Job summary
- Main area
- Therapy Assistant
- Grade
- Band 3
- Contract
- Permanent
- Hours
- Full time - 37.5 hours per week (Includes weekend working)
- Job ref
- 153-CO04655
- Employer
- University Hospitals Dorset NHS Foundation Trust
- Employer type
- NHS
- Site
- Christurch Hospital
- Town
- Christchurch
- Salary
- £24,625 - £25,674 pa
- Salary period
- Yearly
- Closing
- 02/07/2025 23:59
Employer heading
Senior Therapy Assistant
Band 3
As University Hospitals Dorset we are a three site acute trust with ‘university hospital’ status through our partnership with Bournemouth University, working with an annual budget of £730m.
We offer highly regarded health services, employing some 10,000 staff. Our ambitious £250m estates programme is well on the way to delivering state-of-the-art facilities over the next two years to meet the current and future healthcare needs of the populations we serve.
In an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty with over seven miles of sandy beaches you’ll find inspirational opportunities to achieve your perfect work/life balance. With the New Forest and the Purbecks on our doorstep, we’re also less than three hours from London by road or train. The thriving towns of Poole, Bournemouth and Christchurch give way to idyllic villages and unspoilt landscapes just minutes from our hospitals.
We believe that having a diverse workforce, and allowing people to be themselves, is essential in ensuring we offer an inclusive, welcoming and productive place to work.
We especially welcome applications from minority groups in the community who may be underrepresented in our workforce.
At UHD our active staff network groups are the Women's Network, Black Asian Minority Ethnic Group (BAME), Pride Network, European (EU), Pro Ability Staff Network, and the Armed Forces Support Group.
As a Trust we are proudly signed up to the Disability Confident and Armed Forces Covenant guaranteed interview schemes.
Job overview
Are you passionate about caring for others?
We are looking for a Therapy Assistant to join our Interim Team.
The Interim service was set up in 2013 and over the years has grown from a tiny team based at one desk, to a large and highly effective service supporting hundreds of patients home every year.
We support patients home under a pathway known as “ICAT”, which stands for Interim Care Assessment Team. This means that we complete our own assessment of the patient’s care needs using a rehab approach. Once a patient is assessed as either needing further rehab (with reablement and Intermediate Care), long term POC or will achieve independence in a week. If a long term POC is required this information is gathered through assessment & fed back to the Social Workers by the senior members of staff, to put a future plan in place for on-going support, or to continue to support the patient back to independence.
As part of our assessment we often deliver and fit equipment, assess mobility and transfers and observe patient safety and abilities in their activities of daily living.
The Interim Team play an important role in aiding flow through the hospital and limiting harm to patients that is caused by prolonged hospital stays. We are in a good position to provide short term assessment and to be able to signpost to other services if needed.
Base Location: Christchurch Hospital
Main duties of the job
- To provide care and rehabilitation and fitting of equipment to patients discharged from UHD to enable patients to leave the acute hospital as soon as they are suitable to.
- To work in the community under the clinical supervision of the team Occupational Therapists and Physiotherapists.
- To ensure each patient contact is therapeutic and as per the care plan to ensure patients are supported through their recovery and enabled to regain their independence.
- To have a knowledge and understanding of assistive equipment, techniques and supportive services available to support our patients and their families.
- To support the Interim team with administration tasks, service improvement projects and our education and training programme
- To work over a 7 Day rota period in order to meet the demands of the service
- To support end of life patients when required
Working for our organisation
Our values define who we are as #TeamUHD. They underpin everything we do now and in the future. They define how we treat our patients, visitors, and each other, our valued teammates and colleagues.
UHD are investing in services across the Trust, with many being transformed and developed following merger and the New Hospital Programme.
This means that some services may move site this year or next, either temporarily or long term. Recruiting Managers interviewing for this role will be happy to answer any specific questions that you have about this at interview.
Detailed job description and main responsibilities
The Senior Therapy Assistants (STA) provide a 7 day service 7am-10pm to enable patients from the acute hospital to return home through a discharge to assess approach.
The STA can visit each patient from OD to QDS depending on their care needs. They assess, support and rehab patients in activities of daily living which include; personal care, meal preparation, transfers, toileting and medication.
The first visit, meet & greet, is usually completed by a STA where they check they are presenting as referred, settling at home and checking medication.
They are supervised and supported by a MDT which includes Occupational Therapists, nurses, Therapy Assistant Practitioners and coordinators.
Person specification
Qualifications
Essential criteria
- NVQ III Care or equivalent
Experience
Essential criteria
- Recent experience working in a health or social care setting
- Experience of working with older people at Band 3 level.
Desirable criteria
- Evidence of recent study relevant to the role.
- Previous work as a Therapy Assistant or equivalent where direct patient care is involved.
- Experience in working with palliative and end of life patients.
- Experience of working within a team
Technical skills competences
Essential criteria
- Use own initiative with guidance/supervision from therapists.
- Manage own caseload with support from therapists
- Basic IT skills
Desirable criteria
- Experience with IT programs such as outlook, excel and word.
Knowledge
Essential criteria
- Awareness of holistic patient needs
- Understanding of the basic principles of rehabilitation
- Manual Handling Techniques
- Willingness to learn and complete the Competency Based Training.
Desirable criteria
- General knowledge of relevant medical conditions
- Basic rehabilitation techniques
- Basic life support skills
Other requirements specific to the role
Essential criteria
- Ability to drive, potentially spending prolonged periods driving as a part of the role across South Dorset and West Hampshire.
- Use of own car for job role
- Prepared to work on a shift basis including weekends
- Ability to speak, understand and write in English to the required standard for the role.
Personal Attributes
Essential criteria
- Flexible attitude
- Ability to use time effectively
- Well motivated -Able to take direction from senior staff
- Empathy with older people
- Ability to recognize boundaries of own job role
- Patience
Employer certification / accreditation badges
Applicant requirements
This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (Exceptions) Order 1975 (Amendment) (England and Wales) Order 2020 and it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service.
Documents to download
Further details / informal visits contact
- Name
- Nicola Samson
- Job title
- Clinical Lead
- Email address
- [email protected]
- Telephone number
- 0300 019 4044
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