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Detailed job description and main responsibilities

Key results from the job holder

• To provide clinical leadership for a designated area of work and to plan and organise efficiently and effectively with regard to patient management and use of time.
• To maintain own clinical professional development (CPD) by keeping abreast of any new trends and developments, and incorporate them as necessary into the work of the team.
• To establish priorities for own work area, balancing other patient related and professional demands, and ensure that they remain in accordance with those of the service as a whole.
• To ensure excellent standards of evidence based care are delivered in specialist area of responsibility.
• Provide day to day management for designated staff.

Planning and Organisational Duties

• To be responsible for a designated area of work, as agreed with the Therapy Lead/Clinical Lead, and to plan and organise efficiently and effectively with regard to patients management and use of time.
• To decide priorities for own work area, balancing other patient related and professional demands, and ensure that these remain in accordance with those of the service as a whole.
• To be responsible for ensuring the effective selection and use of all treatment resources available.
• To be responsible for ordering, monitoring and maintaining equipment used in carrying out therapy duties, and to adhere to departmental policy, including competence to use equipment and to ensure the safe use of equipment by others through, teaching, training and supervision of practice.
• To deputise for the Therapy Lead/Clinical Lead in terms of operational issues as required.
• To maintain accurate, comprehensive and up-to-date documentation, in line with legal and departmental requirements and communicate assessment and treatment results to the appropriate disciplines in form of reports and letters.
• To be actively involved in the collection of appropriate data and statistics for the use of the therapy department.
• To comply with the organisational and departmental policies and procedures and to be involved in the reviewing and updating as appropriate.
• To be actively involved in the recruitment and selection of lower grade staff.
• To maintain own clinical professional development (CPD) by keeping abreast of any new trends and developments, and incorporate them as necessary into your work.
• To participate in the staff appraisal scheme and Personal Development Plan (PDP) as both appraiser and appraise.
• To undertake the measurement and evaluation of your work and current practices through the use of Evidence Based Practice projects, audit and outcome measures, either individually or with Therapy Lead/Clinical Lead. Use information gained to make recommendations for change.
• To demonstrate a sound understanding of Clinical Governance and Risk Management and apply to work situation
• To undertake any other duties as considered appropriate by the Therapy Lead/Clinical Lead

Communications and Key Working Relationships

• To be professionally and legally responsible and accountable for all aspects of your own work including the management of patients in your care. To ensure high standards of clinical care for the patients under your management, and support more junior staff to do likewise.
• Post holders are required to work independently, within broad clinical and professional guidelines. Work is supervised rather than managed and this supervision may be provided by peers who may be internal or external to the organisation
• To interpret and analyse clinical and non-clinical facts to form accurate diagnosis and prognosis in a wide range of highly complex conditions, to recommend the best course of intervention, and to develop comprehensive discharge plans.
• To produce informative and detailed information for out of Trust patient transfers for continuing therapy management.
• To deliver the occupational therapy element of care for patients within the stroke unit, and on occasions to deliver appropriate elements of care normally undertaken by medical, nursing or other therapy colleagues.
• To represent the Trust externally (locally and regionally) regarding occupational therapy services provided to patients within the speciality.
• To undertake the comprehensive assessment of patients, including those with a complex presentation, using investigative and analytical skills and to formulate individualised management and treatment plans, using clinical reasoning and utilising a wide range of treatment skills and options to formulate a specialised programme of care.
• To accept clinical responsibility for a designated caseload of patients, and to organise this effectively and efficiently with regard to clinical priorities and use of time.
• To participate in the development of policy and practice changes within the musculoskeletal and therapy services which will impact on service users.
• To communicate complex patient-related information (as well as non-patient information) effectively and work collaboratively with medical, nursing and therapy colleagues to ensure delivery of a co-ordinated multidisciplinary service.
• To communicate effectively with patients and carers to maximise rehabilitation potential and to ensure understanding of condition. Use communication skills such as persuasion, motivation explanation to encourage patients to undertake their management programme.
• To use communication tools (verbal and non-verbal) to gain informed consent with patients where there will often be barriers to effective communication e.g. loss of hearing, altered perception, expressive and receptive dysphasia, pain, fear etc.
• To assess capacity, gain valid informed consent and have the ability to work within a legal framework with patients who lack capacity to consent to treatment.

Responsibility for Health & Safety

• Compliance with the Health & Safety at Work Act 1974 – the post holder is required to fulfil a proactive role towards the management of risk in all of their actions. This entails the risk assessment of all situations, the taking of appropriate actions and reporting of all incidents, near misses and hazards, and a statutory duty of care for their own personal safety and that of others who may be affected by their acts or omissions.

Responsibility for Human Resources

• Provide day to day supervision, management and development for designated staff,
• To work with Team Leaders within the Therapy service to ensure smooth running of the overall service.
• To participate in the staff appraisal scheme and personal development plan (PDP) as both appraiser and appraisee This will include the use of formal appraisal documentation
• To accept appropriate responsibility for any tasks delegated to less senior qualified or unqualified staff.
• To ensure that designated staff implement policy and service development changes.
• To work with the Therapy Lead/Clinical Lead and other staff in developing the strategic and operational management of the Therapy service.

Responsibility for Teaching

• To provide spontaneous and planned advice, teaching and instruction to relatives, carers and other professionals, to promote understanding of the aims of occupational therapy, and to ensure a consistent approach to patient care.
• To provide specialist and highly specialist advice to occupational therapy colleagues working within other clinical areas
• To provide specialist advice, teaching and training, including presentation to other members of the IDT/MDT regarding the physical and medical management of patients with upper and lower limb conditions.
• To educate, supervise and performance manage more junior staff, trainee assistant practitioners, therapy assistants and students. This will include the use of formal appraisal documentation.
• To educate, supervise and performance manage via the use of competencies qualified and unqualified nursing staff, in specific areas of occupational therapy management.