Occupational Therapist

Great Western Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust; Swindon; On-site; GBP 40,000 - 48,000; Full time

Job summary

Great Western Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust invites applications for a Band 6 Occupational Therapist in the Acute OT Team at Great Western Hospital. The post offers a development pathway from Band 5 to Band 6 with a comprehensive induction and regular supervision.

You will join a supportive team across Medical, Surgical and Respiratory wards, assisting with discharge planning and coordinating safe transitions home, while engaging in professional development.

Qualifications

• Registered with Health and Care Professions Council
• Diploma/Degree in Occupational Therapy
• Evidence of postgraduate learning relevant to clinical area
• Evidence of Continuing Professional Development
• Registered field work educator
• Evidence of basic management training
• Member of special interest group
• NVQ Assessor
• Member of professional body

Responsibilities

• Support the clinical delivery of Occupational Therapy on the Acute Wards.
• Prioritise patients who require OT to support weekends discharges.
• Provide interventions including assessing and providing equipment to enable and support on discharge.
• Provide Risk Assessments for care agencies for new equipment.
• Signpost and refer patients to services to support follow up on discharge.
• Liaise with the MDT to support problem solving blocks to weekend discharges.
• Provide guidance and training to patients and their families to promote independence at home after acute illness.

Education

Registered with Health and Care Professions Council

Job description

Main area Occupational Therapy Grade Band 6 Contract Permanent: 37.5 hours per week Hours

• Full time
• Part time
• Job share
• Flexible working

37.5 hours per week (Will need to participate in the weekend rota with rest days back in the week) Job ref 249-7862671-4

Employer Great Western Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust Employer type NHS Site Great Western Hospital Town Swindon Salary £39,959 - £48,117 per annum pro rata Salary period Yearly Closing 16/10/2026 23:59

Occupational Therapist

Band 6

Great Western Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust is a unique organisation, serving as the sole integrated provider in the Bath and North East Somerset, Swindon, and Wiltshire system. Our scope extends beyond boundaries as we oversee adult community services in Swindon and provide acute care from the Great Western Hospital.

Our 5,500 staff have 1.2m patient contacts a year, with 13,000 operations carried out in our Theatres, around 4,000 babies born, and our emergency attendances are now well over 100,000 per year. Those numbers only tell part of our story about what an exciting time it is to join Great Western Hospitals.

We are cultivating a culture that fosters our ambitions, prioritising equality, diversion, inclusion, wellbeing, and leadership. We aim to create an environment where every member of our team can truly thrive.

Job overview

**Previous applicants need not apply**

We are excited to advertise a Band 5 to Band 6 Development Occupational Therapist role within the Acute OT Team at Great Western Hospital.

The successful post holder will join a team of Occupational Therapists, Apprentices and Therapy Assistants working across Medical, Surgical and Respiratory wards, supporting patients, families and carers with discharge planning and facilitating safe transitions home from hospital.

We are a supportive, welcoming and passionate team who work collaboratively to achieve the best outcomes for our patients, while supporting one another's development and wellbeing. We place great value on ensuring new team members feel confident and well supported, and therefore offer a comprehensive induction programme, regular in-service training, and opportunities for continued professional development.

You can also expect regular support through clinical and managerial supervision, daily caseload discussions, and monthly team meetings.

This is a development post offering the opportunity to progress from Band 5 to Band 6. With the support and development opportunities available, we would expect the successful candidate to achieve the required competencies and objectives within approximately 12 months, enabling progression to a substantive Band 6 position

Main duties of the job

Support the clinical delivery of Occupational Therapy on the Acute Wards by:

• Prioritising patients who require OT to support weekends discharges.
• Provide interventions inc. Assessing and providing equipment to enable and support on discharge.
• Providing Risk Assessments for care agencies for new equipment.
• Signposting and referring patients on to services to support follow up on discharge.
• Liaising with the MDT to support problem solving blocks to weekend discharges for example working with transport teams and our discharge support teams.
• Providing guidance and training to patients and their families and carers to promote independence to manage at home, following acute illness.

