Specialist Occupational Therapist in Norwich

We are seeking a compassionate, innovative, and enthusiastic Band 6 Occupational Therapist to join our 'Outstanding' community Children's and Young People’s Specialist services. You would be joining a friendly and supportive highly specialist multidisciplinary team and would contribute to the development of Allied Health Professional (AHP) provision within our Learning Disability Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service (Starfish).

The post is 28 hours per week and will work across Norfolk, including Kings Lynn, Great Yarmouth, and Norwich. Base is negotiable and flexible working is supported and includes agile/home working where relevant. We will consider applications for 22.5 hours as a minimum.

The Starfish Team offers assessment and intervention for young people of school age (4‑18 years) with a diagnosed learning disability who are experiencing significant behavioural and/or mental health difficulties. This is a secondment post for 12 months, please ensure you have line manager agreement before submitting an application.

Main duties of the job

• Your role will be varied and will include a range of assessment, formulation, and intervention.
• This will include direct and indirect work with the children and young people that we support, as well as their families and the professional networks involved in their care.
• You will have extensive experience of working with children and young people, and either some skills and experience with learning disability or mental health, and be willing to develop skills in the other area.
• You will be able to demonstrate excellent communication and time management skills.
• You will be passionate and enthusiastic in your approach to service delivery and committed to improving the lives of children and young people.
• You will manage a complex clinical caseload.
• You will be an excellent problem solver and be able to give advice and recommendations to families and other professionals alike.
• You will be expected to use a range of assessment skills, interviews with parents and carers, and observations in a range of settings, to inform the assessment and diagnostic process as well as the planning and provision of interventions.
• There will be opportunities to contribute to the supervision, teaching and training of other professionals within the team as well as students.
• All staff have regular clinical and managerial supervision.

Job responsibilities

• Provide specialised support and advice to young people with a diagnosed learning disability and additional mental health and behavioural difficulties and their family in Starfish.
• Support physical needs within the Children’s Community OT team.
• Work as part of the multi-disciplinary team around the child.
• Undertake assessment and clinical interventions for children and young people.
• Assess and interpret patient presentation and use this information to inform treatment delivered.
• Assess, develop and implement occupational therapy programmes with children.
• Monitor and adapt treatment programmes as appropriate to the child.
• Maintain patient electronic records contemporaneously.
• Communicate condition-related information, sensitive diagnostic and prognostic information to patients, carers & relatives, requiring empathy & reassurance.
• Be involved in planning and organising team training sessions and parent psycho-education programmes as necessary.
• Supervise students as needed.
• Maintain CPD in line with HCPC requirements.
• Work within national codes of practice.

About us

We aim to attract and retain a diverse, talented and committed workforce, who are caring and compassionate, and therefore able to meet the demands of the modern NHS now and in the future. In return we can offer a dynamic working environment in which to build a career in which we will support your career development and progression.

We would love to hear from candidates who have a passion for working with children and young people with learning disabilities. We encourage informal discussion prior to application.

Please note, the selection processes at Norfolk Community Health and Care NHS Trust are in place to ensure we recruit candidates with the right values and skills.

Person Specification

• Degree or equivalent in Occupational Therapy.
• Professional registration required with the Health and Care Professions Council.
• Qualifications/experience in sensory based assessment and intervention.
• Recent experience of working as an occupational therapist with children and young people.
• Ability to work in a team.
• Use of SystmOne for patient records.
• Ability to prioritise own workload.
• Ability to work independently.
• Demonstrates an understanding of clinical audit and evidence based practice.
• Demonstrates clear, open communication skills.
• Demonstrates commitment to continuing professional development/lifelong learning.
• Well-developed problem-solving skills.
• Knowledge of the Education, Health and Care Plan process.
• Able to communicate with patients, families, carers and professionals effectively in person, on the phone and in writing.
• Able to convey sensitive information to patients and families who may be struggling to come to terms with a diagnosis or implications of a disability.
• Experience of working alongside less experienced members of the team in order to help them develop their skills.
• Experience in supervising colleagues.
• Experience of delivering training to team members, families and other professionals.
• Able to identify own learning needs and maintain own CPD.

Other

• Able to drive and has access to own car.
• Must be able to communicate effectively using the English language in both verbal and written forms.

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.