Senior Occupational Therapist

Sussex Community NHS Foundation Trust; Horsham; On-site; GBP 40,000 - 60,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading healthcare provider in the United Kingdom is seeking a Senior Occupational Therapist for the Urgent Community Response team. The successful candidate will deliver high-quality care, support patients to remain at home, and coordinate a multidisciplinary team. Responsibilities include providing clinical care, identifying patients for early discharge, and contributing to service development. The role offers flexible working options and opportunities for professional development in a beautiful Sussex location.

Benefits

Flexible working options

Excellent training and development opportunities

Cost-effective workplace nurseries

Qualifications

• Passion for supporting patients to stay at home and avoid hospital admission.
• Ability to provide direct clinical care and expertise.
• Experience in coordinating multidisciplinary teams.

Responsibilities

• Provide direct clinical care to patients.
• Offer expertise and problem-solving support within the team.
• Help coordinate the multidisciplinary team.

Job description

Do you have a passion for supporting patients to stay at home and avoid hospital admission? Are you committed to delivering a fast‑paced, high‑quality service? Do you want to be part of a caring, dedicated team? We are looking for a Senior Occupational Therapist to join our Urgent Community Response (UCR) team. If you are ambitious, proactive, and experienced, and you want to help lead an innovative team providing excellent community care, we’d love to hear from you. The Urgent Community Response service provides urgent support seven days a week to help prevent unnecessary hospital admissions. We achieve this by delivering a two‑hour crisis response by a skilled multidisciplinary team who visit patients at home or in their usual place of residence. This service supports people experiencing a decline in health or mobility who are at risk of hospital admission. Our teams work closely with local ambulance services to help divert category 3 & 4 patients from the ambulance queue, providing rapid assessment and care in the community so patients can safely remain at home. We also provide a general virtual ward service, supported by digital technology and remote monitoring enabling patients to receive hospital‑level care in familiar surroundings, helping speed up recovery and free up hospital beds for those who need them most. Care includes daily reviews by our clinical team, which may involve home visits or virtual consultations.

Responsibilities

• Provide direct clinical care to patients
• Offer clinical expertise and problem‑solving support to colleagues within the team
• Help coordinate the multidisciplinary team, including allocating visits appropriately
• Identify patients suitable for early discharge from hospital or for admission avoidance pathways
• Contribute to service development through reflective practice, clinical supervision and audit

We are the main provider of NHS community services across East and West Sussex, with 6,000 staff serving 1.3 million people. We deliver essential care to adults and children, helping them manage their health, avoid hospital admissions, and reduce hospital stays.

Our Trust vision is to provide excellent care at the heart of the community. We offer opportunities across medical, clinical, support, and corporate services.

Why work for us?

• Positive 2024 NHS Staff Survey results, highlighting compassionate leadership and well‑being
• Varied environments: community hospitals, patients’ homes, and bases across Sussex
• Flexible working options: part‑time, flexi‑time, annualised hours, and flexi‑retirement
• Excellent training, development, and research opportunities
• Cost‑effective workplace nurseries in Crawley, Hove, and Brighton
• Active EMBRACE, Disability & Wellbeing, LGBTQIA+, and Religion & Belief network
• Level 3 Disability Confident Leader and Veteran Aware Trust
• Beautiful Sussex location near the South Downs and coast

Our values – Compassionate Care, Working Together, Achieving Ambitions, Delivering Excellence – guide everything we do.