Perinatal Occupational Therapist

NHS; Dewsbury; Hybrid; GBP 28,000 - 36,000; Full time

Job summary

A regional healthcare provider in Dewsbury is seeking a Specialist Community Perinatal Mental Health Occupational Therapist to provide therapeutic support in home settings. The role involves working with families and promoting mental health during the perinatal period. Candidates should be qualified Occupational Therapists, flexible in their working hours, and possess a valid driving licence. This position offers unique training opportunities and supervision within a multi-disciplinary team.

Benefits

Flexible working patterns

Special training opportunities

Qualifications

• Willingness to undertake relevant training.
• Documented evidence of continuing professional development.
• Current driving licence and access to a car.

Responsibilities

• Provide occupational therapy assessment and treatment for service users.
• Implement treatment programmes and monitor progress.
• Engage with clients and their families in a sensitive manner.

Skills

Engagement with service users

Clinical skills

Ability to work flexibly

Understanding of multi-disciplinary working

Education

COT Diploma or BSc Occupational Therapy Degree

HCPC State Registration

Job description

Overview

Go back South West Yorkshire Partnership NHS Trust

The closing date is 14 October 2025

Specialist Community Perinatal Mental Health Occupational Therapist (Band5) 1x fulltime post (37.5hrs) and 1x 30hrs post.

We are looking to recruit 2 band 5 community occupational therapist to join our team. We are a specialist community perinatal team working with women experiencing severe mental health issues in the perinatal period. The team is made up of OTs, mental health practitioners, psychologists/psychotherapists, parent infant psychotherapists, nursery nurses, peer support workers and psychiatrists.

We are looking for 2 qualified Occupational Therapists with an interest in perinatal to join our occupational therapy team. You will work with women and their families in their own homes, and the community providing 1:1 intervention to promote occupation and functioning. The team have a range of therapeutic groups and you will also be involved in facilitating the running of these groups. Experience with perinatal care will be an advantage but is not essential and we welcome occupational therapists who want to begin working in this specialty. You will receive supervision from our senior occupational therapist, and unique training opportunities in order to develop your professional identity in this field.

All employees of the Trust are strongly encouraged to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 to protect patients.

Main duties of the job

The service works closely with Maternity Services, Community Mental Health Teams, CAMHS, Home Treatment Teams, Primary Care Services and other community organisations, and the Yorkshire and Humber Mother-and-Baby-Unit.

We pride ourselves on offering flexible working patterns when this is needed, for example to facilitate caring responsibilities. The service operates Monday-Friday; 9.00am-5.00pm however successful applicants would be expected to have the flexibility to work occasional extended hours to facilitate service effectiveness. Applicants must be caring and non-judgmental in order to engage mothers and their families at this extremely sensitive time. Applicants must have excellent clinical skills, confidence and enthusiasm for working with perinatal partner agencies in networks that extend beyond traditional specialist mental health boundaries.

The posts advertised are to cover Huddersfield and Calderdale. The post is agile and although there is plenty of trust buildings to work from, the team are also working from home regularly. Being a car driver is essential due to the distance required to travel when completing home-visits.

Please contact [e-mail] or [e-mail] for any further information or enquiries.

At the time of advertising, this role does meet the minimum requirements set by UK Visas and Immigration to sponsor candidates to work in the UK. We look forward to receiving your application.

About us

We are a specialist NHS Foundation Trust that provides community, mental health and learning disability services for the people of Barnsley, Calderdale, Kirklees and Wakefield. We also provide low and medium secure services and are the lead for the west Yorkshire secure provider collaborative.

Our mission is to help people reach their potential and live well in their communities, we do this by providing high-quality care in the right place at the right time. We employ staff in both clinical and non-clinical services who work hard to make a difference to the lives of service users, families and carers.

We encourage and welcome applications from all protected characteristic groups, we value diversity and want our workforce to be reflective of our communities.

Being a foundation Trust means we’re accountable to our members, who can have a say in how we’re run. Around 14,300 local people (including staff) are members of our Trust.

Join us and you will be one of over 4,500 staff committed to supporting and improving the mental, physical and social needs of the thousands of people we meet and help each year.

We are committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, young people and vulnerable adults and expect all colleagues and volunteers to share this commitment.

We do reserve the right to close vacancy before the advertised closing date if necessary, so please apply as soon as possible.

