Occupational Therapist - Te Whare o Matairangi

Location: Wellington Regional Hospital

Contract:   Permanent Full Time (1 FTE)

Health New Zealand | Te Whatu Ora is firmly grounded in the principles of Te Tiriti o Waitangi and is committed to building a health system that serves all New Zealanders.

Kōrero mō te tūranga – About the role

The occupational Therapist’s role is to understand a person’s functional needs and provide brief but meaningful intervention as part of a multidisciplinary team, in line with Te Whare Tapa Wha. This involves engaging people in a variety of ways, considerate of culture, whanau and personal values.   

The role requires you to run an Occupational Therapy group program, as well as individual assessment and intervention with people in an acute mental health setting. This role will allow you to use and develop core Occupational Therapy skills, engaging people in meaningful and purposeful activities. You will help facilitate community organisations to come into the ward to run programs as well as leading group activities yourself. The role can require you to support people to re-engage in their community so many of the interventions offered can occur in the community. 

Your role is to support people to recover from an acute phase of mental illness and help them understand how they can stay well in the community. Linking people with the supports and tools to sustain their recovery. 

About the Team/Service/ Location

Our Allied Health professional team consist of 2 Occupational Therapists, 2 Social Workers and a Psychologist, as well as interns and NESP placements for each of these disciplines. We are also very fortunate to have a diverse and skilled team of support work staff, including 4 Occupational Therapy Support Workers and 1 Allied Health Support Worker. 

We have a thriving peer support workforce leading the way in integrating lived experience into our workplace as well as our Koro Danny supporting the work that we do to best meet the needs of our whaiora.  We have Music and Art therapists, community services in-reaching and a healthy volunteer team. This team of people are fundamental in the running of the seven day therapy program and meeting the individual needs of our whaiora alongside our very supportive nursing and medical staff. 

TWOM is an excellent ward to work in with a great opportunity to develop skills and expertise in a wide range of areas. There are many innovative projects underway and the culture is one of encouragement and growth. If you have a can do attitude and initiative you will thrive in this setting. This Occupational Therapist position is forever adapting to the needs of our whaiora and there is space for you to develop the role as you see fit.

Moū – About you

This Occupational Therapy role requires someone who has excellent communication skills and is able to work as part of a fast-paced clinical team. You will need to be flexible and willing to adapt to the regularly changing environment of an acute inpatient psychiatric ward. You will have good risk management and organisational skills.  You will have initiative and creativity to add your own unique approach to the service.  You will be reliable and considerate of others. You will be responsible to ensure a timetable of activities occur on the ward, either by running these yourself or by facilitating others. 

You will value Māori and Pacifica culture and be skilled at engaging people from every walk of life to ensure that each person receive the best health outcomes. You will have a good knowledge of Te Whare Tapa Wha and meaningfully adopt the agreement of Te Tiriti o Waitangi. Ideally you will have some knowledge of the Hui Process and the Meihana model, and if not you will be willing to learn.

You will be able to assess a person’s functioning, provide intervention and make recommendations based on what you have observed. You will liaise closely with the MDT and the community team and services to ensure the best outcome for the person. You will be consult with peer support workers and other advisors, and make good use of supervision.

This role is challenging but satisfying, you will make meaningful changes in people’s lives.

You must be:

•  NZ Registered Occupational Therapist with current annual practicing certificate.
• Member of Occupational Therapy New Zealand - Professional Association (desirable).
•  Have a full drivers licence.

Working at Health New Zealand

Health New Zealand | Te Whatu Ora is dedicated to ensuring excellent healthcare for the people of New Zealand. We embrace a workforce that is diverse and inclusive so that we are better positioned to understand and service our community. We welcome applications from our diverse Māori, Pacific, disabled, and rainbow communities. 

How to Apply

To apply please click “apply now.”  All applications must be submitted through our online careers’ portal by 30th April. If you have any questions about the role, please contact Marianne.Lovgren@tewhatuora.govt.nz

We will review applications as received and may proceed with the recruitment process, before the closing date of this advert.