Occupational Therapist - Orthopaedics

Queen Elizabeth Hospital King's Lynn; King's Lynn and West Norfolk; On-site; GBP 49,000 - 57,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Flexible working opportunities

Free counselling service

Stream wage access

Job summary

The Queen Elizabeth Hospital King's Lynn NHS Foundation Trust is seeking a Physiotherapist or Occupational Therapist to join the Rehabilitation team in Orthopaedics. The post holder will work with a multidisciplinary team on trauma and elective wards providing specialist assessment, diagnosis and treatment of patients.

You will lead in advanced assessment and treatment, develop robust systems for safe patient flow, and contribute to weekend and adjusted hours to support the elective pathway.

Qualifications

• B.Sc. or Diploma in Occupational Therapy or Physiotherapy with HCPC registration.
• Foundation management course completed.
• Driving licence required.
• Demonstrated post-graduate courses in orthopaedics.

Responsibilities

• Lead the Rehabilitation Service within Orthopaedics.
• Advanced assessment and treatment of trauma and elective patients, with complex presentations.
• Use advanced clinical reasoning to determine diagnosis, treatment, and referrals, maintaining records.
• Plan, coordinate, deliver and evaluate the orthopaedic therapy team service alongside the lead.
• Contribute to weekend working and adjusted hours for same-day discharges.

Skills

Clinical reasoning

Anatomy & physiology knowledge

Diagnosis interpretation

Assessment techniques

Education

B.Sc. or Diploma in Occupational Therapy or Physiotherapy (Fast-track)

HCPC registration

Foundation management course

Driving licence

Post-graduate orthopaedics courses

Job description

Main area Orthopaedics Grade Band 7 Contract Permanent: Twilight and weekend shifts to be undertaken as per agreed rota Hours Full time - 37.5 hours per week (Altered hours to cover twilight elective activity as part of an agreed rota) Job ref 426-242-26TAM-B

Site The Queen Elizabeth Hospital Town King's Lynn Salary £49,387 - £56,515 per annum pro rata Salary period Yearly Closing 14/10/2026 23:59

Job overview

Our Rehabilitation team have an exciting opportunity for either a Physiotherapist or Occupational Therapist to join our proactive orthopaedic team.

As the successful post holder, you will work in an integrated team of Physiotherapists, Occupational Therapists and unregistered staff on the trauma and elective orthopaedic wards, providing highly specialist assessment, diagnosis and treatment of patients.

You will also develop robust systems and process to ensure the delivery of a high quality rehabilitation service across the registered and non-registered work force within the ward environments; and take the lead in the development of process to enable safe and timely flow of patients.

Main duties of the job

To lead the Rehabilitation Service within the speciality of Orthopaedics.

To lead in the advanced assessment and treatment of orthopaedic trauma and elective patients, who will often have highly complex and/or chronic presentation, often with barriers to communication.

To use advanced clinical reasoning skills to determine clinical diagnosis, treatment indicated, onward referrals and to maintain records as an autonomous practitioner.

To plan, co-ordinate, deliver and evaluate the orthopaedic therapy team service alongside the other orthopaedic physiotherapy lead, and to delegate appropriately to the team as required.

You will be expected to contribute to weekend working and take part in adjusted hours to undertake same day discharges within the elective pathway.

Working for our organisation

There’s never been a more exciting time to join TeamQEH. We’re working on a once in a generation opportunity to build a new state-of-the-art hospital to open in 2030 and we are also carrying out on one of the biggest pieces of digital transformation work we’ve ever undertaken.

Our new electronic patient record (EPR) will replace paper-based patient records from 2026 and will lead to better, safer, joined-up care at The Queen Elizabeth Hospital and beyond.

At The QEH we provide a comprehensive range of specialist, acute, obstetrics and community-based services to around 331,000 people across west and north Norfolk, North Cambs and South Lincs.

We are an ambitious organisation that upholds our values of kindness, wellness and fairness. We strive for continuous quality improvement, recently demonstrated in our 2024 CQC maternity inspection rating our services as ‘Good’, and we are proud to be a place to learn and grow through recognised learning and apprenticeships.

We recognise and reward our 4,000 staff and volunteers, priding ourselves on a community atmosphere and positive team spirit. We have approx. 530 beds across 33 wards and have newly built education and training facilities, a range of modern award-winning centres alongside a talented team of people ready to give you a warm welcome.

