Occupational Therapist

South West London and St George's Mental Health NHS Trust; Bottisham; On-site; GBP 38,000 - 46,000; Full time

Job summary

South West London and St George’s Mental Health NHS Trust is seeking an experienced Occupational Therapist with CAMHS expertise to work with Deaf children and young people across the National Deaf CAMHS service. You will assess and treat deaf or hearing children in community and school settings, using BSL where needed.

The role involves autonomous clinical work with a small team, supervision of OT students, and collaboration with families, schools and other agencies.

Qualifications

• Diploma or degree in Occupational Therapy.
• Registration to practice in the UK.
• Evidence of post registration training relevant to mental health practice.
• Training in the theory and application of the model of human occupation within the first 4 months of appointment.
• BSL level 1 or willingness to complete this in the first year of appointment.
• Masters degree in subject relevant to clinical post.
• Practice placement educators course within one year of appointment.
• Leadership training.
• BSL level 2 or above.

Responsibilities

• Develop and provide a specialist occupational therapy service for young people under the care of the National Deaf CAMHS community service.
• Manage clients with complex needs, using evidence based, client-centred principles to assess, plan, implement and evaluate interventions.
• Provide OT flexibly across a variety of treatment programmes including groups and individual work in a variety of settings including home and school settings.
• Participate in and contribute to local service development and strategy.
• Liaise with colleagues in Adult Mental Health Services and Early Intervention Services to ensure effective transition arrangements exist for clients who are likely to require ongoing support after the age of 18.
• Contribute to the Trust wide occupational therapy strategy (Model of Human Occupation and Specialist forums).
• Supervise OT students on fieldwork placements.
• Undertake regular audit and R&D activities.
• Provide training and support for families, staff and wider network professionals as required.
• Be the disability champion for the team.

Skills

CAMHS experience

Deaf awareness

BSL familiarity

Family engagement

Autonomous working

Team collaboration

Education

OT Diploma/Degree

UK registration

Post-registration MH training

Masters in related field

BSL level 1

Leadership training

BSL level 2

Job description

South West London and St George's Mental Health NHS Trust has a rich history, well-established community links and an international reputation. We provide a full range of local mental health services to the Kingston, Merton, Richmond, Sutton and Wandsworth London boroughs, as well as specialist forensic mental health services, including specialised services such as national deaf adults and CAMHS inpatients and OCD.

We are committed to providing high quality integrated health and social care for local people with mental health problems in South West London and more specialist mental health services for people throughout the UK. The Care Quality Commission already rates our services as ‘good’ however we aim to be ‘outstanding’.

Our Values

We take pride in providing specialist care to our service users where our Trust values; being consistent, compassionate, collaborative, respectful and open is at the heart of everything we do. Our mission is "making life better together".

When you join us, you’ll be part of something special – an innovative and rapidly growing organisation that is helping to redefine the Mental Health, education and social care landscape in the UK.

As a Trust, we are happy to talk flexible working.

Job overview

This is a unique and exciting opportunity for an experienced Occupational Therapist, with CAMHS experience, to work within National Deaf Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service. The clinician will be working with Deaf Children with emotional/behavioural problems, their parents, schools, and other agencies in the community. This role would suit a deaf, or hearing, BSL using or non-BSL using clinician, as training can be provided.

We are looking for a qualified Occupational Therapist, with an extensive background in child mental health. Experience working with young people with neurodiversity, sensory and behavioural disorders, would be ideal, however, additional training could be given for the successful candidate.

The successful candidate would carry a small caseload and be expected to work autonomously and collaboratively with both deaf and hearing colleagues, providing a full occupational therapy assessment and intervention to deaf children and young people, and their families/carers, across the East of England region, from a range of community settings, or using virtual meeting technology.

Main duties of the job

The post holder would join a small group of Occupational Therapists working with deaf young people with mental health needs across the East of England, Kent and London and would receive full clinical supervision from an OT experienced in this area as well as professional development support.

Full BSL and deaf awareness training will be made available for the post holder alongside BSL interpreter support as required. For those wishing to gain experience and are unfamiliar working within this specialist area will have the opportunity to learn about deaf culture.

The team is based in Cambridge covering the East of England; however, there could be an opportunity for this post to be fulltime, if the candidate was willing to work in both Cambridge and London Teams. Please let us know if you are interested in working full time.

Working for our organisation

Unless expressly stated in the job advert this role is not subject to sponsorship, please be advised that all offers of employment are subject to evidence of right to work in the UK.

We are Proud to Belong at South West London and St George’s Mental Health NHS Trust.

We have expert services, a rich history and a clear commitment to providing the best quality care for those with mental ill-health. T he Care Quality Commission already rates our services as ‘good’ - we aspire to be ‘outstanding’.

This is a great time to join us. We are transforming the way we care for our communities to support our mission of Making Life Better Together. We have built two brand new mental health facilities at Springfield University Hospital, which are amongst the best in the world. More developments are planned across our sites and services as we invest a further £120m to upgrade and modernise our estate by 2027.

