Primary Care Network Occupational Therapist Boston

Boston Primary Care Network (PCN) is made up of six practices situated across Boston, Lincolnshire. With four town and two out of town practices, the PCN serves a population of approximately 77,000 patients. Boston PCN is a forward-thinking organisation that understands the importance of trusted relationships to provide a platform for communication with all parties to ensure the safe, efficient and effective delivery of care to the population.

An exciting opportunity has become available for an enthusiastic and forward-thinking Occupational Therapist to join Boston PCN. The role is a job share with one of our existing experienced Occupational Therapists and is for 2 days a week - 7.5 hours per day. The days of work can be negotiated. This role will focus heavily on working with our older patients living in care homes. The successful candidate will be joining our Primary Care Wellbeing team working closely with EHCH care co-ordinators, specialist neighbourhood nurse, the acute trust and care homes.

Main duties of the job

• Assessing and supporting our complex, frail elderly patients, supporting a proactive, patient-centred approach.
• Supporting our patients to avoid crises and hospital admissions and to stay well in either their own home or care/residential home wherever and whenever possible.
• Supporting patients with complex health care needs.
• Carrying out assessments predominantly in a patient's place of residence.
• To provide clinically effective, person-centred and evidence-based occupational therapy assessment and intervention to our patients.
• To provide support and share information with the relevant surgery staff with regard to occupational therapy interventions.
• The person in role will also work closely with Practice, PCN/Neighbourhood & Care Home teams to help create and get agreement on a long-term plan for the structure and processes to support the Multi-Disciplinary Team meetings and the ongoing patient case management.

About us

The team at Boston PCN work collaboratively to provide services in addition to those already found in local GP practices. Primary care networks benefit patients by offering improved access and extending the range of services available to them and by helping to integrate primary care with wider health and community services. Boston Primary Care Network brings together the 6 GP practices in the Boston area, health and care partners, patient organisations and the voluntary sector across Boston. Boston PCN puts people at the centre of all that we do. We are an inclusive PCN and we challenge the status quo to bring about innovation and real change.

Job responsibilities

• Take referrals from Care Co-Ordinators, GP Practices and Neighbourhood Team.
• Assess aids around the house and outdoors to increase/maintain independency.
• Assess, plan, implement and evaluate treatment plans with the aim of increasing independence to prevent or delay the need for care and support.
• Work with patients to plan realistic, outcome-focused goals.
• Effectively manage a caseload of patients as part of a multi-disciplinary team (MDT) providing specialist and evidence-based assessment and interventions to patients in both a stable and acute phase of their condition, ensuring the physical, psychosocial, behavioural, perceptual, cognitive, sensory and environmental needs of patients are addressed.
• Utilise specialist knowledge and clinical reasoning to plan and provide clinical interventions in consultation with other colleagues in the MDT and to work in a range of settings as appropriate (e.g. patient's home or other community setting).
• Adopt a patient-centred and sensitive approach to therapy, collaborating with patients (and/or carers where appropriate) in all aspects of the therapy process (assessment, planning, intervention, evaluation, reporting).
• Have a good level of knowledge of a variety of conditions including neurological, orthopaedic, musculoskeletal, care of the elderly, respiratory and falls and specialist knowledge of at least one of these areas.
• Work as part of a multi-disciplinary community team to support patients effectively.
• Utilise individual and/or group work skills as appropriate in order to achieve therapeutic goals.
• Engage with community partners enabling patients to access social activities to enhance their health and well-being, and to ensure effective, safe care.
• Work collaboratively with Social Services and third sector providers.
• Manage your own caseload and contribute to service development.
• Assist in the quality and activity monitoring systems to support evaluation of the effectiveness of the service.
• Assist in the maintenance and development of the Occupational Therapy service for the PCN.
• Attend practice meetings of the member practices if required, as well as Core Group Meetings (Community MDTs etc).
• Attend any training courses and supervision sessions as required.
• Provide training to the member practices on relevant therapies or interventions if required and as appropriate.

Person Specification

Qualifications

• Essential: BSc in or pre-reg MSc in Occupational Therapy from a training programme approved by the Royal College of Occupational Therapists. Registered OT with HCPC. Able to operate at an advanced level of practice.
• Desirable: Post-graduate courses relevant to the post. Membership of the Royal College of Occupational Therapists.

Experience

• Essential: Experience of working as part of a therapy team and multi-disciplinary team. Completion of preceptorship. Experience of working with frail older adults. Awareness and understanding of HCPC and RCOT standards and other national and local initiatives.
• Desirable: Clinical experience gained in a community/intermediate care setting. Palliative care. Complex manual handling skills, knowledge of stand aids, hoists etc. Experience of audit. Presentation skills. Experience of teaching on in-house sessions to staff and service users.

Skills and Competencies

• Essential: Understanding of the integration and PCN agendas. Ability to work without direct supervision. Capacity to concentrate for considerable periods of time during assessment and management of patients and be expected to respond immediately to interruptions. Ability to deal sensitively with patients who may have high levels of anxiety and aggression. Committed to team and personal development.
• Desirable: Ability to demonstrate knowledge of and the implications of standard of the NSF for elderly, NICE Clinical Guidance 21 (Falls Prevention) and the RCP Falls and Bone Audit.

Attributes

• Essential: Ability to work independently as well as collaboratively in a team. Ability to work without direct supervision. Committed to personal and team development. Committed to person-centred, non-discriminatory practice.

Criteria

• Essential: Aware of requirements of confidentiality. Forward thinking. Excellent interpersonal skills. Able to maintain judgement under pressure. Able to maintain motivation, drive and enthusiasm. Confident approach. Flexible approach to work. Full clean driving licence or ability to travel around the PCN patch to deliver patient care.

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. 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.