Occupational Therapy Assistant

We are looking for an enthusiastic Occupational Therapy assistant to join the Occupational Therapy Team at UHSx, Richard's Hospital. This post is based in the Acute Neuro OT Team, but there will be opportunity to work in other areas and you may sometimes be required to work in other areas if needed.

You will be working closely with the ward therapists to help patients progress , and to assess their support needs for discharge.

It is an extremely busy ward environment and would suit an organised and resilient individual.

There are other Occupational Therapy Assistants employed by the Trust, providing opportunity for peer support and peer learning.

We provide comprehensive in service training and mentorship and facilitate the use of personal development plans, to identify learning needs, so that we can provide bespoke support.

To apply, under the supervision of a registered occupational therapist, technical and creative skills in the provision of a flexible, patient centred programme of Occupational Therapy assessments and treatments.

To work effectively as a member of the multi-disciplinary team in providing a programme of Occupational Therapy assessments and treatments for a selected caseload of patients, being able to make alterations when required by assessment of patient progress.

Join us at UHSussex, every day is different, you can be the change, better never stops.

At UHSx we’re proud to be at the heart of the NHS. As one of the UK’s largest acute Trusts, we’re a leading example of the excellence, the ambition and the values that have embodied the NHS for over 70 years.

Improving lives: We are a vibrant and inclusive organisation, with hardworking, talented and dedicated individuals, who work together towards a common goal, to always put our Patient First. Our mission is summed up by our ‘where better never stops’ motto and no matter the role at UHSx, you will play a part in driving us forwards and in improving the lives of patients across Sussex. We treat our patients and staff with the same compassion and empathy we expect for ourselves. We’re here for them when they need us, and we go above and beyond to meet their needs. This can be seen in our wellbeing programme for staff which is extensive and designed to support you when you need it because we know that to look after others we must first look after ourselves.

Build a career with us: As a university trust and a leader in healthcare research, we value learning, teaching and training so that we can be the best that we can be. From the moment you start with us and throughout your career we will help you to grow and develop. We hope that in choosing UHSussex you are choosing a long and happy career where you will be able to see the difference you make and feel valued for all that you do.

• To develop professional therapeutic relationships with patients and carers and communicate with them in a way that respects their views, autonomy and culture, and manage potential barriers to communication such as dysphasia, learning difficulty, deafness, another language etc.
• To ensure accurate and up-to-date documentation of all assessments of patient’s functional status in clinical notes complying with Trust, departmental and professional standards.
• To accurately feedback relevant observations and assessment outcomes of patient assessments to the Occupational Therapist and other relevant members of the Multi Disciplinary Team, including ongoing observations and assessments of patient’s progress.
• To liaise where appropriate with other members of the team, other related statutory, private and voluntary organisations, family and carers.
• To manage a selected caseload of patients, under regular but not constant supervision of a registered Occupational Therapist, to carry out the assessment and treatment of individual patients and groups, on the wards, in the Occupational Therapy department and to assist on home visits.
• To carry out alone, under guidance of an Occupational Therapist, follow up visits to patients in their homes.
• To arrange, under guidance from an Occupational Therapist, for the provision of standard specialist disability equipment and to teach and demonstrate the use of equipment or other techniques to optimise the patient’s functional ability, independence and safety.
• To demonstrate understanding and implications of manual handling legislation and current best practice, applying this knowledge under guidance from an Occupational Therapist to the practice of therapeutic manual handling.
• To analyse outcomes of assessments and apply them to the formation of patient centred treatment plans and in engaging patients in therapeutic activities to promote independence and well being.
• To apply a basic understanding of the effect of disability and relevant conditions on patients and their environments.

Please see Job Description and Person Specification for full details.