Occupational Therapist

Job overview

This is an exciting and unique opportunity to work within both the forensic inpatient learning disability unit and our newly formed community Forensic Intellectual and Neurodevelopmental Disabilities (FIND) Community Team.  Oak ward within the Shaftesbury clinic has 12 low secure beds for men with intellectual disabilities and autism.  The OT team on Oak is comprised of a further half time B6, an 8a sensory specialist Lead OT, a part time clinical exercise therapist, and 2.6 activity support workers.  The Oak ward team has a well-resourced multidisciplinary team including input from a speech and language therapist, arts psychotherapy, psychology and a positive behaviour specialist.  This Oak OT team are situated within the broader inpatient therapies team, a sizeable occupational therapy team offering cross ward interventions to patients across the service.  The postholder will offer both ward-based and community assessment and interventions as well as working within cross service groups.  They will work closely with the OT lead to offer support and guidance to the technical instructors and activity workers on the team.

Within the newly formed FIND team the postholder will be working alongside the MDT to offer OT assessment, formulation and provision of occupation based interventions to the team’s caseload.   The team will hold a small caseload for service users who require intensive levels of support.

Main duties of the job

• To manage a defined caseload of patients with multiple and complex needs, using evidence based /person centred principles to assess, plan, implement and evaluate interventions in a community forensic and inpatient forensic service
• To participate in the planning, development and evaluation of OT services within a designated area/team, holding responsibility for defined projects.
• To maintain accurate and contemporaneous clinical records and produce specialist reports for case conferences.
• To provide leadership for junior staff, through supervision and appraisal.
• To represent occupational therapy within the multi-disciplinary team.
• To provide group and 1:1 interventions.
• To promote recovery and social inclusion.
• To undertake regular audit and R&D activities.
• To undertake the supervision of OT students on fieldwork placements.

• To provide Occupational therapy input to the Forensic Intellectual and Neurodevelopmental Disabilities (FIND) Community Team and Oak low secure unit for men with intellectual disabilities and comorbid mental health problems.
• To develop and facilitate inpatient and community-based groups and individual interventions based on occupational needs.
• To identify appropriate opportunities to support community integration and participation for this service user group.
• To adapt interventions to meet the needs of people with learning disabilities.

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

• To apply a high level of understanding of the effects of disability on occupational performance and provide training and advice on lifestyle changes and adaptations to the service user’s social and physical environment.
• To provide treatment in an environment where security and safety procedures must be strictly adhered to and ensure that these are taken into consideration when planning interventions.
• To promote equality of outcome for patients that reflect their mental health needs and those of ethnicity, gender, culture, physical health and age.
• To promote social inclusion and physical and mental well-being using evidence based practice. This is underpinned by the principles of hope and recovery, health promotion and relapse prevention.
• To independently manage and support a clinical caseload of patients with complex mental health needs through the forensic care pathway.
• To identify occupational therapy goals as part of the overall care plan, using specialist mental health and occupational therapy assessments, including MOHO tools.
• To exercise clinical professional judgement in complex clinical cases and difficult clinical situations, referring to senior staff when necessary.
• To consider both physical and mental health needs as part of the occupational therapy assessment.
• To plan and implement specialist individual and/or group interventions collaboratively, to enable patients to achieve valued goals and satisfactory occupational performance outcome.
• To identify any significant risk factors in line with local policies, with support from senior staff
• To contribute to and work within clinical pathways and protocols