Primary Care Occupational Therapist

Coventry & Warwickshire Integrated Care Board; Coventry; On-site; GBP 38,000 - 44,000; Full time

Job summary

A health services organization based in Coventry seeks two occupational therapists to join their primary care team. The role focuses on enhancing work and health advice for patients, requiring strong skills in treatment planning and case management. Applicants should hold a degree in Occupational Therapy and be prepared to work collaboratively within a multidisciplinary team to support individuals with health conditions in the workplace. Flexible working options available.

Benefits

Flexible working options

Wellbeing initiatives

Equal opportunity programs

Qualifications

• Professionally accountable for occupational therapy work.
• Undertake assessments of occupational needs.
• Formulate individualized treatment plans.

Responsibilities

• Provide occupational therapy within primary care.
• Participate in rapid assessment of patients.
• Contribute to continuous service evaluation.

Skills

Occupational therapy

Clinical case management

Mental health awareness

Excellent communication

Education

Degree in Occupational Therapy

Tools

Standardised assessment tools

Job description

Overview

WorkWell and Work Health are pioneering initiatives that support individuals with physical or mental health conditions to overcome barriers to employment, advocating for inclusive and healthy work‑environments. Working collaboratively with employers, healthcare providers, and community services to promote sustainable work participation and recovery.

Role Summary

We are seeking two occupational therapists with diverse experience across mental health and/or long‑term conditions to join our primary care multi‑disciplinary team. The role aims to improve the quality of work and health advice provided to patients, with an explicit focus on fit notes to optimise high‑quality advice and support for people with work‑related needs. You will support individuals to manage health conditions in the workplace, promote work retention and enable people to develop sustainable return‑to‑work strategies.

Key Responsibilities

• Provide a high standard of occupational therapy within primary care as part of a multi‑disciplinary team to patients with work‑related needs.
• Provide clinical case management for a caseload of patients who require occupational therapy.
• Participate in rapid assessment and intervention for patients who present with a variety of work‑related concerns, including long‑term conditions and mental health needs.
• Work autonomously at a level appropriate to clinical competence and within scope of professional practice.
• Provide specialist/generalist training sessions for staff within primary care on work health topics.
• Contribute to continuous evaluation of the service to ensure it is fit for purpose and increases choice through audit and research.

Detailed Job Description and Main Responsibilities

• Be professionally and legally responsible and accountable for all aspects of own work, including the management of individuals in your care as an occupational therapist.
• Undertake comprehensive assessment of occupational needs, including those with complex presentations, using investigative and analytical skills.
• Accept clinical responsibility for a designated caseload of patients and organise this effectively and efficiently regarding clinical priorities and use of time.
• Ensure a high standard of clinical care for patients under your management within occupational therapy provision.
• Formulate individualized management and treatment plans, using clinical reasoning and a wide range of treatment skills and options to design a specialised programme of occupational therapy care.
• Interpret and analyse clinical and non‑clinical facts to create an accurate occupational formulation plan, recommend the best course of intervention and develop comprehensive management strategies to enable return and retention of work roles.
• Use a range of standardised and non‑standardised assessment tools and techniques to identify presenting strengths and difficulties from an occupational perspective.
• Refine treatment techniques in line with the most recent evidence of clinical effectiveness, evaluating and implementing key developments and promoting discussion within primary care.
• Develop and implement individualized occupational therapy management or treatment plans, supported by other members of the multidisciplinary and multi‑agency team.
• Provide advice, teaching and instruction to relevant stakeholders, promoting understanding of the aims of therapy to ensure a consistent approach to work health.
• Assess mental capacity, gain valid informed consent, and work within a legal framework with patients who lack capacity to consent to treatment.
• Demonstrate the ability to overcome barriers to communication.
• Consider the needs of carers and employers to ensure necessary support systems are in place and involve them in the rehabilitation process.
• Consider potential psychological risk factors and functional implications of these conditions.
• Undertake measurement and evaluation of your work and current practices using evidence‑based practice projects, audit and outcome measures, either individually or with the support of the audit team, potentially resulting in recommendations for change.
• Maintain accurate, comprehensive, and up‑to‑date documentation in line with legal and departmental requirements, and communicate assessment and treatment results to the appropriate disciplines in the form of reports and letters in line with professional standards.
• Be aware of health and safety aspects of your work and implement any policies required to improve the safety of your work area, including prompt recording and reporting of accidents to senior staff, and ensure equipment is safe.
• Demonstrate a sound understanding of clinical governance and risk management and apply this to your work situation.
• Be responsible for equipment used in carrying out your duties, adhere to departmental policies, including competence to use equipment, and ensure safe use of equipment by others through teaching, training and supervision of practice.
• Be actively involved in the collection of appropriate data and statistics for use of the service.
• Provide teaching/training to other members of the multidisciplinary team.

Working for our Organisation

The role will be employed within Coventry and Warwickshire ICB and based in one General Practice in Coventry. You will be supported by the Clinical Lead OT for WorkWell and Head of Allied Health Professions.

Coventry and Warwickshire ICB are committed to supporting all employees to work flexibly. Flexible working is an arrangement that supports an individual to have greater choice in when, where, and how they work. Employees can request flexible working from your first day with us. The option to request flexible working is offered regardless of role, banding, or reason for wanting to work flexibly. If you are interested in this vacancy and would want to consider a form of flexible working, we would encourage you to reach out to us to discuss further.

We aim to be a great place to work and have many initiatives in place to support staff. In line with the Equality Act 2010, our organisation has an Equality, Diversity & Inclusion Group which meets on a monthly basis and has representation from a wide range of staff groups and supports a fairer and more diverse workplace for everyone. The ICB has a Wellbeing Warriors group which has recently received Bronze level accreditation for Thrive at Work and is working towards Silver accreditation. The Wellbeing Warriors focus on the physical, mental and emotional health of all staff, providing tips, resources and webinars to support and educate staff from senior management to administrators about their wellbeing.