Working for our organisation

We are proud to be part of BSW Hospitals Group – a formal partnership between Great Western Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, Royal United Hospitals Bath NHS Foundation Trust and Salisbury NHS Foundation Trust. With a combined workforce of over 17, 600 colleagues, and budget of 1.6 billion the Group is united by a common purpose to deliver the best possible care to over 1 million people.

We are creating a health and care system that works with the people we care for, reducing the differences people currently face in access, experience and outcomes, improving the experience of our colleagues and tackling shared challenges like sustainability and finances. Every improvement we make across our Group will be guided by what creates the greatest benefit for our colleagues, our patients, our communities and our partners.

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

• To assist with the modernisation of the therapy services to provide high quality care and timely intervention.
• To hold responsibility for own case load and be responsible for all patients on their wards. Supervision will take the form of regular formal training, clinical reasoning session’s and one to one sessions with a supervisor.
• The staff member will be required to work their contracted hours over 7 days a week.
• To undertake all aspects of clinical duties as an autonomous practitioner.

Please see attached job description for full details.

Person specification

Qualifications Band 6

• Registered with Health and Care Professions Council
• Diploma/Degree in Occupational Therapy
• Evidence of postgraduate learning relevant to clinical area
• Evidence of continuing Professional Development
• Registered field work educator
• Evidence of basic management training
• Member of special interest group
• NVQ Assessor
• Member of professional body

Qualifications Band 5

• Diploma /Degree: Occupational Therapy
• Registered with Health Profession council
• Member of professional body / special interest groups

Experience Band 5

• Application of OT process
• Use of functional assessment and activity analysis
• Broad clinical experience.(placement level or post graduate)
• Use of basic outcome measures
• Evidence of Continuing professional development e.g. a Portfolio
• Audit
• Experience of planning and co-ordinating treatment programmes
• Experience of a broad range of clinical interventions

Experience Band 6

• Experience of working within the specific clinical area
• Broad clinical experience e.g. surgical, ED, neurology, medical, orthopaedic, hand injuries, rehabilitation.
• Experience of providing a broad range of interventions for a complex caseload
• Use of goal setting and outcome measures
• Experience of providing supervision for junior staff or assistants
• Lead for student supervision
• Carrying out and receiving appraisal
• Experience in and an understanding of clinical governance e.g. audit, risk management, education
• Application of the Occupational Therapy process and models of practice
• Experience of providing a broad range of interventions for a highly complex caseload
• Experience of working with children and/ or adults in acute hospital services
• Experience of using a wide range of standardised and non-standardised assessments
• Involvement in the recruitment and retention process
• Service development and change management
• Taking a lead role in project work
• Inter-disciplinary team working

Thank you for expressing interest in this role. For further employer guidance, please review the attached supplementary applicant information.

Certificate of Sponsorship - Sponsorship can only be offered where the role meets the relevant eligibility criteria, including minimum salary requirements. Please note that not all roles within the organisation are eligible for sponsorship. Eligibility for this role includes:

• Current right to work in the UK, subject to verification

Meeting the Skilled Worker visa criteria, where applicable

From 4 April 2024, UK immigration policy changes increased the minimum salary levels required for Skilled Worker visas. Further information is available on the UK Visas and Immigration website.

Current employees should be aware that this position is advertised as a Great Western Hospitals position and appointment ends any TUPE protection.

Candidates are responsible for covering the cost of their own DBS check if required: £21.50 for a Standard DBS check, recoverable from the first pay, or £49.50 for an Enhanced DBS check, divided and recoverable over the initial two pay periods. Payment for DBS checks for bank posts must be settled prior to commencement. Apprentices are exempt from DBS payment.

We are committed to supporting our staff in achieving a healthy work-life balance through flexible work arrangements. Upon joining the Trust, you have the right to request flexible working, with an unlimited number of requests allowed.

Upon acceptance of a job offer, your information will be transferred to the national NHS Electronic Staff Records System. All communication regarding your application will be conducted via email; please ensure to check your junk/spam folders as emails may occasionally be filtered there.

The Trust is a Disability Confident Employer; all applicants who have a disability can opt to be considered under the guaranteed interview scheme, which means that, providing they meet the minimum essential criteria for the post, they will be offered an interview. We are also proudly accredited as a Veteran Aware organisation and have signed The Armed Forces Covenant.

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.