Nokuthula Ndlovu

• Completed 140 comprehensive assessments of patients with complex acquired brain injuries, stroke and neurological conditions
• Formulating and carrying out individualised rehabilitation and treatment plans
• Chairing patients’ review meetings with the local ICB (Integrated Care Board) and social care professionals
• Coordinating discharges with patients and their family members, and external health and social care professionals
• Providing clinical leadership and supervision for therapy assistant, and clinical leadership for rehabilitation assistants
• Ensuring appropriate provision and maintenance of equipment within available resources

Care Package Reviews: Completed over 50 Face to face care package reviews in clients’ homes or care home, by observing care provision and liaising with care providers

• Recommending and implementing care package adjustments by liaising with local authority brokerage team
• Equipment provision to facilitate care package adjustments
• Referrals to other professionals including safeguarding services and district nurses
• Major adaptation: assessment then referring clients to Disability Fund Grant with comprehensive clinical justifications
• Home environment risk assessments
• Early Review pathway: face to face assessments of reablement care packages, provision of equipment to facilitate clients’ independence, making decisions to reduce care packages where appropriate care providers and local reablement teams

Undertook 140 face to face assessments of clients referred for major adaptations including stairlifts, ramps, bathing facilities

• Provision of standard and or specialist equipment and demonstrating the safe use of equipment, and alternative techniques to increase or maintain client independence
• Identifying and requesting minor adaptations to meet identified needs with positioning diagrams as required
• Completing specifications for major adaptation works for owner occupier, housing association, council and privately rented properties in line with the Housing Grants, Construction and Regeneration Act 1996

• Led and Managed team of 4 therapy and psychology assistants, working closely with the Lead Consultant Neuropsychologist
• Maximising functional ability, increase independence and quality of life of service users with complex mental health and acquired brain injury
• Leading OT contribution to initial assessment and occupational assessments with service users
• Planning and maintaining individual and group therapeutic interventions that enhance the wellbeing and/or rehabilitation of the clients which meet agreed goals
• Providing training/instruction to clients and co-workers to enable the clients to achieve maximum functional independence
• Advising on equipment and environmental modifications or adaptations to assist daily living
• Maintaining accurate and concise case records and produce reports as necessary to support clients’ progress against pre-determined outcomes and make recommendations on modified service provision or referral to other agencies
• Contributed to the development of the Service for therapy models

• Autonomous working managing complex neuro case load
• Assessment and treatment planning
• Supervision therapy assistants on Occupational Therapy provision
• Home assessments
• Liaising with external service providers including Acquired Brain Injury commissioners, social workers, hospital teams
• Preparing Evidence Based Practice review reports

• Company Overview: Moving with Dignity Project
• Tendered and was awarded the Moving with Dignity Contract with Local Authority, for over 200 community-based clients
• Ensuring that business met legal requirements including insurance, compliance management, policies and procedures, employment law, health and safety
• Advertised for and completed recruitment of staff onto the project- including compliance, training and employment contracts
• Oversaw daily operations including occupational therapists, physiotherapist and administrative staff
• Chaired meeting with care providers to negotiate package of adjustments to care packages
• Implemented strategies that led to cost savings of over £230000 to the local authority
• Generated biweekly reports detailing project’s progress, qualitative and quantitative outcomes of the project
• Processed staff payments including invoicing, timesheets and mileage
• Established positive working relationships with clients and their families, care agencies, social services, local community NHS services, service managers, other occupational therapy teams
• Worked as an occupational therapist on the project: Assessment and reviews of clients with complex care needs and double handed care packages to ensure safe moving and handling practice and maintenance of clients’ dignity while also ensuring that care packages remain relevant and appropriate
• Completing associated electronic documentation on the local authority client system including: assessments, Reduction of Funding referrals to contracts and commissioning department, timely care note writing
• Education and training of carers on good practice in manual handling
• Equipment prescribing and provision via local equipment suppliers
• Producing clinical reasoning reports for panel discussion for specialist equipment
• Attending professionals meeting to ensure care is appropriately and safely delivered
• Moving with Dignity Project