We are inclusive and diverse and strive to be actively anti racist. We want to attract people from all backgrounds and experiences to enrich the work we do together. We are proud to co-produce and involve our local communities in all that we do.

We offer flexible working, career development and a varietybenefits to enable a positive, welcoming environment in which our people and their careers can thrive.

Come and join our inclusive teams and help our patients on their recovery journey.

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

To develop and provide a specialist occupational therapy service for young people under the care of the National Deaf CAMHS community service.

• To manage clients with complex needs, using evidence based, client-centred principles to assess, plan, implement and evaluate interventions.
• To provide OT flexibly across a variety of treatment programmes including groups and individual work in a variety of settings including home and school settings.
• To participate in and contribute to local service development and strategy.
• Liaison with colleagues in Adult Mental Health Services and Early Intervention Services to ensure that effective transition arrangements exist for clients who are likely to require ongoing support after the age of 18
• To contribute to the Trust wide occupational therapy strategy (Model of Human Occupation and Specialist forums).
• To supervise OT students on fieldwork placements.
• To undertake regular audit and R&D activities.
• To provide training and support for families, staff and wider network professionals as required.
• To be the disability champion for the team.

Use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in job applications

If you have used AI to support the preparation of your application, please briefly indicate how it was used within your supporting statement or application form.

Please remember, your application is your opportunity to tell us about your skills, experience and motivation for the role. We encourage applicants to complete their application and supporting statement in their own words wherever possible. We recognise that AI tools can be helpful in supporting accessibility, and for improving spelling, grammar and structure.

Applications that rely heavily on AI-generated content can become generic and fail to accurately reflect an applicant's individual experience. Applications that clearly demonstrate your own voice, reflections and experiences are often the most effective and help us better understand your suitability for the role.

Please be aware that information provided in your application and supporting statement may be explored further during the selection process. It is important that all applications accurately represent your own knowledge, skills and experience.

Person specification

Education, Training & Qualifications

• Diploma or degree in Occupational Therapy
• Registration to practice in the UK
• Evidence of post registration training relevant to mental health practice
• Training in the theory and application of the model of human occupation within the first 4 months of appointment
• BSL level 1 or willingness to complete this in the first year of appointment
• Masters degree in subject relevant to clinical post
• Practice placement educators course within one year of appointment
• Leadership training
• BSL level 2 or above

Experience

• Experience of carrying a caseload of service users with complex and diverse needs in a mental health setting
• Post-graduate clinical experience highly related to clinical field
• Experience of working in an inter-professional team.
• Experience of working within a multi-agency environment.
• Experience of working in a range of mental health settings
• Experience of working in a multi-cultural context
• Experience of maintaining a written record of continual professional development
• Experience of individual and groupwork
• Active involvement in service change/development
• Experience of writing specialist occupational therapy reports
• Experience of clinical audit
• Experience of supervising junior staff
• Experience of being a practice placement educator
• Experience of using mental health services as a service user, or carer, relative, friend of a service user.
• Experience of publishing own work
• Post-registration research activity
• Experience of working within the Deaf community

At South West London St Georges Mental Health Trust we are committed to providing services which embrace diversity and that promote equality of opportunity. We are a Disability Committed Employer, and welcome applications from all sections of the community and people of all protected characteristics. We are Members of Stonewall Diversity Champions and Employers Network for Equality and Inclusion.

As part of the Trust's commitment to Equalities and Diversity, the Trust supports the establishment of Staff Networks groups to promote diversity in the workplace:

• BME (Evolve) Staff Network
• DiverseAbility
• Mental Health Staff Forum
• Women's Staff Network
• LGBTQIA+

We are committed to supporting the Armed Forces Community and has signed the Armed Forces Covenant.

We provide reasonable adjustments to the interview process for any candidates with a disability.

Please note:

• That the closing date listed is a guide only and that the vacancy may close earlier should sufficient number of applicants have been received
• That once you have submitted your application you agree to your application being transferred to a 3 rd party e-recruitment system
• That should you not have heard from us within three weeks from the closing date your application has not successful
• That priority consideration for applications may be given to at-risk NHS employees
• That should you be successful and appointed, you authorise South West London and St George's Mental Health NHS Trust to confirm your previous NHS service via an Inter Authority Transfer (IAT) process
• That your employment is offered subject to successful completion of a Probationary Period depending on your Band (except medical roles)
• That we are a smoke-free Trust

South West London and St George’s Mental Health NHS Trust does not charge any fees at any stage of the recruitment process, including job applications, sponsorship arrangements, or employment offers. The contact details published on our official website are the Trust’s authorised contact channels and should be used for all recruitment communications, job applications, and verification of employment offers.

Employer certification / accreditation badges

You must have appropriate UK professional registration.

This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (Exceptions) Order 1975 (Amendment) (England and Wales) Order 2020 and it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service.