Specialist Occupational Therapist

Guy's and St Thomas' NHS Foundation Trust; London; On-site; GBP 35,000 - 45,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading healthcare trust in London seeks a Specialist Occupational Therapist to deliver patient-centered rehabilitation in the community. Join a passionate team to facilitate patient independence through innovative therapy. The role includes working autonomously in diverse settings while supporting clients' recovery and integrating services across the health and social care spectrum. Opportunities for professional growth and access to extensive resources are available.

Benefits

Award-winning support programs

Opportunities for career development

Access to advanced therapeutic equipment

Qualifications

• HCPC registered Occupational Therapist.
• Degree in Occupational Therapy or recognized equivalent.

Responsibilities

• Provide specialist rehabilitation assessments and intervention.
• Facilitate safe discharge from healthcare to home.
• Work autonomously in various locations as needed.

Job description

Specialist Occupational Therapist

The closing date is 09 October 2025

We know the power of rehab. Want to make real change? Join us to help patients excel with their rehab goals. Using your core occupational therapy skills, you will design creative and innovative therapy solutions for patients.

Our energetic and passionate team consists of occupational therapists, physiotherapists, rehab support workers, social workers, pharmacists, nurses, and a business support team. Working together you will support adults with client-centred rehab programmes, optimising their independence and quality of life.

We want the focus on rehab for our patients and not paperwork. Using the power of technology we can take notes on the go, utilising our fantastic Epic and Rover system.

Our core working sites in Brixton, Oval and Streatham are centred within vibrant and exciting communities.

What else?

We have excellent access to a vast array of ADL equipment and have a large cohort of rehab support workers.

You\'ll benefit from our award winning "Showing We Care About You Programme". It offers many types of support (financial wellbeing, career development, value and recognition, work-life balance) to help you in your professional, personal and family life.

We are one of the UKs leading providers of hospital and community-based healthcare, research and education. As part of the Kings Health Trust, you will have opportunities for comprehensive training and development to continuously improve patient care and progress your career.

Main duties of the job

Intermediate Care Lambeth provides integrated health and social care at home to adults aged 18 years & older who live in the borough of Lambeth. The people that we support have a range of diagnoses and clinical presentations.

Our service aims to:

• Facilitate the safe discharge of people from healthcare in hospital to healthcare at home.
• Provide intensive, short term multi-disciplinary rehabilitation & care support to promote functional independence.

Our Professional Offer to You:

• Further develop your clinical skills, e.g. assess for suitable equipment, minor home adaptations, cognitive assessment, functional and Moving & Handling assessments.
• Develop your skills in holistic assessment, problem solving, intervention planning and joint working with other health and social care colleagues.
• Develop management and operational skills.
• Access appropriate GSTT leadership development training courses to support career development.
• Support you to be involved in OT meetings and In-service training.
• Provide supervision and clinical support.

At GSTT we are committed to providing:

• Professional expert advice, including access to our Professional Leads in our Community and Hospital settings.
• An annual appraisal and PDR.
• Structured in-service development programs and supervisions.
• Support to undertake research, audit and service evaluation.
• Training links to London South Bank and King\'s College Universities.
• Support to develop your skills in preparation and presentations.

About us

Guy\'s and St Thomas\' NHS Foundation Trust:

Guy\'s and St Thomas\' NHS Foundation Trust comprises five of the UK\'s best known hospitals - Guy\'s, St Thomas\', Evelina London Children\'s Hospital, Royal Brompton and Harefield - as well as community services in Lambeth and Southwark, all with a long history of high quality care, clinical excellence, research and innovation.

We are among the UK\'s busiest, most successful foundation trusts. We provide specialist care for patients including heart and lung, cancer and renal services as well as a full range of local hospital and community services for people in Lambeth and Southwark.

Intermediate Care Lambeth is an award winning community service that is an integrated partnership across health and social care. Primary focus to facilitate timely discharge home from hospital in order to maximise the potential for recovery and minimise readmission to hospital or long term care; and use an enabling approach and goal orientated rehabilitation programme to maximize a client\'s independent living skills and reduce the need for long term care.

Job responsibilities

Job Summary

• To have responsibility for specialist rehabilitation and therapy assessment, specialist intervention, care planning and review of individual clients on caseload.
• To delegate rehabilitation and care tasks to RSWs and Senior RSWs.
• To provide case management for adults and older people through intensive short term support and rehabilitation programmes.
• Goal setting with clients in order to maximise their independence in the community, facilitate early discharge from hospital, reduce reliance on care and reduce admissions to long term domiciliary care.
• To work, frequently as a lone practitioner and at times in conjunction with team colleagues, across a variety of locations within the community including clients homes and residential care settings to meet the individual needs of the multi-cultural population in an inner city area.
• To work as an autonomous practitioner complying with the standards set by the regulatory body (Health Professions Council), professional body (Royal college of Occupational Therapy), government, Trust and department, thereby being professionally and legally responsible and accountable for all aspects of own work and to meet the requirements for professional registration.
• To work as part of a flexible multidisciplinary team, across traditional professional boundaries to meet the needs of clients using a holistic and client centred approach
• To be responsible for practice, education, assessment, mentorship and preceptorship of students and new/junior members of staff. To work towards organisational priorities and achieving service aims.
• To support the department\'s commitment to meeting patient needs and delivering excellence it is essential the post holder be able to work their hours flexibly and contribute fully to both existing and new rotas over a 7 day week, including weekday and weekend on call shifts.

Person Specification

Professional/Statutory Registration

• HCPC registered Occupational Therapist
• Member of British Association of Occupational Therapists
• Member of Specialist Interest Group

Additional Information

• A valid current licensed UK car driver

Physical Requirements

• Able to comply with Manual Handling guidelines by ensuring safe handling of clients and equipment
• Able to travel across the Borough and Sector

Qualifications

• Degree in Occupational Therapy or recognised equivalent
• Evidence of post registration education in specialist area

Experience

• Significant broad based post registration experience at band 5 or above
• Experience of working in a multidisciplinary or multi-agency team
• Experience of working in a rehabilitation team environment
• Experience in carrying out complex assessments and interventions including, but not limited to, physical and cognitive rehabilitation in functional tasks, work and leisure.
• Experience of working with clients with complex packages of care, which involve other agencies
• Able to manage staff conflict and difficult situations and to challenge and support others appropriately and assertively
• Able to identify symptoms of changing condition of clients and take appropriate actions
• Experience working as a Specialist Occupational Therapist in a team and in managing staff
• Experience of working in primary care
• Experience of clinical audit, benchmarking and evaluation of services
• Experience of direct supervision of more junior staff, and experience of educating and assessing students or junior staff
• Experience of identifying the development needs of others and giving effective feedback

Skills/ Knowledge/ Ability

• Able to work as an autonomous practitioner
• Able to make sound evidence-based clinical judgements and decisions regarding client care and to be accountable for choices made
• Excellent organisational and time management skills
• Excellent communication skills with an ability to write concise and comprehensive papers and reports
• Able to deal with complaints sensitively, avoiding escalation where possible
• Able to work effectively across professional boundaries
• Able to complete advanced assessments, devise and evaluate rehabilitation programmes, independently and as part of the MDT
• Able to identify when specialist therapy, nursing or medical skills are required and refer appropriately
• Able to work across primary and secondary care interface
• Excel spreadsheet and PowerPoint use
• Able to organise and plan staff rotas and make best use of available staff resource
• Able to lead and implement successful change management

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.

Guy\'s and St Thomas\' NHS Foundation Trust