• Company Overview: Park House Neurorehabilitation
• Providing specialist Occupational Therapy interventions for complex caseload including assessments, collaborative treatment planning, undertaking interventions
• Conditions included stroke, traumatic brain injuries and other neurological conditions
• Prescribing, care planning and training therapy assistants and rehabilitation and family (where appropriate) on use of equipment
• This included tilt in space chairs and commodes, hoists, slings, wheelchairs
• Undertaking cognitive, perception, physical rehabilitation, following either remedial or compensatory techniques
• Completing graded discharge in clients’ home, home environment visits and discharge visits
• Discharge planning with community teams including ABI and social services
• Supported with resetting the stroke pathway for the therapy team, reintroducing time schedules for therapy interventions, supported in improving review meeting reports, setting up and training therapy assistants on Upper Limb rehabilitation
• Audited equipment and supported home manager with best practices in neuro rehabilitation
• Park House Neurorehabilitation

• Company Overview: St Neots Neurological Centre
• Therapy Lead: Managing day to day operational issues i.e annual leave and sickness, for the Therapy team
• Chairing clinical meetings as required i.e reviews, MDT, goal planning
• Working with the Hospital Director regarding clinical developments and areas of specialism/expertise
• Leading the Therapy team and guide all members, co-ordinating and evaluating the therapy provision
• Carrying out assessments of potential patients and advise on appropriate therapy provision
• Contributing to planning and development of the service
• Carrying out any investigations as delegated by the Hospital Director
• Promoting positive teamwork within the Therapy and Nursing teams, facilitating good communication, mutual support, and team cohesion
• Ensuring an effective structured daily routine is in place and followed by all levels of staff to meet the patients’ needs
• Coordinating the Therapy Assistants’ timetables and supporting with provision of a range of innovative and therapeutic activities, groups, and projects
• Ensuring that quality standards and effectiveness of resident care are continually monitored and improved
• Ensuring documentation is up to date and appropriate
• Promoting individual, professional, and personal development through clinical supervision and in-service training
• To play an active role within the Senior Management Team
• Senior Occupational therapist: Working with patients with complex neuro-degenerative illnesses and mental health difficulties, and ABI; including stroke, Huntington’s’ Disease, Parkinson’s Disease, Dementia, schizophrenia
• Assessment and goal planning, intervention programmes and review patients using Evidence Based Practice
• Supporting Therapy assistants in implementing therapy programmes
• Creating Clinical Approach Programme (CPA) reports and feeding back meetings of MDT and external services
• Liaising with external services including ABI teams, local authorities, clinical commissioning groups, case managers, equipment suppliers
• Ensuring optimum stock of equipment and reordering as indicated
• Providing training in induction, in-service training, and Reflective Practice
• Attending feeding back in daily morning meetings, weekly ward rounds, clinical governance, therapy team meetings
• Risk assessment patient activities both indoors and in the community and producing care plans for healthcare assistants and therapy assistants to follow
• St Neots Neurological Centre

• Company Overview: Bedford Unit
• Educating therapy technicians and rehabilitation assistants on core aspects of neurorehabilitation
• Coaching rehabilitation assistants on adherence to therapy guidelines formulated by therapists
• Entrusted with broadening role of occupational therapist within the unit
• Initiated the practice of rehabilitation within the client’s own homes
• Taking lead role in complex discharge planning; and being link person to community neuro rehabilitation teams, resulting in more coherent discharge of clients
• Actively participating in compiling comprehensive progress reports
• Chairing client review meetings attended by client and family, NHS Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) members, MDT, and other external agencies
• Assessing inpatients referred to the service and making decisions to accept or not, with high outcome of appropriate patients being admitted into the service
• Selecting and applying assessments, creating and reviewing comprehensive treatment plans for adults with physical and cognitive difficulties due to traumatic brain injury, stroke or progressive neurological diseases
• Carrying a caseload of both long-term complex residents and high intensity rehabilitation residents, and key therapist within caseload
• Using specialist skills to interpret and analyse complex clinical, environmental and social factors
• Providing clinical judgement for equipment required for discharge with very good record of clients obtaining equipment
• Bedford Unit

• Company Overview: Stroke Rehabilitation Unit
• Prioritising complex caseload
• Undertaking relevant assessments including cognitive, visual, motor, functional assessments
• Working collaboratively with patients and their carers in formulating therapy goals for treatment
• Planning and carrying out relevant therapy aimed at improving the patient's functional ability
• Holding case conferences with MDT and patients and their carers to facilitate timely discharge
• Undertaking home assessments to identify risks and equipment needs for discharge
• Provision of relevant equipment using available resources
• Identifying patient's needs for ongoing rehabilitation and or care needs, and referring on to appropriate services
• Delegating responsibilities and providing support to junior staff
• Stroke Rehabilitation Unit

