Advanced Practitioner - Occupational Therapist

Bristol Nhs Foundation Trust; West of England; On-site; GBP 42,000 - 52,000; Full time

Job summary

Bristol NHS Foundation Trust is seeking an enthusiastic Occupational Therapist to co‑lead our specialist inpatient team in medicine at Southmead Hospital, covering complex care or acute specialties. The role involves day-to-day operational management, caseload leadership, and strong links with community partners.

Based at Southmead Hospital, Bristol, the post offers peer and senior support within the pathway, with opportunities for professional development and service improvement.

Qualifications

• Essential: Degree in Occupational Therapy (or equivalent)
• Essential: HCPC Registration
• Essential: Student Educator Qualification
• Desirable: Post Graduate Training/CPD relevant to specialty
• Desirable: Basic Management/Leadership Training

Responsibilities

• Provide professional and clinical leadership within a specialist Occupational Therapy service, delivering highly specialist assessment, intervention and rehabilitation for adult patients with complex needs.
• Work autonomously as an advanced practitioner, managing a complex caseload and providing expert clinical advice to occupational therapy colleagues, multidisciplinary team members and external agencies.
• Lead service development and quality improvement initiatives, provide professional supervision, and undertake line management responsibilities, ensuring the delivery of high-quality, evidence-based care aligned with Trust objectives and professional standards.

Skills

Clinical leadership

Inpatient OT

Communication skills

Supervision skills

Education

Degree in Occupational Therapy

HCPC Registration

Student Educator Qualification

Tools

Assessment tools knowledge

Job description

Job summary

An exciting opportunity has arisen for an enthusiastic Occupational Therapist to co‑lead our specialist inpatient team providing a service to medicine. The role is based at Southmead Hospital and will encompass either complex care or acute specialties.

Main duties of the job

You will be sharing the role of team lead, alongside other established Band 7 colleagues, within the acute inpatient medicine pathway. The caseloads are varied and cover the medical specialties of frailty, respiratory, gastroenterology, infectious diseases and cardiology. The role will support the medicine pathway lead to deliver an occupational therapy service within the specialty. This includes day to day operational management of the team and responsibility for a specialist clinical caseload within inpatient medicine. There is close team working and links with community partners in the wider health and care system to address needs at all stages of the clinical pathway, with occupational therapy playing a crucial role.

About us

The newly formed Bristol NHS Foundation Trust is a great place to work. Situated in the vibrant city of Bristol, Southmead Hospital is an award‑winning building opened in 2014, offering exceptional facilities for patients and staff. We are a large teaching Trust that provides multiple specialties including regional services for neurosciences, major trauma, orthopaedics, renal and surgery (major arterial centre and burns and plastics).

There is both peer and senior support within the pathway and wider service. Various professional development opportunities and training courses are available, with quality improvement projects and service development ideas actively encouraged. Additional benefits include award schemes for excellence, staff restaurants, green spaces and an extensive well being programme.

Location: Southmead Hospital, Bristol, BS10 5NB

Pay scheme: Agenda for change, Band 7

Contract: Permanent

Working pattern: Full‑time

Closing date: 05 November 2026

Reference number: 339‑CCS3461‑LH

Job responsibilities

Provide professional and clinical leadership within a specialist Occupational Therapy service, delivering highly specialist assessment, intervention and rehabilitation for adult patients with complex needs. Work autonomously as an advanced practitioner, managing a complex caseload and providing expert clinical advice to occupational therapy colleagues, multidisciplinary team members and external agencies. Lead service development and quality improvement initiatives, provide professional supervision, and undertake line management responsibilities, ensuring the delivery of high‑quality, evidence‑based care aligned with Trust objectives and professional standards.

Person Specification

Qualifications

• Essential: Degree in Occupational Therapy (or equivalent)
• Essential: HCPC Registration
• Essential: Student Educator Qualification
• Desirable: Post Graduate Training/CPD relevant to specialty
• Desirable: Basic Management/Leadership Training

Work Experience

• Essential: Post registration specialty experience
• Essential: Experience in using range of assessments relevant to specialty
• Desirable: Experience of research or audit
• Desirable: Experience of staff recruitment, induction or line management

Knowledge/Skills/Abilities

• Essential: Written communication skills
• Essential: Ability to develop others through supervision
• Essential: Knowledge of OT process within specialty evidenced by CPD record
• Desirable: Splinting skills

Personal Qualities

• Desirable: Membership of RCOT
• Desirable: Membership of specialist community of practice

Disclosure and Barring Service Check

This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (Exceptions Order) 1975 and as such it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service (formerly known as CRB) to check for any previous criminal convictions.

Certificate of Sponsorship

Applications from job seekers who require current Skilled worker sponsorship to work in the UK are welcome and will be considered alongside all other applications. For further information visit the UK Visas and Immigration website. From 6 April 2017, skilled worker applicants, applying for entry clearance into the UK, have had to present a criminal record certificate from each country they have resided continuously or cumulatively for 12 months or more in the past 10 years. Adult dependants (over 18 years old) are also subject to this requirement.

UK Registration

Applicants must have current UK professional registration. For further information please see NHS Careers website.

Employer contact details

Pathway Lead Occupational Therapist (Medicine), Ellie Darby, [e-mail]