Senior Occupational Therapist

Midlands Partnership NHS Foundation Trust; Shrewsbury; On-site; GBP 40,000 - 50,000; Full time

Job summary

A regional healthcare provider in Shrewsbury is seeking a Senior Occupational Therapist for a fixed-term maternity cover. The role emphasizes delivering high-quality clinical services within a multidisciplinary team, where the ideal candidate will manage a clinical caseload, perform assessments, and lead therapeutic interventions for patients with complex needs. Passion for rehabilitation and recovery in forensic mental health is essential.

Benefits

Career development opportunities

Ongoing training and support

Supportive workplace culture

Qualifications

• Registered as an Occupational Therapist and HCPC registered.
• Minimum of 4 years relevant experience in Occupational Therapy.
• Experience managing a clinical caseload.

Responsibilities

• Manage a clinical forensic caseload with decision-making responsibility.
• Conduct assessments and develop treatment plans.
• Deliver interventions promoting patient independence.

Skills

Clinical reasoning

Leadership

Therapeutic interventions

Team collaboration

Assessment skills

Conflict management

Education

Dip COT or degree in Occupational Therapy

HCPC Registration

Tools

RiO

Microsoft Word

Microsoft PowerPoint

Job description

Midlands Partnership NHS Foundation Trust

Senior Occupational Therapist

The closing date is 17 November 2025

This role is not eligible for visa sponsorship. If it is identified that you require sponsorship to undertake this role your application may be withdrawn

An exciting opportunity to work in a senior occupational therapy role fixed term to provide maternity cover as part of a diverse multi‑disciplinary team within the forensic low secure service.

The position is on the low secure male rehabilitation 20‑bedded ward. The ward itself is a mental health unit in Shrewsbury and offers a range of therapeutic spaces on and off the ward. The ward has two self‑catering flats for rehabilitation purposes.

The directorate is looking for a motivated, enthusiastic and skilled occupational therapist, ideally with mental health experience and someone who has a passion to support the recovery, rehabilitation and reintegration of forensic patients. The individual will be expected to deliver a high‑quality clinical service to patients and their families. The individual will be required to offer a range of occupational therapy interventions to a group of patients in conjunction with the multi‑disciplinary team. Coordinating and leading therapeutic group work programmes and provide leadership & clinical expertise in adult forensic mental health, contributing to the delivery of a modern Occupational Therapy Service.

Main duties of the job

The post holder will prepare, organise and carry out interventions, to support the assessment and treatment goals identified. They will carry out a prescribed range of therapeutic interventions with service users/patients to promote their independence in the occupational performance areas.

The post holder will be responsible for observations and recording outcomes for individual and group interventions which support the ongoing assessment and treatment of service users during activities to promote their progress through the Vona Du Toit Model of Creative Ability focusing on self‑care, use of free time, work ability and social ability.

The post holder will be responsible for providing timely and accurate written and verbal feedback for all interventions to support the delivery and review of the overall Occupational Therapy intervention plan.

The post holder will delegate clinical activities independently, hold a caseload and will also provide support and assistance to other staff carrying out interventions to ensure staffing levels and skill mix are met which reflect the clinical needs of the service user/patient group and the environment where the intervention is taking place.

The post holder may be required to prepare clinical areas, communicate plans with patients and staff and accompany Occupational Therapy staff as an escort/community visit.

About us

Come and work with us at our award‑winning NHS Trust, leading the way for trying new and better ways of working to help improve life for our local communities.

We have around 9,000 staff who provide physical and mental healthcare, support for people with learning disabilities, and adult social care across Staffordshire, Stoke‑on‑Trent, Shropshire, and Telford & Wrekin. We also run regional and national services, including help for new parents (perinatal care), eating disorders, forensic services, sexual health, and support for people in prison with mental health, drug, or alcohol problems.

We offer great career development for both clinical and non‑clinical roles, with ongoing training and support to help you learn and grow.

We are 'United in our Uniqueness' and committed to creating a workplace where everyone feels welcome and can be themselves, no matter their background or identity. We want our staff to feel supported and valued, and we aim to build a team that reflects the communities we serve. Together, we can make sure every voice is heard, and every difference is respected.

Please note, we may be required to close this vacancy early if we receive a high volume of applications

Please be aware that the use of artificial intelligence (AI) in completing application forms will be monitored to ensure fairness and transparency. If you have used AI you must state this in your application.

Job responsibilities

The post holder will have the responsibility for a clinical forensic caseload involving the management and decision making to prioritise workload and will include working with individuals who may have complex forensic, mental health and physical health needs.

The post holder will carry out both standardised and non‑standardised assessments including gathering complex information from patients, carers and other members of the multi‑disciplinary team. Assessments will include pre‑admission assessments following referral from other services e.g. high secure hospitals, prisons etc and post admission assessments for occupational needs, risk and other clinical needs as identified by the MDT. This may include the use of specialist assessment tools, verbal and non‑verbal communication skills and informal observations of the patient and their environment.

Within this role the post holder will contribute to the overall care plan using effective Occupational Therapy treatment programmes and negotiate and communicate these with the patients, family, carers and other members of the treatment team. This will include the use of highly developed clinical reasoning, practical and analytical skills, all of which are underpinned by advanced theoretical knowledge relevant to the specialism. Effective verbal and non‑verbal communication skills will be used which demonstrates empathy and leadership appropriate to the management of the situation.

The post holder will be involved in recommending suitable equipment to enable patients to complete activities of daily living, and the post holder will need to organise supply, and/or advise on other methods of obtaining these.

The role includes implementing, evaluating, analysing and adjusting treatment programmes according to individual needs, which may be highly complex.

The post holder will need to decide on the appropriateness of, and to be responsible for referrals to other agencies/disciplines according to individual patient need as well liaising with other professionals involved in the delivery of care.

The post holder will lead an OT team and will need to offer and participate in both managerial and clinical supervision.

The post holder will need to complete risk assessments and be part of safe discharge planning.

Person Specification

Qualifications and Training

• Dip COT or degree in Occupational Therapy HCPC Registered
• Member of professional body and specialist section.
• Trained in using the OT model of VdT MoCA.

Experience

• Experience as a senior clinician in a speciality
• Experience of developing services that are clinical governance driven and patient focused
• At least 4 years relevant experience as an Occupational Therapist
• Experience of managing and prioritising a clinical caseload
• Experience of implementing Clinical Governance Activity
• Ability to manage complexity and conflict
• 2 years qualified experience within the speciality
• Evidence of leading clinical audit
• Experience of successful partnership working across professionals and agencies outside health
• Experience of supervising other staff
• Evidence of delivering Occupational Therapy interventions through group and individual work in a variety of settings e.g. community and patients homes.

Skills Knowledge and Abilities

• Ability to present relevant information concisely
• Ability to form clear clinical treatment plans in conjunction with the multidisciplinary team and communicate these to service users, carers, family and team
• Standard keyboard skills required for inputting onto RiO
• Knowledge of current agenda facing the NHS and profession with specific relevance to speciality
• Understanding of developments required to support service change within speciality
• Ability to use IT - Powerpoint, Word, internet searches, database/spreadsheets
• Publication of clinical research/practice
• Presentations at local, regional and national conferences
• Experience of working within multidisciplinary/multi‑agency teams

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.

Midlands Partnership NHS Foundation Trust