occupational therapist

Tees, Esk and Wear Valleys NHS Foundation Trust; England; On-site; GBP 42,000 - 54,000; Full time

Job summary

Tees, Esk and Wear Valleys NHS Foundation Trust in Middlesbrough seeks an experienced Clinical Specialist Occupational Therapist to lead the inpatient learning disability service at Bankfields Court, delivering highly specialist assessments and interventions for people with complex needs.

The post holder will work autonomously within a multidisciplinary team, providing clinical leadership, supervision of OT staff, and role development to ensure outcome-focused, person-centred care and recovery.

Qualifications

• HCPC registration is essential.
• Post-registration Masters level learning or equivalent experience required.
• Experience in quality improvement activities and service development is expected.
• Involvement in clinical governance activities including audits and quality assurance is preferred.
• Experience with research and development, critical appraisal or service evaluation.
• Substantial clinical experience delivering complex OT in learning disability/mental health settings.

Skills

Compassionate leadership

Communication

Multidisciplinary teamwork

Flexibility & teamwork

Self-awareness & development

Working under pressure

Initiative & independent decision‑mak

Education

HCPC registration

Masters level learning / equivalent

Job description

An exciting opportunity has arisen for an experienced and motivated Clinical Specialist Occupational Therapist to join the Learning Disability inpatient service at Bankfields Court in Middlesbrough. This is a key clinical leadership role, providing highly specialist occupational therapy assessment and intervention for people with complex needs. The successful candidate will work autonomously while being an integral member of the multidisciplinary team, supporting person-centred care, positive risk-taking, recovery, independence and wellbeing. The role includes responsibility for a highly complex occupational therapy caseload and the provision of specialist advice, guidance and clinical leadership to colleagues. The post holder will provide evidence-based occupational therapy assessment and interventions as part of the OT Pathway linked and offer input to individuals, their families and carers, in learning disability inpatient services. The ability to engage and communicate with individuals with complex learning disabilities as well as the parents/family/carers and system around them is essential., The role will include clinical supervision and leadership for the Occupational Therapy Assistant, helping to develop the role, clarify responsibilities and support high-quality occupational therapy practice across the service. The postholder will attend OT Learning and Governance Networks to ensure fidelity to core OT delivery, enhance CPD and contribute to the wider OT service developments. The post holder will access wider support from the occupational therapy network in the occupational therapy learning disability community teams in TEWV, to develop a way of delivering a high quality, needs-led OT service, utilising core occupational therapy skills to ensure all of the people we work with have a robust occupational therapy assessment and intervention plan in place. Although Bankfields Court will remain your priority service, there will be an opportunity to use the Intensive Support Team base at Lancaster House, Stockton, as an office base when needed to provide valuable access to peer support, professional networking and opportunities for collaborative working. Where clinical activity within Bankfields Court allows, there may also be opportunities to contribute to work within the IST while maintaining Bankfields Court as the primary focus of the role. We are looking for an occupational therapist who can demonstrate compassionate and collective leadership, sound clinical judgement and a commitment to evidence-based practice, co-production and continuous improvement., The post holder will lead and strengthen the occupational therapy offer within Bankfields Court, with a particular focus on developing an effective in-reach model and stronger working relationships with community occupational therapy services, the Intensive Support Team and wider multidisciplinary colleagues., If you are an experienced occupational therapist who is passionate about developing high-quality inpatient occupational therapy for those with a learning disability and supporting people to achieve meaningful outcomes, we would be delighted to hear from you.

• Pre-registration qualification in occupational therapy as recognised by HCPC)
• Registration with HCPC.
• Evidence of post-registration Masters level learning
• Or in the absence of masters level learning o equivalent experience in relevant area. E.g. relevant level 7 courses, researcher role, quality improvement activity, leading service development, project management, strategic leadership, NICE involvement, service evaluation, Comprehensive awareness of professional standards and their application to practice.
• Experience of participating in quality improvement activities, service development, and/or project management.
• Experience of participating in clinical governance activities including clinical audit, quality assurance of practice
• Participation in research and development e.g., critical appraisal of research papers, service evaluation, small scale or large-scale research.
• Substantial clinical experience of complex occupational therapy delivery in relevant specialist area in collaboration with people who use our services, families, and relevant others
• Significant experience of supporting people with mental health conditions, learning disability or autism
• Significant understanding of the needs of people who use our services with mental health conditions or learning disabilities or autism, Substantial knowledge of evidence-based practice in designated specialist area
• Experience of working in Multidisciplinary Team, Ability to work as part of a collective and compassionate leadership team understanding own and other's roles, engaging within your professional group and wider service
• Able to work in accordance with the Trust Values
• Able to work effectively in complex, distressing and challenging circumstances
• Able to work flexibly and co-operatively as part of a team
• Able to use own initiative and make decisions independently
• Committed to promoting a positive image of people with mental health conditions, learning disabilities and autism
• Committed to promoting a positive image of the profession and Trust
• Self-aware and committed to professional and personal development
• Ability to work on own in a variety of settings using initiative appropriately
• Ability to work under pressure We are the Mental Health and Learning Disability NHS Trust for Country Durham and Darlington, Teesside, North Yorkshire, York and Selby. From education and prevention to crisis and specialist care, our talented and compassionate teams work in partnership with our patients, communities and partners to help the people of our region feel safe, understood, believed in and cared for.
• We nurture the recovery journey of anyone in need of our help. In our trust, everyone has a say in how they are supported and treated because we listen to every person in our care until they feel understood. Our patients, their families and carers work together with us towards better mental health. We're committed to new thinking that improves the wellbeing of our region. We connect with our communities and partners to get mental health care right, in areas that really need it. We won't rest until everyone n our region has the mental health care they need, to lead their best possible life.