Occupational Therapist

Countess of Chester Hospital NHS Foundation Trust; Chester; On-site; GBP 31,000 - 40,000; Full time

Job summary

The Countess of Chester Hospital NHS Foundation Trust is seeking an experienced Band 6 Occupational Therapist to join a dynamic clinical team across acute, rehab and community settings in Cheshire. You will work autonomously to assess patients with diverse presentations, develop and deliver individualised treatment programmes, and contribute to seven-day service requirements.

In this role you will mentor junior staff, collaborate with doctors, nurses and physiotherapists, participate in clinical

Job description

• Specialist Clinical Exposure: Working with patients across the Frailty wards, including the acute setting, rehab and intermediate care.
• 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 medical team, 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., 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, including weekend duty 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.
  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., HCPC registered Occupational Therapist
• The Trusts 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.

Broad Band 5 NHS rotational experience Strong organisational skills, time management, and resilience under pressure.

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