• Company Overview: Acute stroke, neurology and stroke rehabilitation
• Undertaking specialist neurological assessments of patients with diverse or complex presentations and multi-pathologies
• Completing functional assessments including personal care, kitchen practice, home visits
• Formulating and delivering specialised occupational therapy treatment programmes
• Maintaining accurate and comprehensive patient treatment records in line with departmental standards
• Communicating complex patient-related information effectively to ensure collaborative working with MDT colleagues
• Prioritising workload and delegating to assistant staff
• Supporting OT assistants with analysis of assessment and planning interventions
• Assisting to mentor students: occupational therapy, physiotherapy and nursing students
• Acute stroke, neurology and stroke rehabilitation

• Company Overview: Accident and Emergency, Clinical Unit, Emergency Assessment units Decision
• Autonomous decision making in the provision rapid response service in a fast paced, highly pressured environment
• Employing acute assessment skills to evaluate patient’s physical, cognitive and sensory function in light of their presenting conditions
• Providing interventions for patients with wide range of acute presentations including syncope, exacerbation of COPD, delirium, head injuries, orthopaedic fractures; progression of illnesses, palliative conditions and social issues
• Undertaking and analysing observations including oxygen saturation levels, lying to stand blood pressure
• Liaising with multi-disciplinary team members including discharge co-ordinators, nurses, consultants, pharmacists and physiotherapists, family and carers, in facilitating patients’ safe discharge
• Maintaining up-to-date electronic and manual records
• Participating in own supervision to ensure own CPD
• Accident and Emergency, Clinical Unit, Emergency Assessment units Decision

• Company Overview: Respiratory, Cardiology, Orthopaedic rehabilitation, Neurosurgery and neurology wards
• Carrying caseload of complex and highly complex patients, providing specialist assessment and treatment
• Undertaking environmental risk assessments in the patients’ home to assess risk, safety and the impact of disability equipment, minor adaptations
• Working collaboratively with patients and carers in identifying and selecting appropriate therapeutic goals
• Communicating patient related information with multi-disciplinary team
• Working collaboratively with the primary care teams, referring patients on to external agencies and local authority services across the region involved in the ongoing management of the patients care post discharge
• Analysing and interpreting a range of clinical and non-clinical facts relating to patients presenting with a wide range of conditions
• Undertaking comprehensive assessments of patients’ occupational performance and risk evaluation
• Planning and implementing appropriate programme of occupational therapy for patients using advanced clinical/diagnostic reasoning to determine the most appropriate interventions from a range of occupational therapy options
• Monitoring and reviewing patient progress within their treatment programme through ongoing re-evaluation of clinical and non-clinical facts and information making adjustments and modifications to plans as required
• Informing MDT when the patient is functionally ready for hospital discharge contributing to the development of comprehensive discharge plans that link together secondary and primary care services
• Respiratory, Cardiology, Orthopaedic rehabilitation, Neurosurgery and neurology wards

• Company Overview: Acute medicine, respiratory, and assessment unit and short stay units
• Ensuring service provision is prioritized and service delivery is made effectively within resource constraints
• Providing specialised OT assessments and treatments using clinical reasoning skills
• Assessing for and provision of minor adaptations when appropriate e.g
• Grab rails, equipment provision
• Providing specialist advice to families, carers, and other health and social care professionals
• Acute medicine, respiratory, and assessment unit and short stay units

• Managing caseload of up to 12 patients with lower limb, upper limb, spinal fractures and other musculoskeletal and soft tissue conditions: and elective patients undergoing procedures including knee replacement and hip replacement, and patient with acute medical conditions
• Prioritizing referrals, planning and organising a designated caseload of patients
• Working with patients and carers to identify OT goals, using standardised and OT assessment tools to assess their skill challenges and occupational needs
• Ensuring that OT goals are integral to the patient’s multidisciplinary care plan
• Completing assessments: functional, transfer and cognitive assessments
• Completing home assessment if appropriate
• Implementing interventions following compensatory, functional, biomechanical approaches
• To work as a member of the multidisciplinary team establishing effective communication networks with colleagues, patients and carers, maintaining interactions with external agencies
• Liaising with social workers and other community services to ensure social support is provided if required including reablement and intermediate care
• Providing or referring to external agencies for appropriate equipment for discharge
• Providing post-surgery (elective and trauma) precautions
• Evaluating interventions using standardised measures –MOTOM and non-standardised measures
• Completing administrative tasks to evidence activity, assessments and services using SOAP note format