Intermediate Care Occupational Therapist in Totnes

Torbay and South Devon NHS Foundation Trust is an integrated care organisation which aims to provide high quality, safe and effective health and social care. Our vision is a community where we are all supported and empowered to be as well and as independent as possible, able to manage our own health and wellbeing, and in our own homes. It offers a great opportunity within our Intermediate Team. We are looking for a Band 6 Occupational Therapist with experience, or a Band 5 Occupational Therapist looking for career progression, to join us on a 9‑month fixed‑term contract.

You will work as part of a multi‑disciplinary team contributing to joint decisions regarding the management of patients, including acutely ill patients referred by their GP or A&E/ED, triage and prioritise work according to urgency, and establish presenting risks. Working with a patient‑centred approach, you will assess and make autonomous decisions/recommendations regarding packages of care, equipment provision and ongoing treatment to maintain patients at home, thereby preventing hospital admission.

Job Responsibilities:

• Assess patients’ understanding of interventions, gain valid formal consent, and jointly agree goals.
• Work within a legal framework with patients who lack capacity to consent to treatment.
• Communicate sensitive and comprehensive information about diagnosis, prognosis, physical and functional recovery, and potential lifestyle adjustments, to patients and their relatives.
• Use verbal and non‑verbal communication tools to discuss complex information about underlying influences, prognosis, and progression of rehabilitation and treatment programmes with patients and/or carers.
• Motivate, negotiate, counsel, train, empathise and reassure.
• Maintain accurate, comprehensive, and up‑to‑date documentation in line with legal, departmental and RCOT standards of practice, and monitor documentation of less experienced staff.

Person Specification:

Essential Qualifications and Training:

• Diploma/Degree in Occupational Therapy
• Valid state registration with Health Professions Council
• CPD portfolio and evidence of recent post graduate learning relevant to area of clinical practice
• Experience within NHS including experience working in a variety of roles, for example orthopaedics, elderly care and musculoskeletal conditions
• Experience in the NHS working in a community setting

Specific Skills:

• Knowledge of vulnerable adults' protocols and procedures
• Moving and handling protocols and procedures to include provision of hoists and specialist slings
• Proven post‑graduate experience
• Wheelchair accreditation
• Pressure care knowledge and prescription of suitable equipment
• Evidence of ability to make decisions under pressure
• Evidence of excellent interpersonal and communication skills
• Proven ability to work autonomously
• Knowledge of specialised disability equipment
• Detailed understanding of roles of the MDT, health and social care agencies
• Understanding of clinical governance issues
• Relevant professional and clinical experience
• Experience of supervision of junior staff and/or OT students

Desirable:

• Crisis intervention/acute medicine/vital signs/taking baseline observations.
• Experience of initiating change in the workplace
• Appraisals and supervision training
• Experience of clinical audit
• Student placement educators course
• Experience of seating and postural management
• Experience of Disabled Facilities Grants
• Experience of using standardised assessments, including specialist cognitive assessments
• Experience of work involving discharge to assess (D2A).

Knowledge and Experience:

• Proven post‑graduate experience
• Wheelchair Accreditation
• Pressure care knowledge and prescription of suitable equipment
• Knowledge and understanding of complex legislation surrounding health and social care
• Understanding of National Service Frameworks for Older People, specifically aspects referring to Stroke, Falls and Intermediate Care
• Evidence of ability to make decisions under pressure and in stressful situations

Candidate Requirements:

• Disclosure and Barring Service Check: This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (Exceptions Order) 1975 and requires submission for Disclosure to the Disclosure and Barring Service (formerly CRB) to check for any previous convictions.
• UK Registration: Applicants must have current UK professional registration.

Employer Details:

Employer name: Torbay and South Devon NHS Foundation Trust
Address: Totnes Hospital, Coronation Road, Totnes, TQ9 5GH
Website: https://www.torbayandsouthdevon.nhs.uk

About Us: Torbay and South Devon offers the opportunity of a great work life balance with a variety of outdoor activities and natural beauty on tap. Our Intermediate Care team has a hard‑working, flexible “can‑do” approach. The team is supportive and friendly, adapting to the ever‑changing demands on the service. We provide community care to residents in the Moor to Sea Locality (Totnes, Buckfastleigh, Ashburton, Dartmouth and surrounding villages) and support patients in home and intermediate care placements.