NHS AfC: Band 7

Sussex Community NHS Foundation Trust (SCFT) is the largest community healthcare provider in Sussex.

• Over 8,400 full time, part time and bank staff members
• Medical, nursing and therapeutic care provided to over 10,000 children and adults a day
• July 2018 Care Quality Commission (CQC) rating of 'Good' with 'Outstanding' features
• Flexible working patterns offered across all services
• Thriving BAME, Disability and Wellbeing, LGBT+ and Religion and Belief staff networks
• Accredited Level 3 Disability Confident Leader

SCFT is an inclusive employer that promotes equality and challenges discrimination, and welcomes applications from people of all backgrounds. Applications from Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic (BAME) candidates, disabled candidates and LGBT+ candidates are particularly encouraged, to ensure the Trust's workforce reflects the diverse communities it serves.

Job overview

It's an exciting time for our Urgent Community Response (UCR) Service as we expand into the High Weald, Lewes, and the Havens (HWLH) area. We are recruiting to our new teams who will work with patients in their homes across the HWLH communities.

As part of our expansion, we are looking for a Clinical Lead (Occupational Therapist) to join us, so if you're an ambitious, proactive, and experienced physiotherapist looking to take a lead role in a team that provides excellent acute community care, we'd love to hear from you.

This is an amazing opportunity to become a member of the team as a clinical lead occupational therapist working together to help patients stay in their homes, making sure they avoid unnecessary hospital admissions and supporting them through the first few critical days after they leave hospital. The focus of this role is providing clinical and professional leadership and delivering essential holistic assessment and treatment to patients with acute, diverse needs across the area.

Main duties of the job

In this role, you will provide clinical and professional leadership, ensuring effective governance and clinical support for staff working within the service.

Working with the operational leads you will ensure the clinical effectiveness of the service and the delivery of an excellent patient experience. You will develop key partnerships, working to ensure effective system working through effective communication and networking with other disciplines and by working across professional and service boundaries.

You will be part of the development of the service through reflective practice, clinical supervision, and quality improvement initiatives. Central to this is supporting the principles of interdisciplinary working and cross skilling for all staff supporting each other and learning together.

You will use your specialist clinical assessment and intervention skills for complex patients and provide clinical advice and support to colleagues to enable individual and team development. You will be responsible for staff management, supervision, and development, including shift coordination, allocation of visits, and the performance development reviews of members of the team.

You will need to able to drive with a full UK licence due to the geographic area covered by the team.

Working for our organisation

Why work for us?

• Positive 2021 NHS Staff Survey results with compassionate culture and leadership, and support for staff wellbeing, scoring highly
• Rated 'Good' with 'Outstanding' features by the Care Quality Commission (CQC)
• Located in stunning Sussex, with easy access to the South Downs and the coast
• A great variety of working environments, in the community, in patients' homes and in our community hospitals
• Excellent training and development opportunities
• Real Living Wage Employer, with great rates of pay
• Supportive flexible working patterns such as part time, flexi time, annualised hours etc.
• Supportive team environments
• Cost-effective and convenient workplace nurseries in Crawley, Hove and Brighton
• Thriving BAME, Disability and Wellbeing, LGBT+ and Religion and Belief staff networks
• Accredited Level 3 Disability Confident Leader, committed to creating inclusive workplaces
• Access to a wide range of benefits and discounts for NHS staff

Detailed job description and main responsibilities
Your experience of working across a variety of clinical settings and working autonomously will help you excel in this role. We will support you to develop specialist areas of practice and your leadership skills through internal and external programmes.

We are a multidisciplinary team working flexibly to provide a seven-day service, 365 days a year, between 8am and 8pm. We deliver:

• A rapid response to people in the community who are experiencing acute episodes of ill-health.
• A supported discharge service to facilitate timely hospital discharges.
• Acute reablement for up to 10 days, supporting people to achieve functional goals and work towards independence with activities of daily living.

The team works closely with other services within Sussex Community NHS Foundation Trust, as well as our acute and community partners, GPs, South East Coast Ambulance Service (SECAmb), adult social care and voluntary and third sector organisations.

Further information is available in the attached job description and person specification.

If you would like to discuss this role or find out more, you can contact our Operational Team Leads, Jacqui Hilder and Jessica Poulton, by emailing sc-tr.hwlh-rs-opsleads@nhs.net .

Person specification

Qualifications and Prefessional Registration
Essential criteria

• Currently registered with the Health and Care Professions Council as a Physiotherapist or Occupational Therapist.
• Post registration qualification or training to Masters level or equivalent, or be willing to undertake

Desirable criteria

• Advanced Physical assessment course or Masters level module
• Mentoring course or equivalent or Qualified Practice Assessor
• Recognised Leadership Qualification

Experience
Essential criteria

• Experience within clinical case management
• Experience working within a multi-disciplinary team
• Evidence of a consistent pattern of learning from education and training
• Experience working across the boundaries of primary, community and secondary care

Desirable criteria

• Experience of clinical leadership within a service
• Experience of leading service development and change
• Experience of active participation in research

Skills and Knowledge
Essential criteria

• Up to date knowledge and skills within clinical area (physio or Occupational Therapy)
• Up to date knowledge of health and social care policy
• Up to date knowledge of Professional code of Conduct
• Up to date knowledge of clinical governance, risk management and clinical audit
• Able to use advanced reasoning and assessment skills in a wide range of approaches to treatments and management of conditions
• Able to analyse complex situations and problem solve as necessary
• Able to direct and co-ordinate programmes of care working autonomously and collaboratively
• Able to advocate for patients to improve their outcomes
• Able to mentor, supervise and develop other professionals
• Able to communicate effectively where barriers or obstacles exist and able to deploy strategies to overcome these
• Able to work in a fast-paced and dynamic health service
• Able to use recognised IT packages e.g. Microsoft Office including Excel
• Able to use IT systems and keyboard skills including accurate data recording skills
• Able to identify the training needs of self and others and to provide relevant and appropriate learning
• Knowledge of team dynamics and strategies to develop high performing teams
• Able to work in partnership and collaboration with other professionals in other services and challenge and negotiate with them as needed
• Able to meet conflicting deadlines, prioritise effectively and manage own and others workload
• Able to manage, diffuse and resolve conflict
• Able to teach patients and carers to participate and manage their own care as appropriate
• Able to monitor, maintain and improve standards of care
• Able to demonstrate a high level of understanding of self and able to identify their own personal limitations and an openness to addressing them

Other Requirements
Essential criteria

• Car driver (Valid Driving License for use in the UK)
• An understanding of the principles of equal opportunities in relation to staff and patients
• Willingness to undertake training to develop within the role

Desirable criteria

• Flexible working
• Access to a vehicle for work purposes

This post may close earlier than the published closing date if sufficient applications are received.

Correspondence relating to this vacancy will be conducted electronically. If you have not heard from us within two weeks please assume that your application has been unsuccessful on this occasion. Please ensure that you check your emails, including your junk folder, on a regular basis. References will be requested electronically as well; please ensure you provide correct contact details for referees.

Employer certification / accreditation badges
Applicant requirements

You must have appropriate UK professional registration.

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

• Job description and person specification ( PDF , 643.9 KB )
• Job description and person specification ( PDF , 643.9 KB )
• Staff Benefits Brochure ( PDF , 484.5 KB )
• Easy Read Application Form ( PDF , 1.1 MB )