Senior Occupational Therapist

Purpose of the Post

To work in conjunction with other team members in co-ordinating and developing the service to meet the needs of the service user group and the objectives of the organisation. The Senior Occupational Therapist will be responsible for the provision of a high quality Occupational Therapy service and will carry out clinical and educational duties as required.

Principal Duties and Responsibilities

Professional / Clinical

The Senior Occupational Therapist will:

· Be responsible for the maintenance of standards of practice of self and staff appointed to clinical / designated area(s)

· Be responsible for managing own caseload and for assessment, planning, implementation and evaluation of treatment programmes for service users according to service standards

· Participate in the integrated discharge planning process in line with the HSE Code of Practice

· Be responsible for the day-to-day running of a designated service area(s) by supervising staff, prioritising and allocating work and promoting positive staff morale and team working in conjunction with the Occupational Therapist Manager

· In conjunction with the Occupational Therapist Manager lead service planning by anticipating the changing needs of the service and service users

· Foster and maintain professional working relationships with colleagues, front line managers, and other healthcare personnel in the team

· Ensure the quality of documentation of all assessments, treatment plans, progress notes, reports and discharge summaries are in accordance with local service and professional standards

· Communicate verbally and / or in writing results of assessments, treatment / intervention programmes and recommendations to the team and relevant others in accordance with service policy

· Participate in teams as appropriate, communicating and working in co-operation with other team members

· Attend clinics, review meetings, team meetings, case conferences, ward rounds etc. as designated by the Occupational Therapist Manager

· Ensure that staff in the designated service area(s) arrange and carry out duties in a timely manner, within settings appropriate to service users needs, and in line with local policy/guidelines

· Be responsible for adhering to existing standards and protocols and for leading out on the development and maintenance of standards / strategies for quality improvement and outcome measurement

· Seek advice and assistance with any assigned duties in line with principles of evidence based practice and clinical governance

· Ensure that professional standards are maintained in relation to confidentiality, ethics and legislation

· Operate within the scope of Occupational Therapy practice within Ireland and in accordance with local guidelines

Education and Training

The Senior Occupational Therapist will:

· Participate in mandatory training programmes

· Participate in continuing professional development including in-service training, attending and presenting at conferences / courses relevant to practice, contributing to research etc. as agreed by the Occupational Therapist Manager

· Engage in professional clinical Occupational Therapist supervision with the Occupational Therapist Manager

· Engage in peer support with Senior Occupational Therapist colleagues

· Participate in performance review with the Occupational Therapist Manager

· Manage, participate and play a key role in the practice education of student therapists. Take part in teaching / training / supervision of other Occupational Therapy and non-Occupational Therapy staff / students and attend practice educator courses as appropriate

· Ensure newly qualified therapists have adequate induction and clinical supervision and assist in implementing annual staff development and performance review

Health & Safety

The Senior Occupational Therapist will:

· Promote a safe working environment in accordance with Health and Safety legislation

· Be aware of and implement agreed policies, procedures and safe professional practice by adhering to relevant legislation, regulations and standards

· Actively participate in risk management issues, identify risks and take responsibility for appropriate action

· Report any adverse incidents in accordance with organisational guidelines

Administrative

The Senior Occupational Therapist will:

· Be responsible for the co-ordination and delivery of service in designated area(s)

· Review and allocate resources within the designated area, in collaboration with the Occupational Therapist Manager and relevant others

· Promote good working practice and uniformity of standards of best practice

· Promote quality by reviewing and evaluating the Occupational Therapy service regularly, identifying changing needs and opportunities to improve services, in collaboration with the Occupational Therapist Manager and relevant others

· Develop and implement service / business plans, quality initiatives, audits etc. and report on outcomes in collaboration with the Occupational Therapist Manager

· Collect and evaluate data about the service user group and demonstrate the achievement of the objectives of the service

· Oversee the upkeep of accurate records in line with best clinical governance, organisational requirements and the Freedom of Information Act, and render reports and other information / statistics as required

· Represent the department / team at meetings and conferences as appropriate

· Liaise with the Occupational Therapist Manager regarding the needs, interests and views of Occupational Therapy staff

· Promote good team working, and a culture that values diversity

· Participate in the management of Occupational Therapy stock and equipment in conjunction with the Occupational Therapist Manager

· Engage in IT developments as they apply to service user and service administration

· Keep up to date with developments within the organisation and the Irish Health Service

· Perform such other duties appropriate to the office as may be assigned by the Occupational Therapist Manager

The above Job Description is not intended to be a comprehensive list of all duties involved and consequently, the post holder may be required to perform other duties as appropriate to the post which may be assigned to him/her from time to time and to contribute to the development of the post while in office.

Eligibility Criteria

Qualifications and/ or experience

1.Statutory Registration Professional Qualifications, Experience, etc

(a) Candidates for appointment must:

(i) Be registered on the Occupational Therapists Register maintained by the Occupational Therapists Registration Board at CORU.

