There is currently one permanent 0.5WTE Clinical Specialist Occupational Therapist Centre of Obesity Management vacancy available in St. Columcille's Hospital
Purpose of the Post The post holder will provide a Clinical Specialist level of Occupational therapy practice and leadership within the Weight Management Services, St Columcille's Hospital.
The post holder will:
• Report to the Occupational Therapy Manager.
• Work in conjunction with other team members in co-ordinating and developing the service to meet the needs of the service user group and the objectives of the organisation.
The Clinical Specialist Occupational Therapist will be responsible for the provision of a high quality Occupational Therapy service and will carry out clinical and educational duties as required.
• Have close working relationships with the team members working in the Level 3 Specialist Weight Management Service and Level 4 Bariatric Surgery Service.
• Work with community colleagues to facilitate integrated care pathways including but not limited to the Obesity and Overweight Care Pathway.
• Provide effective and efficient delivery of an evidenced based, patient focused, quality Occupational Therapy service for adults with severe and complex obesity as set out in the Model of Care for the Management of Overweight and Obesity and the Obesity and Overweight Care Pathway which supports an activity based funding approach.
• Act as a resource and provide expert opinion, advice and guidance to occupational therapy colleagues and other healthcare professionals in the area of obesity.
• In conjunction with the Occupational Therapy Manager ensure the obesity pathway is delivered in line with national policy.
• In conjunction with the Occupational Therapy Manager, develop local policies and care pathways within obesity.
• Work with undergraduate and postgraduate agencies to support the development of a skilled workforce in obesity management.
• Liaise with St Vincent Hospital Group and St Michael's Hospital regarding new and existing best practice pathways for care of perioperative Bariatric surgical patients.
• Participate and provide training for wider service initiatives for Obesity Management.
Principal Duties and Responsibilities Professional / Clinical The Clinical Specialist Occupational Therapist will:
• Ensure that professional standards are maintained through clinical audit, supervision and training.
• Identify and prioritise the requirements of the service within a constantly changing environment.
• Operate within the scope of Occupational Therapy practice as per CORU requirements and in accordance with local guidelines.
• Keep abreast of research and practice developments in obesity.
Lead and facilitate research projects relevant to obesity.
• Develop guidelines for safe and effective Occupational Therapy practice related to obesity.
• Act as an advanced clinical advisor to colleagues and others.
• Be responsible for a clinical caseload.
• Ensure a high standard of Occupational Therapy assessment, treatment and management and ensure that professional standards of practice are adhered to.
• Demonstrate advanced proficiency in the ability to screen and prioritise service users according to clinical need using clinical reasoning skills.
• Provide complex interventions including as relevant to the service user, assessment and intervention in the areas of fatigue and sleep, anxiety management, pain management, lymphoedema (in collaboration with MDT), seating assessments, wheeled mobility assessments.
• Facilitate service user participation in their valued occupations including work, parenting, study, leisure and driving.
• Re-design occupations to create balance, participation and performance in valued occupations.
• Identify environmental facilitators and barriers, including physical, social, institutional, and cultural factors, as relevant to the service user.
• Prioritise and maximise effectiveness of interventions to ensure service demands are optimally met e.g.
appropriate delegation and onward referral.
• Use a learning frame of reference in the design and delivery of individual and group interventions, and integrate this with knowledge on behaviour change, weight stigma, self-efficacy, and adult learning.
• Take a key role in all aspects of the OT process relevant to inpatient admissions, including pre-assessment, functional assessment and rehabilitation, and discharge planning.
• Demonstrate advanced knowledge of care pathways appropriate to service users and proactively work with colleagues to design and implement processes to improve flow for service users.
• Ensure the privacy and dignity of the service user is respected at all times and work collaboratively with them to identify relevant treatment goals and approaches to care.
• Promote the role of Occupational Therapy in the provision of care.
• Be responsible for managing own caseload and for assessment, planning, implementation and evaluation of treatment programmes for service users according to service standards
• Be responsible for the day-to-day running of a designated service area(s) by supervising staff, prioritising and allocating work and promoting positive staff morale and team working in conjunction with the Occupational Therapist Manager
• In conjunction with the Occupational Therapist Manager lead service planning by anticipating the changing needs of the service and service users
• Ensure the quality of documentation of all assessments, treatment plans, progress notes, reports and discharge summaries are in accordance with local service and professional standards
• Communicate verbally and / or in writing results of assessments, treatment / intervention programmes and recommendations to the team and relevant others in accordance with service policy
• Participate in teams as appropriate, communicating and working in co-operation with other team members
• Attend clinics, review meetings, team meetings, case conferences, ward rounds etc.
as designated by the Occupational Therapist Manager
• Be responsible for adhering to existing standards and protocols and for leading out on the development and maintenance of standards / strategies for quality improvement and outcome measurement
Education and Training The Clinical Specialist Occupational Therapist will:
• Participate in mandatory training programmes.
• Maintain standards of practice and levels of professional knowledge by participating in continuous professional development initiatives and attendance at courses as appropriate.
• Engage in peer support with Occupational Therapist colleagues.
• Engage in professional clinical Occupational Therapist supervision.
