Clinical Team Leader - Occupational Therapy in Leigh

An exciting opportunity has arisen for both an experienced and forward-thinking Occupational Therapist to join and clinically lead the developing Intermediate Care at Home team. The successful candidates will be experienced in community working / Intermediate Care and will work together alongside the IMC leadership team. The post holder will provide senior clinical leadership within the Intermediate Care service, working closely with acute hospital services and wider system partners to deliver high quality, safe and effective person-centred care. The successful candidate will demonstrate strong and effective leadership capability, advanced clinical knowledge and a commitment to continuous service improvement in line with Trust values and national guidance.

Main duties of the job

• To provide expert clinical leadership across Intermediate Care Therapy services.
• To take a clinical role, providing specialist knowledge and skills in the assessment and treatment of Intermediate Care patients across the Wigan borough.
• Demonstrate critical thinking and decision making.
• To lead on the implementation of evidence-based interventions relating to Intermediate care with engagement and implementation of GM and national requirements, organisational strategy to ensure a high quality, effective and efficient therapy service.
• To work collaboratively with system partners including Wigan Council, GPs and wider health, social care and third sector services.
• Facilitate innovation, research and strategic development to achieve the provision of high quality patient centred care.
• To undertake a role as an integral part of the IMC leadership team in planning, co-coordinating, delivering and evaluating the Intermediate Care Therapy service.
• To manage, supervise and support staff, including appraisals, supervision and peer support, fostering a positive and inclusive team culture.
• To educate and train therapists, other health and social care professionals and students.
• To work in the Community setting as a lone practitioner in line with the policy.

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

• To be professionally and legally responsible and accountable for all aspects of your own work, including the management of patients in your care.
• To ensure high standards of clinical care for the patients under your management, and support colleagues and junior staff to do likewise.
• To interpret and analyse clinical and non-clinical facts to form accurate diagnosis and prognosis in a wide range of complex conditions, to recommend the best course of intervention, and to develop comprehensive discharge plans.
• To be an expert clinical resource both within the service and the wider integrated health & social care teams, using a wide range of advanced clinical knowledge and skills.
• To undertake comprehensive specialist assessments of complex patients by using investigative and analytical skills and advanced clinical reasoning to reach valid, reliable and comprehensive patient-centred conclusions appropriate to their needs, context and culture both independently and through shared decision making.
• To lead on the triage of new patients, prioritisation and overview assessment of new patients referred to the service.
• To undertake a lead role in the strategic development, implementation and sustainment of clinical policies, processes and pathways.
• To act as a role model in the promotion of person-centred practice, and challenge non-person-centred practice.
• Ensure the Intermediate Care therapy service model delivery is suitable and specific to the Wigan Borough population considering organisational, national, regional & divisional specific strategy and developments.
• To comply with relevant professional codes of practice, professional guidelines, trust policies and local policies at all times.
• To provide expert advice to service users, their carers and health/social/voluntary professionals, regarding diverse issues pertinent to this service user group.
• To ensure the provision of a high level of clinical effectiveness by use of evidence-based practice and outcome measures.
• To provide information that may be complex to clients, carers and families in a manner that enables and ensures their understanding.
• To ensure that clients and/or carers are involved in decision making and care planning wherever possible.
• To carry out assessments and treatments which may involve physically assisting patients to stand and walk, kneeling, squatting, crouching, bending to low furniture, twisting, maintaining static/awkward postures for short periods of time.
• Work alone in varied environments such as e.g. people’s homes, residential homes, nursing homes, outdoors.
• Assessing and managing risk frequently on a daily basis.
• To cope with driving in busy and adverse conditions throughout the working day.
• Transportation of wheelchairs/equipment in own car, loading and unloading equipment.
• To maintain high levels of concentration throughout the day e.g. during communication within a busy office environment, whilst driving, during user contact time, writing user notes, and reading clinical information and advising other staff.
• To deputise for the Clinical Quality lead and/or Operational Manager in times of absence attending meetings and providing appropriate feedback & support and cover operational team lead roles in times of absence.
• To decide priorities for own work area, balancing other patient related and professional demands, and ensure that they remain in accordance with those of the section as a whole.
• To maintain accurate, comprehensive and up-to-date documentation, in line with legal and departmental requirements and communicate assessment and treatment results to the appropriate disciplines in form of reports and letters.
• To comply with the organisational and department policies and procedures and to be involved in the reviewing and updating as appropriate.
• To undertake any other duties that might be considered appropriate by the Operational Manager or Quality Lead.
• To maintain own clinical professional development (CPD) by keeping abreast of any new trends and developments and incorporate them as necessary into your work.

Person specification

• Qualifications: Diploma/Degree in Occupational Therapy /Physiotherapy, Health Care Professions Council Registration, Leadership Qualification or relevant leadership experience.
• Experience: Significant clinical post registration experience relevant to role, considerable experience working in the community, excellent understanding of the current challenges facing the current health economy and implications for Intermediate Care services, experience of service development and implementation, clinical experience at band 7 level.
• Skills: Able to work well with others across the whole health and social care economy, ability to pass on skill/knowledge to others within both formal and informal environments, clinical experience at band 7 level.
• Knowledge: Excellent knowledge of clinical assessment, treatment planning and delivery.
• Additional: Use of car for work purposes with the ability to travel across the Borough.