We love working here and think you will too.

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

Please refer to the attached Job Description and Person Specification for further information about this job role.

Person specification

Qualifications/training and professional development

• B.Sc. or Diploma in Occupational Therapy (3 year) or Physiotherapy or M.Sc. in Occupational Therapy or Physiotherapy (2 year) (Fast-track qualification with previous degree)
• Health and Care Professions Council registration
• Foundation management course
• Driving licence
• Demonstration of a variety of specialist post-graduate courses to increase level of skills and knowledge within the speciality of orthopaedics

Experience

• Minimum of two years of clinical and management experience as a band 6 Physiotherapist or Occupational Therapist within the speciality of orthopaedics

Skills, abilities and knowledge

• Advanced clinical reasoning skills
• Ability to apply sound working knowledge of human anatomy and physiology
• Sound knowledge of diagnoses and interpretation of disordersSound knowledge of policies and procedures for performance management
• Ability to use a range of assessment and treatment techniques

Applications are welcome from anyone who meets the criteria specified in the person specification regardless of age, gender, disability, race, ethnicity, religion, belief, sexual orientation or other personal circumstances. Only those applicants who demonstrate in the application form how they meet the criteria in the person specification will be shortlisted for interview. We not only recruit employees based on their qualifications and experience, but we also recruit individuals who possess and can demonstrate the behaviours which underpin our core values (attached).

By applying for this post, you are agreeing to the transfer of information in the application form to Trac jobs & if you are offered a job your personal information will be transferred into the NHS Electronic Staff Records (ESR) system. Please check your email account including your junk folder, regularly for communication regarding this vacancy.

We offer our staff a wide range of benefits and support including:

• Flexible working opportunities
• Free counselling service
• Access to Stream - an app-based service that provides instant earned wage access*
• Support and advice for staff affected by either Perimenopause or Menopause
• Opportunity to join our Staff Networks which include Armed Forces, REACH (Race, Ethnicity and Culture Heritage), Disability and LGBTQ+ networks.

We are committed to being a menopause friendly employer.

Certificates of Sponsorship / Visa and Immigration

Although the salary for Band 3+posts is expected to meet the applicable UK Visas and Immigration (UKVI) salary threshold from December 2026 and may therefore be eligible for Skilled Worker visa sponsorship, (subject to the immigration rules in force at the time of application) applicants are responsible for checking their own eligibility against the relevant immigration requirements. The availability of sponsorship and any visa application remain subject to UKVI rules and approval. If you are not eligible, any offer of employment already made may be withdrawn.

Please note that all Nursing and Healthcare Assistant (HCA) vacancies require a face-to-face interview.

If you require sponsorship to work in this role including where you are currently sponsored, and wish to change employer, please review the Skilled Worker visa eligibility criteria before applying. Further information is available on the Government website: https://www.gov.uk/skilled-worker-visa/your-job.

Use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in Applications

We encourage applicants to ensure that applications accurately reflect their own skills, experience, achievements and motivations. While AI and other digital tools can support drafting and proofreading, applications should be written in a way that genuinely represents the individual applicant.

During our assessment process, we are looking to understand your personal knowledge, experience and suitability for the role. Applications that relyon AI-generated content may not provide an accurate reflection of your capabilities and could make it more difficult for us to assess your suitability fairly or accurately during the interview process.

We encourage candidates to take the time to prepare accurate applications using their own examples and experiences, enabling a fair and transparent recruitment process for all applicants.

Important Notice for Applicants

The Queen Elizabeth Hospital King's Lynn NHS Foundation Trust is committed to safe and fair recruitment practices. We do not charge any fees for applications, recruitment processes, sponsorship arrangements or offers of employment. All vacancies are advertised through our official recruitment channels and all recruitment communications will come from authorised Trust representatives using official contact details. If you are asked to make a payment, provide banking information, or have concerns about the authenticity of a recruitment communication, please contact our Recruitment Team for verification before taking any action.

For Overseas Applicants

Please be aware that fraudulent organisations and individuals sometimes falsely claim to represent NHS employers. The Trust will never request payment for employment opportunities, Certificates of Sponsorship, recruitment administration, or visa support. Applicants should only rely on information published on the Trust's official website and recruitment systems.

The Trust reserves the right to review applications from former employees and may take previous employment history into account as part of the selection process.

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.