• Be responsible, in partnership with local General Management, for the practice education of student therapists through provision of placements and through support for therapists who are practice educators within their departments.
• Ensure all therapists of lower grades working within the obesity service have adequate induction and clinical supervision and assist in implementing annual staff development and performance review.
• Participate in CPD planning and delivery within the Weight Management Services in St Columcilles Hospital.
• Act as a specialist resource, both locally and nationally, to provide training and educational CPD opportunities in the area of obesity for other HCPs.
• Work within the competency limits of professional expertise and actively collaborate with other disciplines and other specialist services to enhance patient outcomes.
• Ensure newly qualified therapists have adequate induction and clinical supervision and assist in implementing annual staff development and performance review.
Research • Undertake and disseminate the findings of audits, evaluations and research pertaining to the clinical management of obesity at relevant conference symposia and in peer reviewed journals.
• Contribute to the development of national guidelines for the clinical management of obesity.
• Evaluate the effectiveness and outcomes of new or altered therapies as they emerge and support the implementation of revised clinical practice based on the results.
• Support and contribute to local and professional body journal clubs, and relevant special interest groups, where new research findings are disseminated.
Health & Safety The Clinical Specialist Occupational Therapist will:
• Promote a safe working environment in accordance with Health and Safety legislation.
• Be aware of and implement agreed policies, procedures and safe professional practice by adhering to relevant legislation, regulations and standards.
• Actively participate in risk management issues, identify risks and take responsibility for appropriate action.
• Document appropriately and report any adverse incidents, near misses, hazards and accidents in accordance with organisational guidelines.
• Have a working knowledge of the Health Information and Quality Authority (HIQA) Standards as they apply to the role for example, Standards for Healthcare, National
Standards for the Prevention and Control of Healthcare Associated Infections, Hygiene Standards etc.
and comply with associated HSE protocols for implementing and maintaining these standards as appropriate to the role.
• Support, promote and actively participate in sustainable energy, water and waste initiatives to create a more sustainable, low carbon and efficient health service.
• Report any adverse incidents in accordance with organisational guidelines
Administrative The Clinical Specialist Occupational Therapist will:
· Be responsible for the co-ordination and delivery of service in designated area(s)
· Review and allocate resources within the designated area, in collaboration with the Occupational Therapist Manager and relevant others
· Promote good working practice and uniformity of standards of best practice
· Promote quality by reviewing and evaluating the Occupational Therapy service regularly, identifying changing needs and opportunities to improve services, in collaboration with the Occupational Therapist Manager and relevant others
· Develop and implement service / business plans, quality initiatives, audits etc.
and report on outcomes in collaboration with the Occupational Therapist Manager
· Collect and evaluate data about the service user group and demonstrate the achievement of the objectives of the service
· Oversee the upkeep of accurate records in line with best clinical governance, organisational requirements and the Freedom of Information Act, and render reports and other information / statistics as required
· Represent the department / team at meetings and conferences as appropriate
· Liaise with the Occupational Therapist Manager regarding the needs, interests and views of Occupational Therapy staff
· Promote good team working, and a culture that values diversity
· Participate in the management of Occupational Therapy stock and equipment in conjunction with the Occupational Therapist Manager
· Engage in IT developments as they apply to service user and service administration
· Keep up to date with developments within the organisation and the Irish Health Service
· Perform such other duties appropriate to the office as may be assigned by the Occupational Therapist Manager
Management • Responsible for the co-ordination and delivery of Occupational Therapy the obesity service in SCH, and have a collective responsibility for the overall running of the service in collaboration with clinical and administrative colleagues.
• Review and allocate resources within obesity, in collaboration with relevant others.
• Promote quality and changes in work practices, procedures, techniques or technology having regard to the development of best practice, advanced practice and emerging practices in Occupational Therapy.
• Foster and lead a culture and practice of; evaluating service outcomes; data collection; implementing quality improvement initiatives as appropriate.
• Oversee the upkeep of accurate records in line with best clinical governance, organisational requirements and the Freedom of Information Act, GDPR, and render reports and other information / statistics as required.
• Develop and implement strategic service and business plans, quality initiatives, audits etc.
based on up to date evidence-based practice and report on outcomes.
• Work within the multidisciplinary team and liaise with staff to ensure effective communication.
• Communicate with other clinical specialists nationally and internationally to further develop clinical excellence and research.
• Serve on and provide specialist advice to committees / working groups that may be set up relevant to obesity.
• Represent the department / team at meetings and conferences as appropriate.
• Deputise for the Occupational Therapist Manager as relevant
• Liaise with the Occupational Therapist Manager regarding the needs, interests and views of Occupational Therapy staff.
• Promote good team working, and a culture that values diversity.
The above Job Description is not intended to be a comprehensive list of all duties involved and consequently, the post holder may be required to perform other duties as appropriate to the post which may be assigned to him/her from time to time and to contribute to the development of the post while in office. Post specific requirements, additional qualification and/ or experience Experience working in an acute hospital setting is highly desirable.
Closing Date for submission of Application Forms FRIDAY 20TH JUNE 2025 @ 12 NOON Please note CVs will not be accepted please complete application form and upload via Rezoomo.