Job responsibilities

JOB SUMMARY

The post holder will be required to work as an integral part of the multi-disciplinary team, providing occupational therapy assessment and treatment for service users in receipt of care from community services. Enabling service users to engage in a range of community based treatment activities. You will be actively involved in the promotion of occupational therapy within the service area. The post holder will be required to work flexibly to meet the needs of the service and the client group.

KEY RESULT AREAS:

Core Functions

1. Clinical

1.1 To provide occupational therapy assessments for people accessing the service, prioritising on the nature, complexity and urgency of each individual case.

1.2 To plan and implement an occupational therapy treatment programme on an individual and/or group basis, using graded activity to achieve therapeutic goals.

1.3 To monitor, evaluate and modify treatment in order to measure progress and ensure effectiveness of intervention.

1.4 To act as care coordinator for a designated caseload with support and supervision from a senior practitioner in line with CPA procedures and risk management protocol.

1.5 To adopt a client centred and sensitive approach to therapy, collaborating with clients (and / or carer(s) where appropriate) in all aspects of the therapy process.

1.6 To select and conduct occupational therapy assessments, addressing the physical, psychosocial, behavioural, perceptual, cognitive, sensory and environmental needs of clients.

1.7 To demonstrate a broad knowledge of the impact of disability, and to provide training and advice on lifestyle changes and adaptations to the clients psychosocial and physical environment, making referrals where appropriate.

1.8 To work proactively alongside other staff and clients in meeting their needs and to assist each individual to integrate with the local community as fully as possible, using practical and creative problem solving approaches to gain the active participation of service users.

1.9 To provide occupational therapy reports on assessment and treatment by written and verbal reports to Consultants, GPs and other agencies involved, and to ensure that all correspondence relating to caseload is dealt with promptly.

1.10 To provide occupational therapy perspective in multi-disciplinary team meetings, ward rounds, clinics and case conferences as required.

1.11 To work to the standards and comply with professional ethics for occupational therapy practitioners as laid down by the College of Occupational Therapists (COT 2010), relevant DoH and other local and national standards.

1.12 To ensure that up to date records and activity data are maintained in accordance with professional and Trust standards and policies.

2. Management and Leadership

2.1 To manage your own caseload and day to day activities.

2.2 To assist in the co-ordination of day to day activities of unqualified staff in the service area.

2.3 To work effectively as a team member, operating flexibly to meet the needs of the service and collaborating with other team members.

2.4 Ensure the Team Manager is kept informed of all aspects of the work, especially the development needs of the service.

For full job description, please see attached supporting documents.

We are aware that an increasing number of applicants are using AI technology to generate responses on NHS Job application forms. Over reliance on AI-generated content in application forms is strongly discouraged and we will conduct a thorough screening process before selecting candidates to progress to the next stage. If you are using AI to enhance your application, please disclose this in your NHS Jobs application form.

Person Specification

Training

• Willingness to undertake Practice Placement Education.
• Willingness to undertake Trust and other identified training.

Qualifications

• COT Diploma or BSc Occupational Therapy Degree OR Pre-registration.
• MSC Occupational Therapy.
• HCPC State Registration.

Special Knowledge & Skills

• Application of the OT process within a relevant clinical setting.
• Knowledge of current best practice in OT in designated clinical setting.
• Planning and coordination of treatment packages.
• Ability to manage own workload and determine priorities.
• Ability to analyse professional and ethical issues.
• Ability to reflect and critically appraise own performance.
• Commitment to client-centred, non-discriminatory practice.
• Understanding of multi-disciplinary working.
• Understanding of health legislation and national directives including CPA.
• Understanding of Health, safety and risk management policies.

Experience

• Documented evidence of continuing professional development.
• Training in OT specific assessment e.g. MOHO.

Personal Attributes

• Ability to engage and work collaboratively with service users.
• Effective written and oral communication skills.
• Able to work independently using own initiative.
• Values contributions of others in all disciplines. Willingness to work flexibly.
• A current driving licence and access to a car during the working day is essential (reasonable adjustments will be considered for any applicants who are unable to drive due to a disability).

Physical Attributes

• Ability to undertake the duties and demands of the post. A satisfactory sickness record over the previous 2 years (subject to the need to act with fairness and equality of opportunity, particularly where the sickness is related to a disability and/or pregnancy).

Disclosure and Barring Service Check

This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (Exceptions Order) 1975 and as such 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.

South West Yorkshire Partnership NHS Trust

Address

8 Fox View Hub, Dewsbury District Hospital

8 Fox View Hub, Dewsbury District Hospital