RQ1692210 – Senior Children Occupational Therapist

The qualified Occupational Therapist will work in a team of occupational therapists, social workers, and trusted assessors to provide social care core skills and specialist professional skills. The OT takes into account physical, psychological, learning, cognitive, spiritual, mental health, well-being, personal independence, social, financial, and aspects of employment. The OT assesses the functional impact of a medical condition or disability on personal daily living, coordinates disability resources, techniques, reablement, manual handling, equipment, accessible housing and adaptations so that disabled people and their carers can achieve their maximum potential independence and safely live in the community.

The post holder will be expected to adhere to the Mental Capacity Act, undertaking mental capacity assessments where appropriate, referring to an IMCA as per the Care Act and the Mental Capacity Act, or undertaking Best Interests under the Deprivation of Liberty safeguards. The post holder will also adhere to the Mental Health Act (1983) as amended in 2007, maintaining a working knowledge of legislation to ensure people’s human rights and dignity are protected in accordance with legislation and the council’s procedures. The post holder will maintain a working knowledge of legislation, regulations and guidance that relate to adult social care. The post holder will be responsible for the provision of an Occupational Therapy service to vulnerable adults, children, their families and carers in the community setting.

Main Duties and Responsibilities

• Visit to assess people with disabilities in their homes, or in the assessment centre, designated day centres, designated schools, residential care settings and elsewhere in the borough.
• Identify their needs in relation to service criteria and various aspects of daily living activities, namely their medical condition, level of function, psychological state and social situation.
• Recommend and take appropriate action to meet the identified needs within Council procedures.
• Recommend and demonstrate alternative methods of overcoming disabilities other than through the provision of equipment or adaptation.
• Initiate specialist reablement/rehabilitation programmes in collaboration with professionals and agencies to enable disabled people to realise their potential and remain in their own homes where possible.
• Assess for and recommend appropriate equipment and adaptations and present cases to the Quality Assurance Panel, liaising with appropriate professionals and agencies.
• Carry out risk assessments with regard to complex moving and handling situations.
• Co-ordinate multidisciplinary packages recommending the safe use of manual handling equipment for people with disabilities, their families and carers.
• Following assessment, demonstrate, ensure suitability and teach correct use of the equipment to people with disabilities, their families and carers.
• Assess people with disabilities who meet the criteria for being registered permanently and substantially disabled, as legislated in the Housing Grant Regeneration and Construction Act, in support of applications for registration and major adaptations.
• Assess, make recommendations and process complex major adaptations, e.g. structural alterations, extensions, floor lifts and specialist bespoke equipment.
• Where rehousing is the only option to maintain independence, assist the Housing Service with the appropriate design and allocation of properties, recommend and process appropriate major equipment and adaptations to meet independent living and lifelong housing standards.
• Implement minor and major adaptation procedures according to each individual client’s eligibility and financing, presenting cases to the OT Quality Assurance Panel and advising clients accordingly.
• Facilitate accurate brief and sketch diagrams for building surveyors, including layout of proposed adaptations and design-specific equipment.
• Provide professional consultation and recommendations, including specialist joint visits with other Council Departments and Agencies such as Housing, Environmental Health, Staining Put and Social Workers/Care.
• Work flexibly across service areas and be willing to be deployed to other locality teams as the service requires, in line with the council’s policies and procedures.

General for both posts

• Work within the council to promote people’s wellbeing and maintain their independence in accordance with council policies and procedures and the legislative framework.
• Formal Occupational Therapy training is required to practice. As a minimum, Occupational Therapists must have successfully completed formal degree-level Occupational Therapy training or hold the diploma from the College of Occupational Therapists (pre-degree system). They must be state registered with the Health and Care Professions Council.
• Career progression – The London Borough of Sutton career progression scheme enables Occupational Therapists (and Social Workers) who meet required standards to progress through practice levels from Occupational Therapist to Senior Occupational Therapist.
• Seek advice and guidance, report to and receive supervision and appraisal from a designated HCPC-registered professional.
• Maintain and act as a role model for continuing professional development, as required by the HCPC Code of Conduct and SW/COT practice standards, providing cross-service expertise and supervision on the nominated specialist area.
• Undertake practice/clinical supervision for students; PO2-graded OT’s undertake OT student clinical supervision and OTA supervision after completing supervisor training in the first year of practice; Senior OT’s supervise junior OT’s.
• Use supervision and appraisal meetings to reflect on casework, accountability, priority of work, personal development plan and continuing professional development.
• Work with professional and clinical leads to promote HCPC standards in everyday practice, ensuring that the benefits of continuous professional development are evidenced in personal practice, client satisfaction and service quality.
• Promote safe independence in daily living through functional assessment, recommendation and review of techniques, equipment and adaptations, and suitable housing design for people of all ages with physical or multiple disabilities and their caregivers, establishing integrated resource partnerships with Social Care, Health, Housing, Education and non-statutory sectors.
• Assist clients with suitable independent advocates to support them during assessment if they have difficulties engaging with the process, in accordance with council procedures.
• Assist clients with managing their financial assessment process by providing general financial information and advice, and signposting them to the relevant team and/or independent financial advisers.
• Work jointly in partnership with other relevant professionals and agencies to carry out high-quality integrated and coordinated assessments, care and support plans, reviews and care arrangements.
• Monitor and review support plans in line with council policies and procedures, ensuring reviews occur within established timescales.
• Ensure all duties, responsibilities, actions, decisions and discussions are consistently and appropriately recorded, maintained, updated and relevant reports produced in accordance with council policies and procedures.