and giving constructive, regular feedback which helps those individuals reflect on their work, understand their objectives and the CQC standards and monitor their progress towards achieving them
• Participating constructively in their own supervision and annual appraisal processes
• Using continuing professional development funds to develop a relevant clinical specialism, gain sign-off mentorship skills or undertake accredited leadership modules.

Service Specific Responsibilities

• To provide supervision, annual appraisal and monitoring the work of RAS therapists (Band 5 & 6), therapy assistants and students.
• Complete DATIX investigations and Initial Management Reviews (IMRs), as delegated by the service leads.
• Actively participate / lead in clinical handover.
• Using HealthRoster, participate in rota planning; finalise day to day bank/agency shifts; book temporary workers as required.

Leadership and Management

• To contribute to the recruitment and selection of staff for the team and to participate in induction and orientation programmes

• To manage and co-ordinate the work of occupational therapists and therapy assistants, monitoring and appraising their performance, offering support, development and training as appropriate.

• To take responsibility for ensuring own mandatory training is up to date and those of the team members are similarly.

• Monitoring Statutory and Mandatory training compliance for supervisees, ensuring where staff are not compliant, there is a plan in place to become compliant.

• To be able to identify and implement formal processes such as capability management; disciplinary action etc.

• To contribute to the successful implementation of organisational directives within the team and the achievement of annual team aims and objectives.

• To continually look for and identify opportunities for improving the service and value for money, so that the overall aims and objectives of the service are achieved without impacting on patient’s quality of care.

• To improve access to services by ensuring that service provision and delivery is culturally appropriate for the targeted client group.

• Support, teach and assess the developing clinical skills of junior team members in response to the changing needs within the localities.

• Promote evidence-based practice that responds to local and national service standards, and to act as a resource to colleagues.

• Maintain an oversight of the weekly / monthly allocations, ensuring staffing is optimal or sent to bank/agency as appropriate.

• Deputise for Therapy Lead when they are unavailable / otherwise engaged / on leave.

Person specification

Other