Community Hospital Inpatients (OTs)
Description of service
The Herts & Essex Community Hospital has 28 beds for in-patient rehabilitation. Patients are admitted from either an acute medical unit or another community hospital facility. There is also the facility to admit patients direct from the community via the Integrated Community Team, into a designated “step-up” bed. We operate a seven day therapy service.
Patients admitted to the bed based unit at Herts & Essex Hospital must be medically stable as there is no 24-hour medical cover at the hospital. Medical cover during the day is provided by a resident staff grade physician and visiting Consultant. The unit also has an advanced nurse practitioner. Patients will generally be admitted for a period of up to 19 days rehabilitation, before being discharged to the relevant destination.
There is a full Multi-Disciplinary Team (MDT) including physio, speech and language therapy, dietetics and Adult Care Services support. Occupational Therapy intervention is provided by qualified OTs and support workers, as part of an integrated therapy team of PTs, OTs, support workers and an Activities Organiser. There is a programme of groupwork activities, and patients engage in 1:1 sessions covering personal and domestic activities of daily living. Home visits are undertaken as appropriate as part of discharge planning.
The local Integrated Community Team is based on-site and Hertfordshire Adult Care Services also have a base at the hospital. The hospital also has outpatient physiotherapy, speech and language therapy, and podiatry departments. There are various outpatient departments on the ground floor including Child Health, x-ray and phlebotomy. The hospital has a Minor Injuries Unit and two of the local GP practices have a branch surgery on site.
Due to our geographic position our neighbouring services includes units in Hertfordshire and Essex. Neighbouring services include the Princess Alexandra Hospital in Harlow, Essex. We also have links with the hospitals at Stevenage and Welwyn Garden City. The Hertfordshire Equipment Service (HES) and the Hertfordshire Wheelchair Service are based at separate sites in Welwyn Garden City.
Specialities covered
A wide range of physical conditions are accepted including; Parkinson’s Disease, Cerebral Vascular Accident (stroke), Amputees, Head injury, orthopaedic conditions, chest infections etc.
Areas covered
Community Inpatient Unit
Herts & Essex Hospital
Cavell Drive (off Haymeads Lane)
Bishop’s Stortford
Herts
CM23 5JH
Car parking is available on Herts & Essex site for patients, visitors and staff including students, however you will need to have a virtual parking permit to ensure free parking.
Main contacts
Clinical Contact(s)/Practice Educator(s)
Anna Fletcher, Lead Therapist
Olga Chesters, Occupational Therapist
Numbers/Emails
Tel: 01279 827516 (therapy office)
Mobile: 07920 723539
e-mail: anna.fletcher7@nhs.net
Tel: 01279 827516 (therapy office)
e-mail olga.chesters1@nhs.net
Inpatient Unit Email: herts.essex@nhs.net
Dress code/uniform
- Student Occupational Therapy uniform should be worn
- Uniforms should not be worn outside of the hospital premises, unless on an official home visit
- Long hair should be tied back
- Minimal jewellery is allowed i.e. wedding band and stud earrings
- Shoes should be flat, comfortable and enclosed
- Your identity badge should be worn at all times
- Your educator will also advise you of specific protocols to follow e.g. hand washing once you have started your placement (general principles are to wash hands before and after visiting each separate patient)
Guide to staff uniforms
- Nursing sister – dark blue
- Qualified nurse – blue
- Health care assistant – lilac tunic / navy trousers
- Physiotherapist – white tunic with navy piping / navy trousers
- Physiotherapy assistant – white polo shirt / navy trousers
- Occupational therapist – white tunic with green piping / green trousers
- Occupational therapy assistant – white polo shirt / green trousers
Recommended pre-placement reading
General references will be available from your university placement team database; however your educator will be able to brief you specifically about the needs of the patient group and types of OT intervention to focus your preparatory reading & research.
As part of your induction during the first week of placement your educator or nominated member of staff will introduce you to departmental policies and procedures and health & safety. You must ensure that you are familiar with key policies and procedures. Do check with your educator and other staff members if you are unclear about any of them. Also refer to your specific University Resources on basic health and safety.
Key areas:
- OT operational policy
- Security
- Health & Safety
- Hygiene and Infection Control
- Smoking
- Risk Management
- Confidentiality
- Data Protection
- Manual handing
While you are working within the Trust, the personnel policies and procedures applicable to all staff also apply to you within the terms of your honorary contract. Policies are available in every department.
Preparing for your placement
- To maximise your learning on placement, we hope to be able to set up an IT account and smartcard for you. Please contact us 4 weeks prior to your placement to discuss what we require to set this up.