Or

(ii) Applicants who satisfy the conditions set out in Section 91 of the Health and Social Care Professionals Act 2005, (see note 1 below*), must submit proof of application for registration with the Occupational Therapists Registration Board at CORU. The acceptable proof is correspondence from the Occupational Therapists Registration Board at CORU confirming their application for registration as a Section 91 applicant.

And

(iii) Have three years full time (or an aggregate of three years) post qualification clinical experience.

And

(iv) Have the requisite knowledge and ability (including a high standard of suitability and professional ability) for the proper discharge of the duties of the office.

2.Annual registration

(i) Practitioners must maintain annual registration on Occupational Therapists Register maintained by the Occupational Therapists Registration Board at CORU

And

(ii) Confirm annual registration with CORU to the HSE by way of the annual Patient Safety Assurance Certificate (PSAC)

3.Age

Age restriction shall only apply to a candidate where s/he is not classified as a new entrant (within the meaning of the Public Service Superannuation (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act, 2004). A candidate who is not classified as a new entrant must be under 65 years of age on the first day of the month in which the latest date for receiving completed application forms for the office occurs.

4.Health

Candidates for and any person holding the office must be fully competent and capable of undertaking the duties attached to the office and be in a state of health such as would indicate a reasonable prospect of ability to render regular and efficient service.

5.Character

Candidates for and any person holding the office must be of good character.

Note 1*:

Section 91 candidates are individuals who qualified before the 31st March 2015 and have been engaged in the practice of the profession in the Republic of Ireland for a minimum of 2 years fulltime (or an aggregate of 2 years fulltime), between 31st March 2010 and 30th March 2015.

Post specific requirements, additional qualification and/ or experience

Experience completing seating assessments and interventions is highly desirable.

Experience working in an acute hospital setting is highly desirable.

Experience working with persons with dementia or cognitive impairment is highly desirable.

Experience working in a Frailty Team, with experience of Falls, & Cognitive Assessments and Interventions is highly desirable.

Experience delivering stress and lifestyle management of chronic disease programmes is desirable.

Experience in vocational rehabilitation is desirable but not essential.

Other requirements specific to the post

Further requirements may be outlined at the “expression of interest” stage of the recruitment process e.g. access to appropriate transport in order to fulfil the requirements of the role, fluency in Irish, etc.

Skills, competencies and/or knowledge

· Demonstrate clinical knowledge, clinical reasoning skills and evidence based practice appropriate to carrying out the duties and responsibilities of the role in line with relevant legislation and standards.

· Demonstrate an appropriate level of understanding of the Occupational Therapy process, the underpinning theory and its application to the role

· Demonstrate evidence of having applied / used appropriate assessment tools and treatments and a knowledge of the implications of outcomes to service users

· Demonstrate the ability to lead on planning and managing the delivery of an optimum service in an effective and resourceful manner

· Demonstrate ability to take initiative and to be appropriately self-directed

· Demonstrate the ability to effectively evaluate information and make appropriate decisions

· Demonstrate a commitment to and the ability to lead on the delivery of a high quality, person centred service

· Demonstrate an ability to manage and develop self and others in a working environment

· Demonstrate the ability to work independently as well as part of a team

· Display effective communication and interpersonal skills including the ability to collaborate with colleagues, families, carers, etc.

· Demonstrate the ability to follow line management directions appropriately and to utilise supervision effectively

· Demonstrate evidence of commitment to continuing professional development

· Demonstrate a command of the English language so as to effectively carry out the duties and responsibilities of the role

· Demonstrate a willingness to engage and develop IT skills relevant to the role

Campaign Specific Selection Process

Ranking/Shortlisting / Interview

A ranking and or shortlisting exercise may be carried out on the basis of information supplied in your application form. The criteria for ranking and or shortlisting are based on the requirements of the post as outlined in the eligibility criteria and skills, competencies and/or knowledge section of this job specification. Therefore it is very important that you think about your experience in light of those requirements.

Failure to include information regarding these requirements may result in you not being called forward to the next stage of the selection process.

Those successful at the ranking stage of this process (where applied) will be placed on an order of merit and will be called to interview in ‘bands’ depending on the service needs of the organisation.

Code of Practice

The Health Service Executive will run this campaign in compliance with the Code of Practice prepared by the Commission for Public Service Appointments (CPSA). The Code of Practice sets out how the core principles of probity, merit, equity and fairness might be applied on a principle basis. The Codes also specifies the responsibilities placed on candidates, feedback facilities for candidates on matters relating to their application, when requested, and outlines procedures in relation to requests for a review of the recruitment and selection process, and review in relation to allegations of a breach of the Code of Practice. Additional information on the HSE’s review process is available in the document posted with each vacancy entitled “Code Of Practice, Information For Candidates”.

Codes of Practice are published by the CPSA and are available on www.hse.ie/eng/staff/jobs/code_of_practice in the document posted with each vacancy entitled “Code of Practice, Information For Candidates” or on www.cpsa-online.ie.

The reform programme outlined for the Health Services may impact on this role and as structures change the job description may be reviewed.

This job description is a guide to the general range of duties assigned to the post holder. It is intended to be neither definitive nor restrictive and is subject to periodic review with the employee concerned.

PLEASE