IDS Home First Occupational Therapist/Physiotherapist in Blackburn

At East Lancashire Hospitals NHS Trust our vision is to be widely recognised for providing safe, personal and effective care. We currently provide high quality services and treat over 600,000 people across East Lancashire and the surrounding area. We employ over 9,500 staff, many of whom are internationally renowned and have won awards for their work.

This post is essential for the delivery of a fully integrated discharge service across Pennine Lancashire. The Integrated Discharge service therapist undertakes highly skilled and specialised work to support in the assessing and treating of patients, to facilitate complex discharges and improve clinical flow throughout the trust to improve access to acute services.

Main duties of the job:

• Provide pro-active and responsive support to the Divisional Therapy Lead, working across all ELHT sites to meet the needs of the Complex Case Management Service.
• Have in-depth knowledge and skills to act as a resource for ward staff at all levels and other multi-disciplinary professionals ensuring there is a consistent and informed approach in relation to effective and timely discharge from hospital.
• Carry out home assessments with patients who have complex needs and produce comprehensive documentation from these visits.
• Advise, assist and navigate ELHT staff through the discharge planning process to plan and meet future care needs to facilitate a safe and timely discharge from hospital.
• Promote and maintain effective communication channels between all Health and Social Care departments/agencies in the acute and community settings.
• Proactively advise and support staff to initiate the early discharge planning of patients with vulnerable/complex needs ensuring appropriate assessments are completed in a timely manner to facilitate discharge.
• Maintain accurate records and participate in internal or Department of Health audits as required in relation to the discharge planning process.
• Ensure compliance with other related Trust Policies and Department of Health Legislation regarding the discharge planning processes.
• Screen referrals made to the Central Point of Referral, signposting to alternative pathways as appropriate to meet identified needs.
• Carry out home assessments with patients who have complex social issues which can take up an extraordinary amount of time if a ward therapist or social worker were to deal with this.
• Give both verbal and written feedback about the progress of patients' assessment and treatment, including typing of comprehensive documentation from visits and clinical input.
• Take patients home to settle or visit post-discharge to prevent re-admission.
• Utilise mental health knowledge and carry out in-depth cognitive assessments.
• Carry out second opinion assessments when there is a dispute between health professionals and the patient or their families.
• Use social services IT systems in conjunction with the trusted assessment documentation and set up new packages of care for patients.

Person specification:

• Registered Allied Health Professional on HPC Register.
• Post registration study/relevant experience of working across professional development.
• A minimum of 2 years post registration experience.
• High standards of accuracy and literacy skills.
• Experience dealing with patients and families in a sensitive and understanding manner.
• Knowledge of the principles of Delayed Discharge Act.
• In-depth knowledge of discharge planning and processes.
• Confident Decision Maker.
• Ability to prioritise an unpredictable workload and work to timescales.
• Enthusiasm to take on board new ideas and initiate change.
• Experience working in the NHS or similar organisation.

The Trust is an equal opportunities employer, committed to improving the working lives of our staff and operates a 'Zero Tolerance' policy to aggression, violence, bullying and harassment. We aim to employ a workforce that reflects the diverse communities we serve.