Specialist Community Occupational Therapist

South Warwickshire University NHS Foundation Trust; Warwick; On-site; GBP 47,000 - 55,000; Part time

Job summary

A public health organization in the UK is seeking a Band 7 Occupational Therapist to join their patient-centred team. This role focuses on treating patients in the community, particularly those with neurological long-term conditions. Candidates must have a Diploma in Occupational Therapy and the ability to work flexibly within a multidisciplinary team. A driver's license is essential for community visits. The position offers a competitive salary and promotes values of safe, effective, and compassionate care.

Qualifications

• Diploma / Degree in Occupational Therapy required.
• State Registration with Health Professions Council is essential.
• Substantial post-registration experience at a senior level required.

Responsibilities

• Manage complex patients requiring specific therapy care.
• Attend multidisciplinary meetings and provide clinical teaching.
• Ensure patients are engaged in their treatment through goal setting.

Skills

Advanced skills in assessment and treatment

Advanced communication skills

Ability to problem solve

Knowledge of community rehabilitation process

Ability to build effective working relationships

Education

Diploma / Degree in Occupational Therapy

State Registration with Health Professions Council

Tools

Microsoft Word

Microsoft Excel

Microsoft PowerPoint

Microsoft Outlook

Job description

Go back South Warwickshire University NHS Foundation Trust

Specialist Community Occupational Therapist

The closing date is 16 January 2026

A rare opportunity has arisen to join our friendly, patient-centred, effective multi-disciplinary team as a band 7 Occupational Therapist.

The team treat patients in the community with a diagnosis of Multiple Sclerosis, supporting them to live full and active lives.

Are you flexible and happy to work in a small Team?

Do you have knowledge and experience of community based neurological, long-term conditions?

We are looking for someone with an empathic approach who can think outside the box in supporting patients to find safe, functional solutions. This is a community role so a car driver with access to your own car is essential.

Main duties of the job

To be professionally and legally accountable for all aspects of own work and to ensure that work meets professional standards and clinical guidelines

The post holder manages complex patients who require specific Therapy care to prevent un-necessary hospital admissions

Following the principles of Governance, to develop and maintain a highquality service, through recognised professional standards, evidencebased practice, and effective clinical audit programme.

To be responsible for gaining valid, informed consent for assessment and treatment interventions, and sharing of information following legal and professional guidelines

To establish impairments and disabilities where conflicting evidence is present following assessments

Following specialist assessment, to use advanced clinical reasoning, analysis, assessment and re assessment skills, and using a client centered approach provide individual treatments and programmes. These may include manual treatment techniques, patient education, neuro specific facilitatory techniques and the use of specific equipment

To prescribe equipment and educate staff, patients, and their families in the safe use of this equipment in order to maximise client's independence and safety

To work closely with other members of the multidisciplinary team to provide a comprehensive, seamless service aiming to improve and maintain the functional ability of patients whilst preventing hospital admission

About us

Come and join a Trust rated Outstanding by the CQC. South Warwickshire University NHS Foundation Trust have been rated as outstanding following our latest inspection by the CQC and we are recruiting new staff to come and help us improve even further. In addition our staff survey results have placed us 4th in the country for recommended place to work.

We provide services across Warwickshire and beyond ranging from Hospitals in Warwick, Stratford-Upon-Avon, Royal Leamington Spa and Shipston-on Stour to Community Services across the county. We are a progressive, expanding organisation with great ambition around improving quality, integrating pathways and delivering high levels of productivity. Our values can be summed up in one sentence. We are 'Trusted to provide safe, inclusive, effective and compassionate care'. Throughout the recruitment process you will be asked to think about how you demonstrate these values and how they impact on your work. It doesn't matter what role you do, whether it is patient facing or not, we are all working in the same way with our values at the core.

As part of our commitment to Equality, Diversity and Inclusion we encourage all applicants to complete a short survey. This can be accessed via the link below:

https://forms.office.com/e/ahWY3eAGM2

We appreciate you completing the survey.

