Palliative Care Occupational Therapist in Bury St Edmunds

We are looking for an exceptional Occupational Therapist who will deliver holistic and person-centred support to our patients with complex physical, psychological, cognitive, environmental, social and spiritual needs, which are related to their life-limiting diagnosis. Working as part of a specialist multi-disciplinary team, you will support our patients and those important to them, to live well and as independently as possible, as they navigate palliative and end of life care. This is a highly autonomous role offering an experienced OT the opportunity to support patients and families by managing their own caseload and shaping the Independent Living Team service to reach as many people as possible.

Main duties of the job:

• To complete specialist, holistic Occupational Therapy assessments of patients with individual and sometimes complex presentations/multiple pathologies using investigative and analytical clinical reasoning skills to diagnose therapeutic need.
• To manage a clinical caseload of palliative patients with varying levels of complexity, prioritising, reviewing and discharging as necessary.
• To be a resource of specialist Occupational Therapy knowledge, advice and support to the hospice staff, volunteers and wider community.
• To develop and lead empowering patient focused self-management therapeutic groups, undertaking and collating outcome measures and feedback as appropriate.
• Reviewing and re-evaluating group aims and objectives as necessary.
• Influence palliative rehabilitation practice in a variety of care settings as part of the wider patient/carer support team or promote and influence the use of the model of Rehabilitative Palliative care within the hospice and in the wider community.
• Establishing a model that seeks to enhance personal independence and choice.
• Contribute to the service model to equip patients & carers rehabilitation needs as they experience dying, death and grief.
• Actively support and model the SNHC Values: Compassion, Accountability, Respect and Equity.

About us:

St Nicholas Hospice Care is an independent charity, providing palliative and end of life care across West Suffolk and Thetford, both in the community and at our Hardwick Lane, Bury St Edmunds site. Our vision is: Everyone in our communities has choice, dignity and support when facing dying, death and bereavement.

As an employee you will receive the following benefits:

• Working in our beautiful hospice surroundings, including our therapeutic garden.
• Social events (such as photography group, quiz nights, picnics, book club, StNics Sings, and more).
• Access to our annual Norburn Awards ceremony, in support of our organisational value.
• Occasional opportunity for some home working, on negotiation.
• 25 days annual leave increasing to 29 with service (pro rata for part time employees).
• Home-made meals available in our onsite bistro.
• Access to a group pension plan or continuation of NHS Pension (subject to criteria).
• Life assurance.
• Free on-site parking.

Job responsibilities:

• Prioritise and manage own clinical caseload, admit and discharge patients, make referrals, reports and recommendations verbally and in writing to the MDT, external agencies and services as required.
• Use evidence based knowledge and advanced clinical reasoning to undertake highly complex clinical assessment, in a relevant location, e.g. nursing/residential home, hospice or in a patient's own home, identifying needs, treatment aims and goals in collaboration with the individual patient and the MDT in a range of highly complex conditions.
• Use effective communication skills to negotiate, review and re-evaluate treatment programmes, goal setting with a diverse range of patients often in a sensitive manner including empathy, persuasion, motivation and reassurance.
• Oversee and evaluate OT treatment programmes, monitoring/supervising junior staff/volunteer input, adapting as necessary.
• Influence and promote a rehabilitative approach to palliative occupational therapy to equip generalist therapists in the hospital and community settings.
• Be a source of specialist knowledge to other local therapists and professional services and agencies regarding specialist palliative care occupational therapy, working in a collaborative way.
• Act as a mentor or preceptor demonstrating clinical expertise in rehabilitative palliative care coaching staff and students.
• Provide line management support for the Hospice Therapy Assistant.
• Promote a culture which supports self-management, independence and embeds patient and community involvement within the sphere of practice.
• Proactively support discharge home from Sylvan ward, completing Access Visits and Environmental Risk Assessments where necessary, attending case conferences and negotiating with family or carers.
• Utilise effective problem solving skills to support environmental issues and the use of equipment/assistive technology/equipment, where necessary.
• Utilise specialist knowledge to assist in promoting and maintaining independence for as long as possible, educating staff and families where necessary, reviewing and re-evaluating and in supporting End of Life care at home in a timely manner.
• Contribute to and deliver specialist education and training to other professionals, internal or external, involved in patient care and patient and community focused education, including coaching patients and their families and carers. Support of Induction programmes and student placements.
• Collate and evaluate data to provide evidence of productivity, outcomes and quality, including contributing to the implementation and monitoring of adherence to relevant clinical guidelines.
• Oversee the equipment Peripheral Store within the hospice and its efficient management.
• Overseeing the issue of MehEquip equipment by hospice staff and responsibility for new starters application and support.
• Overseeing of wheelchair loans from the hospice utilising a safe, effective method.
• Be involved with recruitment and interviewing of staff as appropriate.
• Maintain accurate and timely patient records using SystmOne.
• Demonstrate expertise in multi-professional meetings, such as the Gold Standard Framework, acting as patient advocate and equipping others in palliative rehabilitation.
• Participate in the continual evaluation and development of practice through research projects and/or audits occurring in the Therapy division within the field of occupational therapy.
• Participate in service review as required, in order to drive service improvement, including promoting patient and public experience feedback to influence innovation and change.
• To participate in Continuing Professional Development via membership of special interest groups, clinical supervision, self-directed learning etc.

Person Specification:

• Evidence of CPD.
• Good knowledge of palliative care theory and practice.
• Excellent core rehabilitation assessment and treatment skills.
• Excellent communication and caseload management skills.
• Able to teach and coach patients, carers and colleagues with tact and diplomacy.
• Adaptability, able to reflect and adapt practice to suit individuals' needs.
• Ability to work autonomously.
• Ability to motivate and support others.
• Willingness to work flexibly to meet patient needs.
• Resilience in coping with quickly changing needs and sensitive situations.
• Good knowledge of specialist equipment.
• Ability to use a range of IT systems and software, including Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Office 365 and electronic patient record systems (such as SystmOne) as well as virtual systems e.g. Zoom, MS Teams.

Qualifications:

• Degree or Diploma in Occupational Therapy.
• HPC Registration.
• Advanced Communications Skills Training.
• Leadership training/qualification.
• Evidence of Masters degree/level study.
• Additional qualifications in therapeutic interventions e.g. acupuncture, core counselling.

Experience:

• Proven experience of developing and delivering therapeutic groups.
• Experience of multi-disciplinary team working.
• Experience of community working.
• Experience of advanced care planning.

Disclosure and Barring Service Check:

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.