Clinical Specialist Occupational Therapist - CRS Team

NHS; Gorleston-on-Sea; On-site; GBP 40,000 - 48,000; Full time

Job summary

A healthcare provider in the UK is seeking a Clinical Specialist Occupational Therapist to join their Cardio-Respiratory and Surgery Therapy Team. The ideal candidate will be responsible for assessing and treating patients with complex conditions, providing clinical leadership, and supporting the development of others. This full-time role demands advanced communication, leadership skills, and the ability to work autonomously. Competitive benefits and opportunities for professional development are offered.

Benefits

Support for professional development

Access to training courses

Engagement in quality improvement projects

Qualifications

• Experience in managing patients with complex conditions including respiratory and cardiac.
• Evidence of acting in a supervisory manner and providing training.
• Demonstrates ability to work autonomously at Band 6 level.

Responsibilities

• Responsible for patient assessment and formulation of treatment plans.
• Provide clinical leadership to therapy staff and students.
• Engage in service improvement projects.

Skills

Advanced communication skills

Leadership skills

Organizational skills

Problem-solving skills

Education

Diploma/Degree/MSc in Occupational Therapy

Current Health and Care Professions Council registration

Job description

James Paget University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust

Clinical Specialist Occupational Therapist - CRS Team

The closing date is 14 December 2025

BAND 7 CLINICAL SPECIALIST OCCUPATIONAL THERAPIST - CARDIO-RESPIRATORY AND SURGERY THERAPY TEAM Permanent | Full Time (37.5 hours per week)

Come join our forward thinking, committed and driven Cardio-Respiratory and Surgery (CRS) Therapy Team who constantly put patient care and your professional and personal development to the forefront. We are looking for a positive, proactive clinician with specialist skills to help us build a strong future for therapy and increase the profile of Occupational Therapy within the team. You will have your own clinical caseload, providing advanced specialist assessments and interventions to a wide range of patients with multi-pathological conditions including respiratory, cardiac, palliative care, neurology, bariatric, dementia, frailty and/or have had surgical procedures. You will also provide clinical support to team members and students as well as assist in their training and development. You will also play an integral role in quality improvement projects to guide service development and work closely with the Team Leader in the leadership of the team. Good prioritisation, organisational and time management skills will be needed to balance clinical and non-clinical duties. We are a truly integrated department inclusive of occupational therapists, physiotherapists, dietitians and support workers and have great relationships between the different disciplines and teams.

Main duties of the job

The post-holder will act as a Clinical Specialist Occupational Therapist in the CRS Therapy Team. You will be responsible for ensuring the use of advanced effective assessment skills to identify appropriate patients and to formulate, implement and evaluate individualised treatment and rehabilitation plans, some of which will be specialist in nature, based on expert analytical and clinical reasoning skills. You will need advanced communication skills to ensure a successful multidisciplinary approach to patient care and will be in regular discussions with patients, carers, JPUH colleagues and community partners etc. You will be responsible for non-clinical duties such as leading on team meetings, in-service development ideas, quality improvement, training/supervision of students, therapy assistant practitioners, Band 5 and 6 colleagues, as well as other multidisciplinary team members. This will include the use of formal appraisal documentation and attendance and wellbeing meetings. You will be key to being actively involved in the measurement and evaluation of your work and current practices through the use of Evidence Based Practice projects, audit and outcome measures. Through this being able to make recommendations for and assist with change.

The core hours for this post are 08:00-16:00, however, flexibility can be discussed; this will also include being rostered on a seven-day service/shift pattern.

About us

The James Paget is a vibrant university hospital providing the best possible care to the people of east Norfolk and north Suffolk. Situated on the coast with beautiful beaches and the Broads National Park on the doorstep we are within commuting distance of Norwich City.

Service Improvement: The Integrated Therapies Department is positive and forward thinking, always striving to improve services. Our links with the Research Department is growing with joint projects being worked on. Our therapists represent the Trust at CSP, RCOT, BOA and BGS conferences.

Personal and professional development is key. We are developing our research and innovation strategy in line with the national AHP Strategy. We will support you in achieving your career goals through our well-structured supervision and appraisal system, actively encouraging utilisation of training courses (clinical, non-clinical and leadership skills) with use of CPD funding. We also have a Band 6 peer support group with a newly established training programme.

Development of others: You will be supported to provide education to your team but also to our wider workforce. We also support development of our future workforce through our close links with the University of East Anglia, Suffolk College and City College Norwich.

Job responsibilities

Please see the attached Job Description for more details of the main duties and responsibilities of the role which include:

• The post-holder will act as a Clinical Specialist Occupational Therapist in the Cardiology, Respiratory and Surgery Therapy Team at the James Paget University Hospital
• The post-holder will be required to work autonomously and carry a clinical caseload, taking a lead role in the advanced assessment and treatment of patients who may have complex pathology and social issues, in order to determine a clinical diagnosis and formulate an intervention plan
• To provide highly specialist advice and teaching to occupational therapy, physiotherapy, and therapy assistant practitioner colleagues and to other members of the multidisciplinary team
• To support the education of students in an educator role as required
• Ensure the teams workload is appropriately prioritised and work is effectively distributed and coordinated across the team on a day-to-day basis
• To work closely with the multidisciplinary teams in order to receive referrals and use patient information to help prioritise the workload
• To be proactive in service development and individual development within the teams, implementing changes as and when appropriate including policy changes
• To provide clinical leadership to physiotherapy and occupational therapy staff in the therapy team
• Clinical/professional supervision takes the form of direct observation of practice or formal training/clinical reasoning sessions (at least monthly). Advice and support are always available
• To work a rostered seven-day service/shift pattern within the James Paget University Hospital

Please watch the following videos for an insight into our Integrated Therapies Department:

Person Specification

Education and Qualifications

• Diploma/Degree/MSc in Occupational Therapy
• Current Health and Care Professions Council registration
• CPD record should include evidence of up-to-date manual handling, in-service training and reflections of learning
• Evidence of coaching/supervision training

Knowledge and Experience

• Evidence of experience working as an autonomous practitioner at Band 6 level in an acute hospital, managing patients with conditions including respiratory, cardiac, surgical, frailty, falls, neurological, orthopaedic, general medicine, palliative and end-of-life care
• Experience of team working within integrated teams
• Demonstrates specialist clinical skills including complex caseload management
• Able to formulate complex discharge plans informed by strong problem-solving skills
• Experience working in a fast-paced, high-pressured environment
• Experience of planning and implementing service improvement projects and utilising research into practice
• Evidence of acting in a supervisory manner, providing specialist guidance, training and support to other staff or students
• Evidence of reflective learning, demonstrates self-directed learning with a working knowledge of clinical governance and implications for own work
• Awareness of relevant professional practice, new research and guidelines and understanding of legal issues, safeguarding and mental capacity

Skills, Abilities and Competencies

• Leadership skills including team building and supporting others
• Ability to remain calm under pressure and prioritise accordingly
• Ability to prioritise and organise workload and support others with this whilst being able to work flexibly and proactively under pressure
• Ability to act as an autonomous practitioner with minimum supervision but recognise own limitations and know when to ask for support
• Communication skills including empathy, assertiveness and negotiation skills with the ability to build good rapport with a wide variety of people
• Evidence of forward thinking, using initiative, able to problem solve with positive approach and ability to promote change
• Competent IT skills and both verbal and written presentation skills
• Evidence of motivation for Band 7 role

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.

James Paget University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust