About this role
Job summary
We are looking for an Occupational Therapist to join the Care Group 4 AHP service, which covers Inpatient Acute and Same Day Emergency Care across North London NHS Foundation Trust. This vacancy is based at Dennis Scott Unit.
This is an excellent opportunity for a newly qualified Occupational Therapist, or someone looking to develop their skills, in a well supported setting. We are a friendly and supportive team and offer access to in-house training opportunities, and external training to promote your learning and skill development.
The successful candidate will have excellent communication, be organised and ready to face the challenge of working in a fast paced environment.
The post holder will hold a case load and work as an occupational therapist (OT) across the three acute mental health wards in Dennis Scott Unit, to provide assessment, plan and implement interventions, evaluate treatment and ensure safe discharge.
Main duties of the job
The post holder will be required to deliver a comprehensive Occupational Therapy Service for service users on the inpatient wards here at Dennis Scott Unit and to contribute as required to the Inpatient Therapy Group Programme, to meet the identified occupational and functional needs of the service users.
As a member of the multidisciplinary team the post holder will provide a variety of interventions, promoting a recovery approach and social inclusion. This will include assessment and treatment on the unit, in community settings and home visits as appropriate to support the acute clinical pathway.
The post-holder will ensure that their practice meets the requirements of this clinical group, and is in keeping with current evidence based practices. The post holder will work with OT's, Arts Therapists and technical staff to provide a comprehensive treatment programme for service users.
The post holder will have supervisory responsibility for junior staff and student practitioners working in the unit and our Trust AHP preceptorship program will be offered to all newly qualified staff.
Although staff are allocated initially to work in one specific ward, all appointments are made to the In-Patient Services.
About us
North London NHS Foundation Trust (NLFT) is committed to improving mental health care across North London to deliver excellent services to our local people.
Our Five-Year Strategy
- We will provide consistently high-quality care closer to home.
- With our partners in North London and each borough we will ensure equity of outcome for all
- We will offer great places to work, providing staff with supportive environment to deliver outstanding care.
Why NLFT?
- We develop and retain our staff through leadership behaviours and managers programme and many more opportunities.
- We promote flexible working and support staff with a range of health and wellbeing initiatives.
- NHS Discounts, generous annual leave and NHS pension scheme
- Excellent internal staff network
In order to meet the needs of the Trust you may be required from time to time to work at different locations to your normal place of work. This may mean that you are required to work at any location that fall under Barnet, Camden, Enfield, Haringey or Islington. The Trust reserves the right to require staff to work at such other places or locations as it considers reasonable and necessary on a temporary or permanent basis.
Job description
Job responsibilities
Please see the attached Job Description and Person Specification for more information on the role requirements and duties.
Person Specification
Qualifications
Essential
- BSc, MSc/PGDip Occupational Therapy
- Registered with HCPC
- Evidence of Continuous Professional Development
Desirable
- Mandatory Trainings
Work experience
Essential
- Pre-registration experience of mental health settings and or working with people with mental health conditions
- Experience of group and individual interventions
- Experience with physical needs screening and simple equipment provision
- Experience of caseload management and working with MDT
Desirable
- Experience of using different functional assessments (e.g. MOHO) and activity analysis
- Experience of using electronic patient records
- Experience of relating to people form a range of social and ethnic backgrounds
- Experience of working towards OT service development and or Experience of Quality Improvement
- Experience of supervising OT Student and/or junior staff
Knowledge and Skills
Essential
- Ability to undertake comprehensive occupational therapy assessments, including occupational performance, functional ability, risk assessment, and basic physical health screening, recognising changes in physical health and escalating concerns appropriately
- Ability to plan, deliver and evaluate evidence-based occupational therapy interventions, including the assessment, provision and review of simple equipment and adaptive aids to promote independence, safety and engagement in activities of daily living.
- Excellent communication and interpersonal skills, enabling effective therapeutic relationships with service users, carers and multidisciplinary team members.
- Ability to manage and prioritise workload effectively, maintain accurate clinical records, and work independently and collaboratively within a multidisciplinary team.
Desirable
- Ability to deliver therapeutic groups, psychoeducation, and recovery-focused interventions within mental health services.
- Ability to support discharge planning, community transition work, and interventions that promote social inclusion and recovery.
- Ability to contribute to service development, audit, quality improvement, and research activities.
- Ability to support and develop students, support workers, and junior staff within practice settings.
Personal Qualities
Essential
- Ability to work collaboratively as an effective team member, developing positive working relationships with colleagues, service users, and carers.
- Ability to be flexible, resilient and adaptable, responding appropriately to changing priorities and fluctuating service demands.
- Ability to practise reflectively, recognising own limitations, seeking advice and support appropriately, and demonstrating commitment to continuous professional development.
- Ability to establish and maintain professional therapeutic relationships, demonstrating empathy, respect, and a commitment to equality, diversity, inclusion, and person-centred care.
Desirable
- Ability to promote the value of Occupational Therapy and meaningful service user involvement, working collaboratively with Experts by Experience to influence care delivery and service development.
- Ability to inspire hope and support recovery, empowering service users and positively influencing others to improve outcomes and make a meaningful difference.
Other Requirements
Essential
- Willing to work at flexible hours according to service needs
Disclosure and Barring Service Check
This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (Exceptions Order) 1975 and as such it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service (formerly known as CRB) to check for any previous criminal convictions.
Certificate of Sponsorship
Applications from job seekers who require current Skilled worker sponsorship to work in the UK are welcome and will be considered alongside all other applications. For further information visit the UK Visas and Immigration website (Opens in a new tab).
From 6 April 2017, skilled worker applicants, applying for entry clearance into the UK, have had to present a criminal record certificate from each country they have resided continuously or cumulatively for 12 months or more in the past 10 years. Adult dependants (over 18 years old) are also subject to this requirement. Guidance can be found here Criminal records checks for overseas applicants (Opens in a new tab).
UK Registration
Applicants must have current UK professional registration. For further information please see NHS Careers website (opens in a new window).
Employer details
Employer name
North London NHS Foundation Trust
Address
Dennis Scott Unit
Edgware Community Hospital
London
HA8 0AD
United Kingdom
Employer's website
https://www.northlondonmentalhealth.nhs.uk/ (Opens in a new tab)