Specialist Frailty Occupational Therapist

University Hospitals Dorset NHS Foundation Trust; Poole; On-site; GBP 40,000 - 48,000; Full time

Job summary

University Hospitals Dorset NHS Foundation Trust in Poole invites applications for a Senior Occupational Therapist in the Older Persons Services team, focusing on frailty and advanced practice. This fixed-term Band 6 post welcomes development across ED/SDEC, Older Persons wards and community pathways.

The post supports flexible working, requires 18 months NHS experience, and involves driving between sites with a 37.5-hour week.

Qualifications

• 18 months experience as an Occupational Therapist covering core rotations.
• Experience working at a junior level within the NHS is essential.
• Willing to participate in 7 day working on a rota basis.
• Ability to drive and have access to a car for work purposes.

Responsibilities

• Work holistically across professional boundaries and support service development.
• Supervise junior staff and collaborate with hospital and community teams.
• Contribute to the Older Persons frailty services and therapy pathways.

Skills

Teaching & supervising

Verbal & nonverbal communication

Time management

IT skills

Prioritise workload

Driving licence

Clinical reasoning

Education

BSc (Hons) Occupational Therapy Degree

HCPC Registration

Member of Royal College of Occupational Therapists

Job description

Specialist Frailty Occupational Therapist

Main area Occupational Therapy Grade Band 6 Contract 9 months (Fixed Term 9 months) Hours

• Full time
• Part time
• Compressed hours

37.5 hours per week (Full Flexibility Required) Job ref 153-SP06629-A

Department name 01. UHD - General Recruitment Site Poole Hospital Town Poole Salary £39,959 - £48,117 pa/pro rata Salary period Yearly Closing 20/09/2026 23:59

As University Hospitals Dorset we are a three site acute trust with ‘university hospital’ status through our partnership with Bournemouth University, working with an annual budget of £730m.

We offer highly regarded health services, employing some 10,000 staff. Our ambitious £500m transformation programme is well on the way to delivering state-of-the-art facilities over the next two years to meet the current and future healthcare needs of the populations we serve.

In an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty with over seven miles of sandy beaches you’ll find inspirational opportunities to achieve your perfect work/life balance. With the New Forest and the Purbecks on our doorstep, we’re also less than three hours from London by road or train. The thriving towns of Poole, Bournemouth and Christchurch give way to idyllic villages and unspoilt landscapes just minutes from our hospitals.

We believe that having a diverse workforce, and allowing people to be themselves, is essential in ensuring we offer an inclusive, welcoming and productive place to work.

We especially welcome applications from minority groups in the community who may be underrepresented in our workforce.

At UHD our active staff network groups are the Women's Network, Black Asian Minority Ethnic Group (BAME), Pride Network, European (EU), Pro Ability Staff Network, and the Armed Forces Support Group.

As a Trust we are proudly signed up to the Disability Confident and Armed Forces Covenant guaranteed interview schemes.

We are aware that some candidates may choose to use AI tools to support the preparation of their application. While this is not discouraged, we kindly remind applicants that submissions should remain an honest and accurate representation of your own experience and suitability. Personal integrity is an important part of the recruitment process.

Job overview

Are you passionate about working with older people?

An opportunity has arisen for a senior Occupational Therapist to join our older persons’ therapy team. As the successful post holder you will be encouraged and supported to develop extended skills and advanced practice in frailty with our highly regarded, innovative and motivated Older Persons Services Team.

This post may provide opportunities to work as part of the therapy team in one of the following areas:

Emergency Department (ED) & Same Day Emergency Care Unit (SDEC)

Older Persons Assessment Unit

Older Persons wards

Older Persons Continuing care ward and team

This provides therapists with an opportunity to develop a full and rich understanding of our patient’s journey, from emergency admission to their transition home to outreach and bespoke community interventions.

For UHD employees, this fixed-term post will be offered as a secondment in line with the Trust’s Secondment Policy. Please speak with your line manager before applying.

Previous applicants need not apply

Main duties of the job

Expectations of the post holder would include working holistically across professional boundaries, service development, supporting and supervising junior staff and opportunities to work alongside a ran ge of experienced professionals both within the hospital and community.

For full duties of the post please see the job descri ption.

To be successful in securing this post, you will have:

18 months experience working as a n Occupational Therapist covering core rotations

Experience working at a junior level within the NHS is essential

Willing to participate in 7 day working on a rota basis

Ability to drive, hold a clean drivers licence and have access to a car for work purposes

Previous applicants need not apply.

For further information or to arrange an informal visit, please contact:

Lydia Hart

UHD Older Persons Clinical Lead Therapists

Our values define who we are as #TeamUHD. They underpin everything we do now and in the future. They define how we treat our patients, visitors, and each other, our valued team mates and colleagues.

UHD are investing in services across the Trust, with many being transformed and developed following merger and the New Hospital Programme.

In some cases this means that a services may move site this year or next, either temporarily or long term. Recruiting Managers interviewing for this role will be happy to answer any specific questions that you have at interview.

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

To understand the role in more detail please read the full job description and person specification documents which are attached to this advert

Person specification

Qualifications

• BSc (Hons) Occupational Therapy Degree
• HCPC Registration
• Member of Royal College of Occupational Therapists

Experience

• Relevant experience within the NHS
• Band 5 Occupational Therapy experience covering the following core areas: Older adults Neurology Hand/Orthopaedics Acute
• NHS Experience in an acute physical setting

Technical skills

• Ability to teach patients, relatives, carers & staff.
• How to critique research articles
• Demonstrate excellent verbal and nonverbal communication with an ability to establish a good rapport with a range of people.
• Ability to teach & supervise Junior staff & assistants .
• Good time management.
• IT Skills within word processing.
• Ability to prioritise clinical workload.

Other requirements

• Ability to drive, hold a clean drivers licence
• Ability to speak English as necessary to undertake the role

Please note:

Staff recruited are expected to be available to work flexibly across all our Trust locations to meet service demands.

This advert may be closed early if sufficient applications are received.

COVID-19 vaccination remains the best way to protect yourself and our patients from the virus when working in our healthcare settings. Whilst this vaccination is not a condition of employment we do encourage our staff to get vaccinated.

Internal Candidates: staff employed prior to merger who voluntarily change jobs will be appointed to UHD terms and conditions.

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.