Job summary
At Somerset Foundation Trust we have an exciting opportunity for a hand therapist (occupational therapist or physiotherapist) to join our busy, friendly, and dynamic hand therapy service as a trainee advanced practitioner. You will be based in physiotherapy, with outpatient hand clinics and multidisciplinary hand clinics based on and off Musgrove Park Hospital site. You will be an accredited hand therapist, or be working towards this, either through BAHT courses or an Msc in hand therapy.
As you progress towards your advanced practice role, your job will give opportunity to reflect practice across all 4 pillars of advanced practice with responsibilities in service development and quality assuring the hand therapy service and involvement in research.
Main duties of the job
The post holder will be an occupational therapist or physiotherapist bringing highly specialist knowledge with advanced therapy and splinting skills to our hand service, they will be an accredited hand therapist, or working towards accreditation and have experience of working in a hand unit. They will be based in physiotherapy running hand therapy clinics, and multidisciplinary clinics on and off the Musgrove Park Hospital site. The post holder will work as an autonomous professional according to the Royal College of Occupational Therapists (RCOT) or the Chartered Society of Physiotherapists. (CSP) code of conduct and the Health and Care Professionals Councils (HCC) regulations
They will be, under appropriate levels of supervision, responsible for the rapid assessment, diagnostics, and treatment of individuals within hand therapy using an advanced level of professional accountability, autonomy, and judgement, underpinned by relevant experience. This includes highly complex decision-making across a broad range of differentiated and undifferentiated individual presentations and complex situations, synthesising information from multiple sources to make appropriate, evidence-based judgements and/or diagnoses.
They will, under appropriate levels of supervision, plan and manage complete episodes of care. This will be working in collaboration with senior medical colleagues and others when required.
About us
As an organisation, the NHS offers a wide range of benefits including flexible working, fantastic pension contributions, market leading annual leave allowance, career progression and regular conversations, not to mention our Blue Light Card and NHS exclusive discounts.The benefits of working in Somerset include the idyllic countryside, with our areas of outstanding beauty and stunning coastlines. You will get to enjoy these perks whilst still only being a stone's throw away from bustling city centres like Bristol, Bath and Exeter and only two hours away from London.There are excellent educational facilities in the area and, when compared to other regions, house prices are reasonable. You will to experience the best of both in Somerset, the countryside and the cosmopolitan -- there is truly something for everyone!
Job description
Job responsibilities
Please see full job description and person specification.
They will, in collaboration with supervisors, play a key operational role and maintain a pro-active approach to managing, updating and leading clinical pathways.
They will, in collaboration with supervisors, promote and implement service and policy development and redesign, impacting beyond own area and other disciplines, informed by current best practice and evidence-base in accordance with values based care.
They will, in collaboration with supervisors ensure high quality learning environments for all disciplines within a context of multi-professional education and training that is responsive to future changes and challenges. Reflecting & embedding current trends & feedback e.g. NHS England, National Education & Training Survey (NETS). Leading to and supporting the maintenance of a learning environment producing learners that are fit for our future & workforce plans, including meeting the long-term plan patient pathways.
They will pro-actively engage with relevant HEIs to achieve all the academic milestones of the ACP programme with clinical supervisors to achieve all other relevant competencies across the 4 pillars of advanced practice.
For further details / informal visits please email Wendy including your contact number and she will be pleased discuss any aspects of this vacancy with you.
Wendy (Georgina) Hooper
Job title: OT Lead for Hand Therapy
Email [email protected]
Person Specification
Qualifications
Essential
- Degree/diploma level education leading to State Registration by the Health Professions Council (UK) as a Physiotherapist / Occupational Therapy
- Willingness to undertake and complete an MSc in Advanced practice or achieve equivalent to the national standard.
Desirable
- Non-Medical Prescribing (if appropriate to registered profession / role.)
- Accredited hand therapist
- Membership of the British Association of Hand Therapy (BAHT).
- BAHT accredited Hand therapist/ Level III BAHT
Experience
Essential
- Significant post registration experience with previous experience of working within a hand therapy unit
- Advanced level skills in the fabrication of thermoplastic orthotic (splints) devices.
- Advanced level skills in the prescription and fitting of hand and upper limb off the shelf splints.
Additional Criteria
Essential
- UK driving licence holder with ability and willingness to travel across trusts sites as required.
- The ability to assess for, measure, fabricate, and adjust thermoplastic splints, requiring considerable physical skill and manual dexterity
- The ability to use workshop equipment, tools, and water baths to fabricate, adjust splints.
Disclosure and Barring Service Check
This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (Exceptions Order) 1975 and as such it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service (formerly known as CRB) to check for any previous criminal convictions.
UK Registration
Applicants must have current UK professional registration. For further information please see
NHS Careers website .
Employer details
Employer name
Somerset NHS Foundation Trust
Address
Musgrove Park Hospital
Musgrove Road
Taunton
Somerset
TA1 4DA