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Specialist Occupational Therapist Palliative Care

Oxford University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust

Location
Salary
£37,338 - £44,962 per annum pro rata
Profession
Occupational Therapist
Grade
Band 6
Deadline
05 Jan 2025
Contract Type
Permanent
Posted Date
20 Dec 2024

Job overview

The Hospital Palliative Care Team is a multi-disciplinary team providing palliative care advice and support to inpatients across all sites of the Oxford University Hospitals Foundation Trust. The occupational therapists work mainly from the John Radcliffe site

The therapy input into the palliative care service has two main aims:

  • to support AHP colleagues with discharges that are complex because of the palliative care needs of the patient
  • to facilitate rapid discharge for patients who have a likely prognosis of less than two weeks and whose preference has been for care at home. This is a component of our flagship end of life project: Rapid Intervention in Palliative and End of Life care. This has been running for the last 30 months with significant impact on patient outcomes and savings of hospital bed days at the end of life.

Although this OT role is based within the hospital, the therapists are expected to follow up patients after discharge and some community working  (across Oxfordshire and South Northamptonshire) will be required.

A full driving license, with access to a car for work purposes is essential.

The palliative care team is gradually working towards a 7-day service across all areas. Weekend and extended hours working will be expected. The hospital team therapists will also be required to cross cover for the palliative care specialist OTs across the whole service if required.

Main duties of the job

  • Performs holistic assessment of patients including those with complex presentations, and from this formulates a treatment plan, which is carried out as an autonomous practitioner.
  • Maintain a clinical caseload of complex patients as an autonomous practitioner.
  • Communication and collaboration with others involved in the care of patients, and non clinical activity.
  • Work as part of the MDT with patients known to the Hospital Palliative Care Team
  • Participates in the supervision, teaching and appraisal of junior / student Occupational Therapists and Therapy Assistants.
  • Participate in maintaining and improving all aspects of evidence based practice and quality assurance, this may involve change management.
  • Contribute to services development, clinical governance, audit, research and continuing professional development.

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

  • Work within their scope of practice within the specialist service and practice autonomously as well as within the multi-disciplinary specialist palliative care team.
  • Initiate and co-ordinate the assessment, planning, delivery and evaluation of the holistic needs of patients and families, to optimise health and wellbeing, following agreed policies, protocols and guidelines.
  • To provide specialist care and use range of knowledge in complex decision making to determine evidence-based recommendations and therapeutic interventions to promote a high standard of Occupational Therapy practice.
  • Plan, prioritise and manage complete episodes of care, working in partnership with others, delegating and referring as appropriate to optimise health outcomes and resource use, providing direct support to patients and clients.
  • Use professional judgement in managing complex and unpredictable care events.
  • Draw upon an appropriate range of multi-agency and inter-professional resources in their practice.
  • Appropriately define boundaries in practice in collaboration with Senior Specialist OT
  • Practice a high standard of communication including highly sensitive and complex information to develop and sustain partnership working with individuals, groups, communities and agencies. Utilise evidence based information through a variety of communication media.
  • Maintain adequate patient documentation for all patients seen and advice given in any practice setting and contribute to clinical activity/data collection as required.