Main duties of the job
The successful candidate will be flexible to work within the Acute Hospital or Community setting, facilitating fast‑track discharges home for patients where home is their preferred place of care. They will embody the respect required to enter a patient’s own home, carry out holistic needs assessments, establish client‑centred goals, use therapeutic activities to empower self‑management of symptomatic relief and support advanced care planning, promoting quality of life up to and until end of life.
Job responsibilities
The position allows the post holder to develop skills within palliative care across Acute, Community and Day Hospice settings.
The role requires a registered Occupational Therapist with core skills, mature experience and clinical knowledge around palliative symptom control and end of life care. The candidate will receive structured clinical supervision as professional development is a high priority and will be expected to supervise and support junior staff and students. They must own a car/driver licence, organise and prioritise their caseload and implement patient plans of care independently.
The successful candidate will be an effective communicator with broad clinical experience, demonstrating personal and emotional resilience, the ability to adapt to changing pressures, a caring approach and a commitment to delivering the best possible quality care.
Person Specification
Experience
- Post OT qualification experience in a variety of clinical areas
- Experience of managing complex patients in the community
- Experience in risk assessment
- Experience of supervising and delegating work to support staff
- Experience of using communication skills in challenging circumstances
- Experience of forging excellent relationships across professional boundaries
- Experience of caring for patients at the end of life / with specialist palliative care needs
- Experience of transforming practice to improve patient outcomes
- Experience of working with professionals from health and other sectors including social care and the third sector
- Participation in clinical/service audits
- Experience and knowledge on a range of equipment, beyond that available on the usual catalogue
- Contribution to development of policies
Communication
- Ability to effectively present information in both written and verbal format
- Clear clinical reasoning demonstrated within Holistic Assessment
- Ability to communicate where there are barriers to understanding and show effective listening skills
- Completed Advanced Communications course or other palliative care specific training
- Experience giving bad news, such as disease progression and functional decline
- Experience working with patients and families from a range of religious and cultural backgrounds
- Good presentation, teaching or training skills with willingness to share knowledge
Personal Qualities
- Work independently using own initiative but within limits of own capabilities and professional boundaries
- Be organised and able to work under pressure, reacting to rapidly changing situations
- Able to demonstrate compassion, empathy and emotional resilience
- Ability to accept and engage with change including receiving constructive criticism
Knowledge
- High level of understanding of policy regarding palliative and EOL care
- Working knowledge of anatomy, physiology and pathology, and apply this to practice
- Understanding of current legislation, such as the Mental Capacity Act, and application to Occupational Therapy
- Has knowledge of local community resources/services
- Knowledge and experience of advance care planning
Qualifications
- Diploma/degree in Occupational Therapy
- HPC Registration as OT
- Post graduate training/study relevant to area of speciality
- Competent to support OT students on placement
- Completion of advanced communication skills training
- BAOT member
- Membership to specialist interest groups
Disclosure and Barring Service Check
This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (Exceptions Order) 1975 and a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service is required to check for any previous criminal convictions.
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