Senior Occupational Therapist- Community Hospital

Gloucestershire Health and Care NHS Foundation Trust; Cirencester; On-site; GBP 37,000 - 45,000; Part time

Job summary

Join a forward-thinking organization as a Senior Occupational Therapist in a community hospital setting. This exciting role involves providing specialized occupational therapy to inpatients, helping them regain independence after illness or injury. You will lead a dedicated team, ensuring high-quality care and support while fostering an environment of professional development. With opportunities for career progression and innovative projects, this position is perfect for those passionate about making a positive impact on patients' lives. Embrace the chance to work in a supportive and inclusive environment where your contributions truly matter.

Benefits

Free car parking

27 days leave plus bank holidays

Training and development opportunities

Generous NHS pension

Flexible working opportunities

Recognition and long service awards

Fast Track physiotherapy

Access to discounts and salary sacrifice schemes

Qualifications

• Experience working in the NHS and managing junior staff.
• Solid experience as an Occupational Therapist in rehabilitation.

Responsibilities

• Assess, formulate, evaluate and monitor rehabilitation packages.
• Provide leadership and support to rehabilitation assistants.

Skills

Occupational Therapy

Leadership

Clinical Risk Management

Multi-disciplinary Teamwork

Patient Assessment

Education

Degree/Diploma in Occupational Therapy

Tools

Standard and Specialist Equipment

Job description

Senior Occupational Therapist- Community Hospital

Band 6

Main area: Inpatient rehabilitation

Grade: Band 6

Contract: Fixed term: 9 months (until December 2025)

Hours: Part time - 30 hours per week

Job ref: 327-24-1146

Site: Cirencester Hospital

Town: Cirencester

Salary: £37,338 - £44,962 per annum (pro rata)

Salary period: Yearly

Closing: 01/01/2025 23:59

We love what we do and we think you will, too!

At Gloucestershire Health and Care NHS Foundation Trust (GHC), we provide joined-up mental health, physical health and learning disability services to people of all ages across Gloucestershire. We run community hospitals and provide care and support in people’s own homes and in a range of other locations across the county.

We are on a mission to enable people to live the best life they can and we have a vision to work together to provide outstanding care. We put people at the heart of our services, focusing on personalised care by asking ‘what matters to you’.

We’re passionate about making sure that everyone can contribute to achieving our mission and we are continually working to support healthy and happy high-quality teams in all areas of the Trust.

Job overview

1 x Fixed Term contract/secondment opportunity for up to 9 months

Internal applicants who wish to be considered for a secondment opportunity should discuss with their line manager the suitability of a possible secondment.

An exciting opportunity has arisen to join our inpatient therapy team at Cirencester Community Hospital for a fixed term of 9 months. The post is ward based at the hospital, providing Occupational Therapy assessment and intervention to inpatients.

We are looking for a person who is passionate about supporting people to regain their independence following a period of illness or injury. As a team, we are committed to enabling people to improve their function and quality of life; where possible returning home. The post holder is expected to have day to day operational and supervisory responsibility for more junior staff and rehabilitation assistants, providing leadership, clinical support and training as appropriate.

It's an exciting time to be joining our team; there are plenty of opportunities for career progression, innovative project work and promoting excellence in person-centred care.

Main duties of the job

The post holder will assess, formulate, evaluate and monitor specialised rehabilitation packages which will involve complex decision making within the Community Hospital. This role will require negotiation and co-ordination of a number of team members to deliver the specialised rehabilitation programmes to the patients on the ward.

The post holder will be required to provide leadership and support to the rehabilitation assistants, health care assistants and other staff within the MDT, clinical support and training as appropriate.

All aspects of clinical duties will be carried out as an autonomous practitioner, with access to guidance from specialised clinicians within the Trust.

Working for our organisation

We have in excess of 5000 staff working over 50 sites, providing a diverse range of services. We strive to support an organisational culture that is welcoming, builds and celebrates inclusivity and diversity, and provides a sense of belonging and trust.

The annual NHS Staff Survey gives our people the opportunity to tell us about their experience working at the Trust. For the 2023 survey just over 2800 colleagues gave us their views (58.5%). It was great to see from the results that colleagues are saying that:

• 89.7% believe they are making a positive difference to patients/service users;
• 73.3% would recommend the organisation as a place to work;
• 82.4% agree that care of patients and service users is the organisation's priority;
• 76.7% would be happy with the standard of care for a friend or relative.

Our results put us as 5th nationally as a Community, Mental Health and Learning Disabilities NHS Employer of Choice and 1st equal amongst all NHS Provider Trusts in the South West. However, we know we have more to do and will continue to drive forward our commitment to making GHC a Great Place to Work.

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

The Inpatient unit is split across two wards (male and female). The post-holder will predominantly be based on one of the wards, but will be expected to support across both wards as caseload requires.

Main duties of the role:

• To undertake all aspects of clinical duties as an autonomous practitioner; to work alone with access to guidance from highly specialised Occupational Therapists within the trust.
• To be professionally and legally accountable for a designated patient caseload and to decide priorities for own work area, balancing other patient-related and professional demands.
• To manage clinical risk within own patient caseload. This may involve complex decision making regarding patients being safe to return to their place of residence or requiring admission to hospital. This may cause conflict within the multidisciplinary team and patients/carers requiring management and negotiation to ensure the best possible outcomes.
• The qualification, training & experience requirements for the role are underlined in the Job Description/Person Specification.

Person specification

Qualifications

• Experience working in the NHS
• Degree/Diploma in Occupational Therapy
• Membership to a relevant professional body e.g. RCOT

Length and/or nature of experience

• Solid experience as an Occupational Therapist, or the ability to demonstrate relevant experience in the field of rehabilitation
• Broad range of clinical experience across a variety of clinical areas
• Evidence of working unsupervised
• Evidence of working across multi-disciplinary and multi-agency boundaries
• Experience of managing junior members of staff and rehabilitation assistants
• Ability to fit, assess for and demonstrate a range of standard and specialist equipment, including assessment and fitting of appropriate moving and handling equipment such as hoists, slings, or seating assessments.

When joining us, as well as becoming part of a team that makes a difference, we also offer:

• Free car parking at many of our sites
• 27 days leave plus bank holidays, increasing up to 33 days with long service
• A broad range of training and development opportunities, including apprenticeships up to Level 7 qualification.
• A multi-professional preceptorship programme for all Newly Qualified; Nurses, Nursing Associates, Internationally Educated Practitioners, Allied Health Professionals and Return to Practice Practitioners.
• Generous NHS pension and enhanced pay when if you work unsocial hours
• Flexible, family friendly and agile working opportunities
• Recognition and long service awards
• Fast Track physiotherapy
• Access to discounts and salary sacrifice schemes; including Cycle to Work, Car scheme and discounts on travel, leisure and retailers.

Applicants are advised to apply early as if a large number of applications are received for this post, we reserve the right to close the vacancy prior to the advertised date. Good luck with your application.

For more information please see the attached 'Additional Information for Applicants' document.

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.

Name: Alicia Jess

Job title: OT Professional Lead for Community Hospitals

Email address: [e-mail]

Telephone number: 0300 421 6298

Additional information: Please email in the first instance if possible, to arrange a call back.