Occupational Therapist

Countess of Chester; Chester; Presencial; GBP 40.000 - 48.000; Jornada completa

Descripción de la vacante

Countess of Chester Hospital NHS Foundation Trust is recruiting a Band 6 Occupational Therapist to join a dynamic, forward-thinking team. The role involves autonomous assessment, treatment planning, and delivering patient-centred care in a busy NHS setting.

The post offers 37.5 hours per week with weekend and bank holiday on-call/rota as required. Opportunities for leadership development and multidisciplinary collaboration are highlighted in the description.

Formación

• HCPC registered Occupational Therapist.
• Broad Band 5 NHS experience.
• Strong organisational skills, time management, and resilience under pressure.

Responsabilidades

• Work as autonomous practitioner performing specialist OT assessment and develop, deliver, and adapt treatment programmes.
• Monitor and evaluate treatment to measure progress and outcomes.
• Be professionally and legally accountable for own work and supervise others as required.
• Provide clinical cover during staff absence with guidance from senior staff.
• Participate in 7-day working per service requirements, including evening/weekend duty rotas.

Conocimientos

HCPC registered

Band 5 NHS experience

Leadership development

Educación

Degree in Occupational Therapy

Descripción del empleo

Main area ICP & Therapies Grade Band 6 Contract Permanent Hours Full time - 37.5 hours per week (Will be required to work weekends and bank holidays on a rota basis.) Job ref 210-2026-750

Site Countess of Chester Hospital Town Chester Salary £39,959 - £48,117 pa Salary period Yearly Closing 02/11/2026 23:59

Countess of Chester Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, staff pride themselves on not only leading through clinical excellence, but also by creating an environment where all staff are valued and appreciated. To achieve this, the Trust has embarked on an exciting new strategy focused on continuous improvement.

Our vision is to improve the lives of our community and provide excellence in healthcare, through partnership and innovation

Our High Performance Culture will support everyone to be the best version of themselves by being true to our Trust vision, values and behaviours.
We welcome applications from colleagues from our local and neighbouring communities of all backgrounds and identities, who are currently under-represented within our region such as Black, Asian, Minority ethnic and those with disabilities.

As a region we are reviewing the way we work, and exploring how new working practices that support flexible working can create a positive work-life balance. As part of our recruitment process we will explore how our inclusive employment policies, flexible working, staff engagement forums, Trust facilities and services can be of mutual benefit.

Job overview

Working Full time: 37.5 hours per week

As a Band 6 Occupational Therapist, you’ll step into a dynamic, forward-thinking team where your expertise will shape patient journeys and drive service innovation. If you’re motivated, enthusiastic, and ready to grow, this is the perfect environment to thrive. This is a static post but would consider rotational, and flexible working with different hours would be considered.

Opportunities You’ll Experience

• Innovation in Practice:Contribute to service development projects, introducing new treatment approaches, digital tools, and patient-centred innovations.
• Leadership Development:Take on mentoring responsibilities for Band 5 OTs, Therapy Assistants, and students, building your leadership profile.
• Interdisciplinary Collaboration:Work closely with surgeons, nurses, physiotherapists, and other specialists, becoming a key voice in multidisciplinary team decisions.
• Research & Governance:Engage in clinical audits, service evaluations, and governance activities that influence trust-wide practice.
• Acute & Community Balance:Experience the fast-paced acute hospital environment while also occasionally supporting patients in community and home settings, ensuring safe discharges and continuity of care.
• Career Progression: Build the skills and portfolio needed to move into advanced practice, specialist Band 7 roles, or leadership positions.

Main duties of the job

• To work as an autonomous practitioner to perform a specialist occupational therapy assessment of patients with diverse presentations. To use clinical reasoning to provide a diagnosis and develop, deliver and adapt individualised treatment programmes.
• To implement monitoring and evaluation of treatment in order to measure progress and outcomes to ensure effectiveness of interventions and service delivery.
• To be professionally and legally accountable for all aspects of own work and that of supervised physiotherapists and assistants and hold responsibility for own caseload for a specialist area of the service, working without direct supervision.
• To provide clinical cover, as appropriate during staff absence with guidance and support of a senior member of staff if required.
• To participate in 7 day working as per service requirements, in evening and/or weekend duty rotas and/or emergency/on call rotas. To provide treatment to patients and to provide advice to medical and nursing staff and other members of the multidisciplinary team without direct supervision.
• To identify and carry out Home Visits in accordance with Trust and Professional standards and to assess patient condition and suitability for discharge and where appropriate supervise physiotherapists and assistants in these tasks.
• What We’re Looking For
  • HCPC registered Occupational Therapist
  • Broad Band 5 NHS experience
  • Strong organisational skills, time management, and resilience under pressure.

