Specialist Occupational Therapist

Lancashire & South Cumbria NHS Foundation Trust; Lancaster; On-site; GBP 35,000 - 45,000; Full time

Job summary

A healthcare organization in the United Kingdom is seeking a Specialist Occupational Therapist to lead clinical interventions within Mental Health Inpatient Services. The ideal candidate will have a relevant advanced qualification and extensive experience in mental health settings. Responsibilities include mentoring colleagues and contributing to service improvement initiatives. The role offers flexible working patterns reflecting the organization's commitment to work/life balance and diversity.

Benefits

Flexible working arrangements

Commitment to diversity and inclusion

Qualifications

• Extensive post-registration experience in mental health settings.
• Familiarity with audit processes and evidence-based practice.
• Supervisory experience with junior staff and undergraduate students.

Responsibilities

• Lead on complex clinical interventions for inpatient services.
• Support sustainability of OT services across the Bay Network.
• Deliver advanced clinical interventions and contribute to service improvements.
• Mentor and support colleagues in their development.

Skills

Outcome measures analysis

Specialist intervention development

Risk assessment management

Education

Diploma/BSc (Hons) in Occupational Therapy

State registration with Health Professionals Council

Master's degree in mental health or willingness to undertake

Job description

Lancashire & South Cumbria NHS Foundation Trust

Specialist Occupational Therapist

The closing date is 31 December 2025

Are you an experienced Occupational Therapist ready to take the next step in your career? This is your opportunity to make a real difference within the Mental Health Inpatient Services across The Bay Network. You'll work at The Orchard and Kentmere Units, supporting recovery-focused care.

As a Clinical Specialist Occupational Therapist, you will lead on complex clinical interventions, champion best practice, and influence service development. Your expertise will help drive innovation and inspire colleagues within a growing Allied Health Professional (AHP) workforce.

Main duties of the job

• Provide professional governance and assurance for Occupational Therapy inpatient services within the inpatient services, ensuring safe, effective, and high-quality care.
• Support the collective sustainability of OT inpatient provision across the Bay Network, providing support in a collaborative workforce approach for both older adult and working-age adult services.
• Deliver advanced clinical interventions and contribute to service improvement initiatives.
• Mentor and support colleagues, fostering a culture of learning and development.

About us

LSCFT values diversity and inclusion, recognising that talent from varied backgrounds creates a flexible, creative, and effective workforce. We actively challenge discrimination and welcome applications from all, regardless of age, disability (including those with experience of accessing or caring for someone who has accessed mental health or learning disability services), ethnicity, gender, religion, belief, or sexual orientation.

Our aim is to reflect the communities we serve, so we particularly encourage applications from under-represented groups. If you'd like to discuss your application, please ask.

We also welcome individuals with lived experience relevant to the role or service area, as your insight brings authenticity to our services.

LSCFT support flexible working, we believe that a positive work/life balance benefits NHS employees through improved health and wellbeing. We would consider working patterns such as term time, part time, compressed hours and flexi-time.

Job responsibilities

Please see attached the job description and person specification for more information about this role.

Person Specification

Qualifications

• Diploma/BSC (Hons) in Occupational Therapy (OT)
• State registered with Health Professionals Council.
• Masters degree (or equivalent study) in mental health speciality demonstrably relevant to this specialist position (or willingness to undertake same)

Experience

• Extensive post-registration experience in mental health settings, using both individual and group work approaches
• Familiarity with audit processes.
• Use of evidence-based practice. Supervision of junior staff and undergraduate OT students. Provision of training and/or presentations to groups.

Skills

• Familiarity with a range of outcome measures and ability to analyse outcomes and advise on their implications.
• Ability to devise specialist interventions to address occupational dysfunction to improve occupational participation.
• Confidently assess and manage risk in relation to occupational

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.

Lancashire & South Cumbria NHS Foundation Trust