Clinical Specialist Occupational Therapist – Critical Care

NHS; London; On-site; GBP 61,000 - 69,000; Full time

Job summary

An exciting opportunity for an experienced Occupational Therapist is available at the Royal London Hospital's ACCU. The role involves leadership within a specialized critical care setting, offering a chance to shape and deliver high-quality occupational therapy services, ensuring improved patient outcomes through innovative rehabilitation approaches.

Qualifications

• Substantial post-registration experience in acute care.
• Clinical experience in critical care.
• Experience managing staff and leading service improvements.

Responsibilities

• Lead service transformation in critical care occupational therapy.
• Establish clinical pathways and advocate for professionals.
• Contribute to strategic vision aligning with Trust priorities.

Skills

Leadership

Clinical Reasoning

Communication

Problem-Solving

Education

Degree in Occupational Therapy

HCPC registration

Job description

Job summary

The Royal London Hospital (RLH) is a leading trauma centre, and tertiary centre for neurosciences, renal, hepato-biliary medicine and vascular surgery. The adult critical care unit (ACCU) is 56 bedded, with a large cohort of major trauma, surgery, and medicine admissions providing Level 2/3 care, including to our established elective surgical HDU.

An exciting new opportunity has arisen for a motivated and experienced Occupational Therapist to join the ACCU senior leadership team to provide strong clinical and operational leadership. As a new post, the candidate will develop and deliver a high-quality occupational therapy service to the unit, whilst also managing a complex caseload. The candidate must have excellent clinical skills across a broad range of specialities to manage the complex cohort collaboratively with the wider multi-disciplinary team including cognitive rehabilitation, complex seating assessments, and upper limb management.

You will participate in our established complex patient multidisciplinary meetings and delirium ward rounds.This post will be working closely with the Clinical Lead Physiotherapist / Speech therapist / Dietician and established physiotherapy service to provide a ringfenced critical care rehabilitation service across a 7-day service and includes weekend working alongside the physiotherapy team. The post holder will also join the Occupational Therapy Professional Network providing collective leadership for OTs.

Main duties of the job

This is a pioneering role, ideal for a forward-thinking and clinically expert Occupational Therapist with a passion for critical care and service transformation. You will play a central role in shaping how Occupational Therapy is delivered across our major trauma, surgical, and medical critical care units -- areas where early, specialist rehabilitation is key to improving patient outcomes and reducing length of stay.

As the founding clinical specialist, you will be responsible for establishing clinical pathways, embedding Occupational Therapy within the multi-disciplinary team, and advocating for the profession at all levels of care. You will work closely with therapy leads, critical care consultants, and operational teams to define the scope of the service, create clinical documentation and outcome measures, and develop referral and triage processes tailored to this complex patient group. Alongside your clinical responsibilities, you will contribute to the strategic vision for Occupational Therapy within the hospital, supporting the Associate Director of Therapies and Deputy Head of Therapies in aligning this new service with Trust priorities around rehabilitation, patient flow, and recovery after critical illness. You will lead on quality improvement initiatives, service evaluation, and championing the use of data and research to drive best practice.

About us

Barts Health is one of the largest NHS trusts in the country, and one of Britain's leading healthcare providers.

The Barts Health group of NHS hospitals is entering an exciting new era on our improvement journey to becoming an outstanding organisation with a world-class clinical reputation. Having lifted ourselves out of special measures, we now have the impetus and breathing space to chart a fresh course in which we are continually striving to improve all our services for patients.

Our vision is to be a high-performing group of NHS hospitals, renowned for excellence and innovation, and providing safe and compassionate care to our patients in east London and beyond. That means being a provider of excellent patient safety, known for delivering consistently high standards of harm-free care and always caring for patients in the right place at the right time. It also means being an outstanding place to work, in which our WeCare values and behaviours are visible to all and guide us in how we work together.

We strive to live by our WeCare values and are committed to promoting inclusion, where every staff member has a sense of belonging. We value our differences and fully advocate, cultivate and support an inclusive working environment.

Details Date posted

18 June 2025

Pay scheme

Agenda for change

Band

Band 8a

Salary

£61,927 to £68,676 a year per annum inc

Contract

Permanent

Working pattern

Part-time

Reference number

259-7213892RLH-A

Job locations

Royal London Hospital

London

E1 1FR

Job description Job responsibilities

The full job description provides an overview of the key tasks and responsibilities of the role, and the person specification outlines the qualifications, skills, experience, and knowledge required. For both documents, please view the attachment/s below.

Job description Job responsibilities

The full job description provides an overview of the key tasks and responsibilities of the role, and the person specification outlines the qualifications, skills, experience, and knowledge required. For both documents, please view the attachment/s below.

Person Specification Experience Essential

• Substantial post-registration experience in acute care
• Clinical experience in critical care
• Experience managing staff and leading service improvements
• Involvement in governance (e.g. incidents, complaints, supervision

Desirable

• Leading Trust-wide or cross-site projects
• PPI initiatives and performance reporting
• Teaching or education delivery

Skills Essential

• Advanced clinical reasoning and assessment
• Strong leadership and communication
• Ability to prioritise and problem-solve in high-pressure settings

Desirable

• Change/project management
• Research, audit, or QI involvement

Knowledge Essential

• Expert knowledge of OT in acute/critical care
• Awareness of national guidelines, rehab pathways, and clinical governance

Desirable

• Knowledge of post-ICU recovery and trauma pathways
• Familiarity with digital tools or workforce planning

Qualifications Essential

• Degree in Occupational Therapy
• HCPC registration
• Relevant post-registration CPD

Desirable

• Postgraduate qualification in clinical or leadership area
• Training in QI, project or leadership frameworks

Person Specification Experience Essential

• Substantial post-registration experience in acute care
• Clinical experience in critical care
• Experience managing staff and leading service improvements
• Involvement in governance (e.g. incidents, complaints, supervision

Desirable

• Leading Trust-wide or cross-site projects
• PPI initiatives and performance reporting
• Teaching or education delivery

Skills Essential

• Advanced clinical reasoning and assessment
• Strong leadership and communication
• Ability to prioritise and problem-solve in high-pressure settings

Desirable

• Change/project management
• Research, audit, or QI involvement

Knowledge Essential

• Expert knowledge of OT in acute/critical care
• Awareness of national guidelines, rehab pathways, and clinical governance

Desirable

• Knowledge of post-ICU recovery and trauma pathways
• Familiarity with digital tools or workforce planning

Qualifications Essential

• Degree in Occupational Therapy
• HCPC registration
• Relevant post-registration CPD

Desirable

• Postgraduate qualification in clinical or leadership area
• Training in QI, project or leadership frameworks

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 (Opens in a new tab).

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. Guidance can be found here Criminal records checks for overseas applicants (Opens in a new tab).

UK Registration

Applicants must have current UK professional registration. For further information please see NHS Careers website (opens in a new window).

Additional information 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 (Opens in a new tab).

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. Guidance can be found here Criminal records checks for overseas applicants (Opens in a new tab).

UK Registration

Applicants must have current UK professional registration. For further information please see NHS Careers website (opens in a new window).

Employer details Employer name

Barts Health NHS Trust

Address

Royal London Hospital

London

E1 1FR

Employer's website

https://www.bartshealth.nhs.uk (Opens in a new tab)

Employer details Employer name

Barts Health NHS Trust

Address

Royal London Hospital

London

E1 1FR

Employer's website

https://www.bartshealth.nhs.uk (Opens in a new tab)