Working for our organisation

The Trust’s services are provided from three locations:

The Countess of Chester Hospital: providing 473 general and acute beds.

Ellesmere Port Hospital: providing 60 beds as a rehabilitation, intermediate and outpatient facility.

Tarporley War Memorial Hospital: a base for community services which serve the local rural population.

The Countess of Chester Hospital NHS Foundation Trust employs 5,964 staff (headcount) to provide care and treatment to a population of over 400,000 people living in Chester and West Cheshire which includes Ellesmere Port and Neston as well as the Deeside area of Flintshire.

The Trust works collaboratively within the wider Cheshire and Merseyside Integrated Care System. Due to its location on the border with North Wales, the Trust also works closely with the Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board.

The Trust treats patients from England and some parts of Wales. During 2024/2025, there were approximately 643,000 patient attendances (inpatient, A&E, outpatient and diagnostic) ranging from a simple outpatient appointment to major cancer surgery

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

See Job Description for further details.

Recruitment selection processes are based on competence (see Person specification) and values. An applicant guide to help and support you through your recruitment journey can be accessed at the bottom of this page.

If you have a disability that meets the definition set out in the Equality Act 2010, and you can show that you meet the ‘essential’ criteria described in the person specification for an available position, please answer ‘YES’ to the question: ‘Do you wish to be considered under the Guaranteed Interview Scheme?’

Please inform the team if you have any special support needs to be considered as part of the interview and selection processes.

The trust offers a Guaranteed Interview Scheme to any armed forces community applicants who meet the essential criteria for the post.

If a DBS is required for your role, you are encouraged to enrol for the DBS Update Service. A small annual fee applies which is payable to the DBS Service.Please note applicants will be required to pay for their DBS check. Costswill be deducted from their salary over the first three months of employment.

New entrants to the NHS will commence on the minimum of the scale stated above.

Applicants requiring sponsorship may wish to determine the likelihood of obtaining sponsorship for this position by assessing themselves against the criteria on the gov.uk website - https://www.gov.uk/check-uk-visa.

The Trust will not sponsor where the starting salary does not meet immigration rules

Applicants are advised to apply early as if a large number of applications are received for this post, we reserve the right to close the vacancy prior to the advertised date.

Good luck with your application.

Person specification

Qualifications

• Degree in Occupational Therapy or equivalent
• HCPC Registered
• Membership of professional body

Experience

• Evidence of post graduate short courses
• Evidence of CPD and reflective practice
• Evidence of group working and team working
• Evidence of audit and/or research work

Knowledge

• Knowledge of current best practice in specialist OT area

Skills

• Communication skills (verbal and non- verbal)
• Ability to reflect and critically appraise own performance and that of others.
• Ability to organise and respond to complex information, and work under pressure
• Good interpersonal and organisational skills
• Supervisory skills

Disclosure and Barring Service Check
If the role is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (Exceptions) Order 1975 (Amendment) (England and Wales) Order 2020 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.

Enhanced DBS check applications that are submitted with omitted or incorrect information will be withdrawn. In the event errors are identified on your original application, a new application will need to be submitted and you will be required to pay the DBS application fee again.

The cost of the DBS application will be deducted from your salary over the first three months of employment.

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. Applicants requiring sponsorship may wish to determine the likelihood of obtaining sponsorship for this position by assessing themselves against the criteria on the gov.uk website - Check if you need a UK visa - GOV.UK

The Trust will not sponsor where the starting salary does not meet these immigration rules

For further details on skilled worker sponsorship, please consult the UK Home Office guidance: Skilled Worker visa: Overview - GOV.UK. Additionally, the New guidance for overseas applicants | NHS Employers provides helpful information on the recruitment process for candidates applying for roles in the UK.

Overseas candidates are responsible for their travel expenses.

From 6 April 2017, skilled worker applicants, applying for entry clearance into the UK, have 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 dependent's (over 18 years old) will also be subject to this requirement.

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.

Application numbers

This vacancy may close early if it receives a high number of applications. Please complete and submit your application in good time to avoid disappointment.

Name Deborah Conwell Job title Lead Therapist - Inpatient Physio & Occ Therapy Email address [e-mail] Telephone number 01244 364361 Additional information

Jen Williams

Joint Therapies Team Co-Ordinator

Tel: [phone]

Email: [e-mail]