Job responsibilities

Main Duties

Professional/Clinical Responsibilities

• To attend multi-disciplinary meetings, case meetings and family meetings
• To motivate others through advanced communication skills and to be able to gain cooperation for treatment where there may be significant barriers to understanding such as cognitive deficits
• To communicate information related to complex conditions from assessment to treatment.
• To provide clinical teaching to members of the multidisciplinary team
• To ensure that patients are actively engaged in their treatment through the use of goal setting and that all patients have goals and that treatments are individualised to these goals
• To ensure that therapy is clinically effective and evaluated as such by outcome measures and the use of evidence based practice
• To ensure that quality is at the root of all treatment and provide leadership to ensure this is the case
• Manage care of patients with the aim of preventing unnecessary hospital admissions, in line with the commissioners objectives. This includes ongoing support and expertise through comprehensive specialist Therapy assessments, individualised care plans, delivery, evaluation and coordination of care between other agencies involved in the patients care.
• Communicate with other professionals and agencies, participating in regular meetings, to plan care and plan advanced treatment that reduces the risk of inappropriate hospitals admissions
• Demonstrate and maintain clinical credibility through the provision of high standards on clinical care using current evidence-based practice. Apply clinical leadership to continuously review and change practice demonstrating good and efficient clinical care

Managerial Responsibilities

• Provides OT leadership for the team on a day to day basis through the effective implementation of all Organisational Policies and Procedures.
• Participates in the development and maintenance of a clinical learning environment within the integrated team that is appropriate for the development needs of all members.
• Facilitate an environment where health promotion and informed patient choice is encouraged and developed to its maximum potential, within the available resources.
• Evaluates clinical practice within the area by monitoring standards of care, undertake audits and support staff in the delivery of evidence-based care.
• Works with the Therapy Professional Lead and Locality Manager to ensure safe, efficient, and effective clinical pathways for patients using the service
• Works with the Therapy Lead and Manager to develop and implement clear processes for the promotion and maintenance of patient safety through Central Alert Systems, Serious Untoward incidents and Root Cause Analysis
• In conjunction with the manager ensure robust action plans and learning from incidents are cascaded and embedded into clinical practice
• Review, develop and implement policies and procedures to support delivery and development of service provision

Person Specification

Qualifications

• Diploma / Degree in Occupational Therapy
• State Registration with Health Professions Council
• Health Needs Assessment
• Evidence of Post graduate Continuous Professional Development
• Member of Specialist Interest Group or equivalent

Experience

• Substantial postregistration experience, equivalent to master's level, with significant experience at a band 6 senior level.
• Evidence of recent post registration experience working at a senior level in community rehabilitation and longterm conditions
• Rotations at both band 5 and band 6 level in a wide range of clinical areas in both inpatient and community settings including elderly care, neuro- rehabilitation, musculoskeletal, falls and orthopaedics
• Experience of working with people with complex needs
• Experience of co-ordinating and delivering care for people with complex, long term conditions

Skills

• Advanced skills in the assessment and treatment of people with neurological; respiratory; orthopaedics conditions; and complex multi pathologies.
• Advanced knowledge and understanding of the NSF for Long Term Conditions, Falls and other relevant NICE guidelines.
• Advanced knowledge and understanding of the community rehabilitation process.
• Ability to apply core occupational therapy skills across a range of clinical conditions within a client centered, goal setting approach.
• Knowledge of outcome measures and evidence-based practice associated with community rehabilitation.
• Ability to problem solve and demonstrate advanced clinical reasoning.
• Knowledge of current health care policy and relevance to the delivery of healthcare services.
• Knowledge and understanding of clinical governance and its application to clinical practice
• Knowledge of managing difficult situations and conflict resolution
• Advanced communication and report writing skills, in both verbal and written format
• IT skills - Microsoft word, power point, excel and outlook
• Able to identify learning and development needs and actively seek ways to meeting those needs
• Knowledge and understanding of NICE and COT Fallers Guidelines
• Knowledge and understanding of the role of Social Services and voluntary agencies
• Knowledge of recent Government NHS directives
• High levels of precision for the manual treatment of patients

Personal Qualities

• Ability to build effective working relationships within multidisciplinary team and with other professionals.
• Willingness to work flexibly to meet service needs
• Willingness to assist in change

Other

• Independent means of travel
• Ability to deal with distressing & emotional circumstances on a frequent basis.
• Ability to impart unwelcome news regards to prognosis and treatment
• Ability to concentrate & work with frequent interruption
• Able to support and manoeuvre patients at regular intervals
• Commitment to lifelong learning
• Presentation and training skills

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 named CRB) to check for any previous criminal convictions.

South Warwickshire University NHS Foundation Trust

Address

£47,810 to £54,710 a year pro rata (Dependent on experience)

Contract

Permanent

Working pattern

Part-time

Reference number

203-SS1163