- In order for you to make the most of your placement it is advisable for you to start to think about the clinical areas you will be encountering. It is always helpful to think about what you will bring personally and professionally to the placement team, and the learning needs you anticipate working on with them. These can be clarified with your educator in the early stages of the placement to ensure you are both working with the same expectations.
- It is also very helpful to bring along your student and assessment handbooks and your professional portfolio.
- Personal mobile phones should not be used inside the hospital building during work hours.
Your first day
- Please arrive for an 8am start on the first day.
- The Inpatient Unit is on the first floor of the hospital. On arrival at the Unit please inform the staff that you have come to meet the therapy team and you will be escorted to the therapy team office.
- If you have any difficulties on the day – please phone the office on 01279 827516.
Other information
- Hours of work will be either 37.5 hours per week (or your designated hours as set by your university) although you will negotiate study and work time in accordance with your university requirements. If you are working on the inpatient unit you may participate in the weekend working programme if you wish. Exact working times and lunch breaks will vary according to team area and service needs. Your educator will advise you of the starting time for your first day.
- You must inform your educator or designated deputy if you will not be in to work due to sickness at the beginning of your working day. You will also need to inform your university in accordance with their procedures for absence reporting. If you become unwell during your stay and need to seek medical assistance, a list of local GP surgeries is further down this page. If it is an emergency you can of course attend the minor injuries dept in the Herts & Essex hospital or the nearest A+E department is the Princess Alexandra Hospital in Harlow. These local services are in addition to the support you can continue to access with your university via your personal tutor, placement coordinator, visiting tutor as appropriate.
- You will have allocated time for study included in your weekly timetable as advised by your school. There is not a library or education centre on-site, however each OT service area will have more specific OT resources & texts for use. There is internet access.
Other Learning opportunities during your placement:
In consultation with your educator you may find it very useful to visit other working areas to be able to get a flavour of how services, OTs and other professionals work in collaboration, and to learn more about patient’s experiences. These may take the form of a visit, a training event, a talk, understanding a ‘shift’ etc. Visits could be arranged with other students or individually as appropriate.
As one of your placement assessment outcomes you may be required to present a case study or an aspect of the placement team. Do take the opportunity to discuss this with your educator in the early days of the placement so that any necessary arrangements can be made and you will also have time to identify a suitable study or topic to be working on in preparation.
Occasionally, during patient non-contact time, you might feel at a loss for what to do – always discuss with your educator at the outset of the placement as to how you may utilise this time productively. There are always patient related tasks and many quality related mini projects or activities ongoing in a service and you may well be able to usefully contribute to these at odd times. As a student you will be expected to support your ‘doing’ with knowledge and the most effective ways of undertaking OT interventions (the how of it) so do not feel guilty about sourcing information and observing others (with permission) – having done so, you will then have much more to reflect on during supervision and to use in developing your practice. - The hospital has one cafeteria, and a small shop providing you with a choice of hot and cold food, sandwiches, snacks, drinks etc. The OT teams will generally break for lunch at around 12.30 for 30 minutes depending on schedules. Your educator will advise you of the accepted practice for your working area. Packed lunches can be taken into the cafeteria outlets. Water is available free from coolers. All teams have a collective tea/coffee provision.
Student Welfare
It is accepted that on the one hand student placements bring with them exciting and challenging opportunities for your personal and professional development, but there could be times when difficulties arise for students (and staff) for many reasons. It is at these times when support is available in a variety of ways:
- Use your supervision wisely to share concerns – your overall assessment grade will not be adversely affected by being professional and saying ‘how is it for you’ – it will help others to help you.
- Should you feel unable to raise issues, personal or professional with your named educator, please consider discussing them with another member of the team, or contact your university tutor.
Local information
Shopping
Bishops Stortford has plenty of shopping opportunities with one main shopping area called Jacksons Square. In addition there is the main high street with all the usual department stores and specialist stores. There are Sainsbury’s, Waitrose and Tesco stores in town as well as the usual large supermarket stores situated on the town outskirts.
Entertainment and Leisure
Bishop’s Stortford has plenty of facilities on offer for all ages. There is a cinema, leisure facilities and lots of nightlife in clubs, restaurant and bars. One complex beside the train station has a leisure centre, fitness centre, cinema and nightclub.
GP surgeries
South Street Surgery 83 South Street, Bishops Stortford: 0844 4778550
Church Street Surgery 30a Church St, Bishops Stortford: 01279 657636
Parsonage Surgery Herts & Essex Hospital, Bishop’s Stortford: 01279 827608
Taxi Firms
Associated Taxis – 01279 655666
Premier Taxis – 01279 655188
Kwik Cars – 01279 505555
