Occupational Therapy Assistant

Job overview
We are seeking to recruit two part-time (22.5hrs a week) Occupational Therapy Assistants, with a passion & enthusiasm for working in Perinatal Mental Health to join our multi professional team working within the specialist Perinatal Rosewood Mother and Baby unit (MBU) located in Dartford.
Under the supervision of a registered Occupational Therapist and in consultation with professionally registered members of the Multidisciplinary Team the post holder will be expected toassist in the delivery of therapeutic interventions within the Rosewood Mother & Baby Unit by

• Using skills and experience to plan and provide flexible, patient centred, 1:1 or group activity-based interventions that contribute to meeting the assessed needs of mothers and treatment service as outlined within their care plan.
• Working alongside the multidisciplinary team to facilitate therapeutic interventions for mothers & their baby
• Undertaking clinically related administration, and to assist with non-clinical tasks to ensure the smooth running of a service, to mothers and their baby, guided by an appropriate senior colleague.

The new post holders will job-share across a 7 day week, with each OTA working 3 x 12pm-8pm shifts a week
Example: Week 1 = Wednesday, Thursday, Friday
Week 2 = Saturday, Sunday, Monday
Week 3 = Wednesday, Thursday, Friday
Week 4 = Saturday, Sunday, Monday
The post holders will alternate working every other weekend as above

Main duties of the job
The successful candidates will (under the supervision of a registered Occupational Therapist) and in consultation with professionally registered members of the Multidisciplinary Team assist in the delivery of specialist Occupational Therapy services to mothers, & infants during their in-patient stay on the MBU:

• Using skills and experience to plan and provide flexible, patient centred, 1:1 or group activity-based interventions that contribute to meeting the assessed needs of mothers and treatment services as outlined within their care plan;
• Working alongside the multidisciplinary team to facilitate therapeutic interventions for the mother & infant;
• Undertaking clinically related administration, and assisting with non-clinical tasks to ensure the smooth running of the service, to mothers, guided by an appropriate senior colleague.

The post-holder will be based at the Rosewood MBU
The candidates must be educated to NVQ Level 3 or similar in a relevant subject; have prior work experience in a similar work/care setting, have experiences of engaging with people with differing needs and abilities, of working with service users and families and of multi-professional team working.

Working for our organisation
Come and work with us in the Garden of England where we combine exceptional professional development opportunities with a tremendous quality of life.
We are Kent and Medway NHS and Social Care Partnership Trust (KMPT), providing mental health, learning disability and specialist services, serving 1.8 million people in Kent and Medway, as well as specialist services for adults in Sussex and Surrey. We are rated Good overall by the CQC.
Each year we care for over 2,000 people in our hospitals and 54,000 people in the community.
We are proud to employ over 3,800 people from 66 nationalities, and to serve an increasingly diverse range of communities across rural and urban areas.
You will be joining friendly, passionate colleagues, rich in their diversity, who are committed to providing excellent care to our service users and their loved ones.
The nature of our work attracts kindness and compassion as standard and everyone from our cleaners and porters to the chief executive and chairman are recognised as playing a vital role in providing an exemplary service.
Our strategy
Our mission is what we set out to do every day
We deliver brilliant care through brilliant people
Our vision is where we want to be in the future
To provide outstanding care and to work in partnership to deliver this in the right place, for every service user, every time.
Check out our recruitment videos Recruitment - YouTube

Detailed job description and main responsibilities
To work effectively as a member of the MDT assisting in delivering individual or group interventions to promote the strengths, well-being and recovery of mothers.

• To monitor the mothers progress, reporting on their psychological, physical, behavioural, occupational and social response to interventions.
• To adapt interventions ensuring that they support the mother to meet their needs, including regard for cultural and linguistic differences, adjusting own approach accordingly.
• To assist with or contribute to the assessment of activities of daily living, maintaining the mothers dignity and privacy, observing changes both positive and negative and reporting appropriately.
• To effectively establish a therapeutic relationship with mothers
• To contribute to and comply with individual, environmental and activity-related risk assessments and to communicate issues around risk to others involved in the mothers care.
• To support and undertake community access /engagement for mothers & their infant
• To assist with non-clinical tasks to ensure the smooth running of a service guided by an appropriate senior colleague.
• To attend and actively participate in relevant clinical meetings/forums.

RESPONSIBILITY :

• Working with mothers & their baby during their in-patient stay
• To undertake and assist in the delivery of therapeutic interventions for mothers
• To ensure that the Trust's values are upheld in Occupational Therapy practice
• To support the implementation of the current and future Allied Health Professions (AHP) strategy
• To travel between locations in a timely manner
• To be aware of own and others' health, safety and security at all times.
• To contribute to the induction, training and education of students and staff.
• In line with Trust policy and guidelines, review and reflect on own practice and performance through regular participation in clinical supervision and appraisal.

ENVIRONMENT:

• Supporting mothers to function to their optimal ability in their environment. This can involve working in a diverse range of settings with a range of associated demands. For example challenging behaviours and/or exposure to poor hygiene (personal/environmental).
• Maintaining and promoting a safe environment taking account of infection control and identifying and reporting hazards and risks in a timely manner.
• Accompanying, escorting and transporting mothers as required.
• Driving unit vehicles as per needs of the service and as individual capabilities allow.
• Working contracted hours as per the requirements of the service. May also be required, at times, to work at other Trust units and/or sites.
• Physically able to carry out all duties required of the clinical setting, including successful completion of physical interventions, training as required.

Please see job description f