Promoting Independence Therapy Assistant

Job summary

With an ageing population and pressures on Acute and Community Health and Social Care, enabling people to stay at home and live as independently as possible is the great healthcare challenge of our time.

The Discharge 2 Assess Pathway 1 Service was created to support any person at home following discharge from acute hospital or from a community health bed. The service provides short-term Assessment, Recovery, and Rehabilitation support within the patient home, working collaboratively with Lincolnshire County Councils commissioned reablement provider with the goal of moving people to being as independent as possible. This will aim to enable people to return to their own home sooner from a hospital stay.

This service will follow the 'Discharge to Assess' (D2A) principles where a person is assessed for their long term needs in their own home or place of residence.

This service covers the whole county although people will generally work within a more locally based teams. This means that roles are available across Lincolnshire. The hours of the service are set to be 0800 to 2000, 7 days a week. We are able to consider part time working.

Main duties of the job

The post holder will provide rehabilitation and reablement to patients immediately following hospital discharge in their home environment. To promote independence and contribute to the assessments required to determine a person's future needs.

About us

Lincolnshire Community Health Services NHS Trust is in the top 25 per cent of all community trusts for overall staff engagement in the 2021 NHS National Staff Survey.

At LCHS, we know diversity fosters creativity and innovation. We are committed to equality of opportunity, to being fair and inclusive, and to being a place where all belong. We therefore particularly encourage applications from candidates who are likely to be underrepresented in LCHS' workforce.

LCHS recognises the increasing demand for more flexibility in working practices in order to accommodate the personal goals and commitments that employees experience at different stages during their working lives. Flexible working opportunities such as part-time working, compressed hours, job shares, and hybrid working models can help staff to balance their personal and work commitments. Arrangements can be put in place if it can be shown that the needs of the individual can be balanced with those of the service and the impact on other team members, enabling the Trust to recruit and retain skilled staff, raise staff morale, reduce absenteeism and respond to changing service needs more effectively.

We are an ambassador of a learning culture that will support the right individual to progress in their chosen career through an 'earn while you learn' apprenticeship programme. Visit our Learning and Development page to find out more https://www.lincolnshirecommunityhealthservices.nhs.uk/join-us/learning-and-dev

Job responsibilities

Lincolnshire Community Health Service requires all staff to safeguard children, young people and adults. All staff are required to access the organisational policies, also the Local

Safeguarding Children Board and the Local Safeguarding Adults Board policies and procedures that underpin the safeguarding agenda. The safeguarding policies to be followed are found at www.lincolnshirecommunityhealthservices.nhs.uk and www.lincolnshire.gov.uk .

LCHS policies, procedures and guideline - It is a condition of your employment that as an employee you are expected to adhere to our policies, procedures and guidelines. These can all be found on the Trusts website.

• To assist in the assessment and rehabilitation of individuals immediately post discharge from hospital with support from registered therapists.
• To provide reablement care to patients in their own homes.
• To work closely with all members of the multi-disciplinary team to promote independence and prevent dependence.
• To undertake environmental assessment within the persons home working single handed and without direct supervision.
• To communicate effectively with patients, carers, health professionals and outside agencies where appropriate.
• To work at times in conjunction with other agencies to determine a persons long term care needs.

To participate in the delivery of complex care as prescribed by the qualified practitioner. Plan and progress simple patient interventions with autonomous assessing and planning on a daily basis with indirect supervision of qualified practitioner.

To be responsible for the safe use of all equipment within their scope of practice.

To identify needs and advice on equipment and resources, requisitioning where there is delegated authority and ensuring effective on-going use of equipment is monitored.

Person specification

Qualifications

Essential

• 5 GCSEs at grade 4 or above, or equivalent
• A L3 Vocational Healthcare Qualification or Equivalent

Desirable

• Moving and handling training/experience

Skills

Essential

• Good communication/ interpersonal skills
• Negotiation/problem solving skills
• Able to work independently (planning/organising own workload), and as part of a team
• Basic IT skills
• Time management skills

Desirable

• Experience of working in the community
• Experience of working in healthcare environment

Kowledge/Experience

Essential

• Therapy provision and care of older people
• Knowledge of OT and Physiotherapy rehabilitation

Desirable

• Understands Discharge to assess principles/ethos