Paediatric Occupational Therapist Critical Care Discharge Coordinator

East Kent Hospitals NHS Trust; Town of Ashford (NY); On-site; USD 51,000 - 69,000; Full time

Job summary

East Kent Hospitals University NHS Foundation Trust is seeking a Paediatric Occupational Therapist to act as a Critical Care Discharge Coordinator. The role spans two Trusts and focuses on coordinating complex discharge pathways to move children safely from hospital to home or onward care.

You will work with hospital teams, community services and regional networks to improve patient flow, reduce delays and deliver care closer to home for children with complex health needs.

Qualifications

• Experience in paediatric occupational therapy and complex discharge planning.
• Ability to coordinate care across hospitals, community services and regional networks.
• Strong communication and organisational skills for family-centred care.

Responsibilities

• Coordinate complex discharge pathways for children and young people with critical care needs.
• Act as a main contact for families and carers during admission, discharge and repatriation.
• Collaborate with multidisciplinary teams to improve patient flow and service delivery.
• Coordinate equipment, referrals and ongoing packages of care.
• Provide clinical leadership for paediatric therapy services within critical care pathways.
• Contribute to service improvement, audit and pathway development.
• Promote safe, effective family-centred care through collaboration and education.

Skills

Paediatric OT

Discharge planning

Interprofessional collaboration

Education

Degree in Occupational Therapy

Job description

Paediatric Occupational Therapist Critical Care Discharge Coordinator

A Vacancy at East Kent Hospitals University NHS Foundation Trust.

Paediatric Occupational Therapist – Critical Care Discharge Coordinator

Help children with complex needs get home safely and sooner.

This is an exciting and innovative role working across East Kent Hospitals University Trust and Medway NHS Foundation Trust, supporting children and young people requiring critical care. As a key member of the multidisciplinary team, you will coordinate complex discharge pathways, improve patient flow and help ensure children receive the right care, in the right place, at the right time.

We are looking for an experienced and motivated Occupational Therapist who thrives on collaboration, problem-solving and making a real difference to children and families. You will work closely with hospitals, community services, tertiary centres and regional networks to coordinate care, reduce delays, support admission avoidance and deliver care closer to home.

The ideal candidate will have excellent communication and organisational skills, experience of complex discharge planning, and the ability to build strong relationships across organisations. You will be compassionate, proactive and confident managing competing priorities while supporting children with complex health needs and their families.

In return, you'll have the opportunity to shape a developing service, work across two Trusts, influence system-wide improvement and make a lasting impact on the experiences and outcomes of children and young people across Kent and Medway.

What You'll Do

As the Paediatric Occupational Therapist - Critical Care Discharge Coordinator, you will help children and young people with complex critical care needs transition safely from hospital to home or onward care. Working across East Kent Hospitals and Medway NHS Foundation Trust, you will coordinate complex discharge pathways, improve patient flow and work with multidisciplinary teams to ensure children receive the right care, in the right place, at the right time.

You will work closely with hospital teams, community services and specialist centres to coordinate care, support equipment provision and improve discharge processes. You will also contribute to service improvement, audit and pathway development across the paediatric critical care network.

What We're Looking For

We're looking for an experienced Occupational Therapist who is passionate about improving outcomes for children and families.

You will have experience supporting children with complex needs, coordinating care across multiple services and managing complex discharge pathways. You will be an excellent communicator, highly organised, able to build effective relationships across organisations and committed to delivering compassionate, family-centred care.

This is a unique opportunity to work across two Trusts, influence service development and make a lasting difference to children and young people across Kent and Medway.

We are one of the largest hospital trusts in England, with five hospitals and community clinics serving a local population of around 800,000 people. Our vision is 'great healthcare from great people'. Everything we do is guided by our values: 'People feel cared for, safe, respected and confident that we are making a difference’. We have a new way of working at East Kent Hospitals, called 'We care'. It's about empowering frontline staff to lead improvements day-to-day. We're looking for compassionate people to be part of our improvement journey for the patients, families and carers we care for every day.

Please note that if you require a Certificate of Sponsorship to work in the UK you must declare this on your application form, even if you currently have a certificate of sponsorship or a work permit for another role and are already working in the country. Please note we are only able to sponsor candidates for a Skilled Work

Duties and Responsibilities

• Coordinate complex discharge pathways for children and young people requiring critical care, ensuring safe, timely transfers between hospital, community and specialist services.
• Act as a key point of contact for children, families and carers throughout admission, discharge and repatriation processes.
• Work with multidisciplinary teams to improve patient flow, reduce delays and promote care closer to home.
• Support children with complex needs, including coordinating equipment, referrals and ongoing packages of care.
• Provide clinical leadership for therapy services within paediatric critical care pathways.
• Contribute to service improvement, audit, data collection and the development of discharge pathways and standards of care.
• Promote safe, effective and family-centred care through collaboration, education and evidence-based practice.

Key Relationships

The post holder will work closely with:

• Children, young people, families and carers.
• Paediatric critical care, paediatric ward and neonatal teams.
• Occupational Therapy, Physiotherapy, Speech and Language Therapy and wider Allied Health Professional teams.
• Discharge teams, safeguarding teams, operational managers and senior clinicians.
• Community children's nursing teams, hospices and primary care services.
• Tertiary centres, transport services, STPN, STRS and partner organisations across Kent and Medway.

This role requires strong partnership working across organisations to ensure children with complex needs receive coordinated, seamless care and are discharged safely and efficiently.

This advert closes on Sunday 22 Nov 2026