Highly Specialised Occupational Therapist

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Whether you’re looking to gain experience in a large, fast-paced hospital or get out into the community, we have a range of opportunities that allows you to build your entire career in one trust.

For us, every day is different. We provide care to a diverse population of 2.5 million across east London – that’s 6,000 people every day, speaking over 60 different languages. Our patients are at the heart of everything we do, and we are committed to ensuring that people living in east London live healthy lives.

Highly Specialised Occupational Therapist

Band 7

Main area: 258 OT PT Respiratory Ops & Ed NUH
Grade: Band 7
Contract: Permanent
Hours: Full time - 37.5 hours per week
Job ref: 259-6817579NUH-C

Site: Newham Hospital
Town: London
Salary: £51,883 - £58,544 per annum inc
Salary period: Yearly
Closing: 07/04/2025 23:59

Barts Health is one of the largest NHS trusts in the country, and one of Britain’s leading healthcare providers.

The Barts Health group of NHS hospitals is entering an exciting new era on our improvement journey to becoming an outstanding organisation with a world-class clinical reputation. Having lifted ourselves out of special measures, we now have the impetus and breathing space to chart a fresh course in which we are continually striving to improve all our services for patients.

Our vision is to be a high-performing group of NHS hospitals, renowned for excellence and innovation, and providing safe and compassionate care to our patients in east London and beyond. That means being a provider of excellent patient safety, known for delivering consistently high standards of harm-free care and always caring for patients in the right place at the right time. It also means being an outstanding place to work, in which our WeCare values and behaviours are visible to all and guide us in how we work together.

Barts Health supports the Pregnancy Loss Pledge and commits to supporting their staff through the distress of miscarriage.

Job overview

The post holder will be responsible for the ongoing development and delivery of a high-quality Occupational Therapy service across critical care and the inpatient respiratory wards.

They will work with the Clinical Specialist Physiotherapist and the rest of the therapy team to commence early rehabilitation in line with the GPICs standards. They will lead on the high-level cognitive assessment and management of critically unwell patients.

Main duties of the job

They will support the ward teams in the on-going management of these patients as they progress towards discharge and have a role in follow-up clinics.

This post offers a unique challenge for a highly motivated and experienced occupational therapist with proven line management and clinical experience, excellent communication skills, and a passion to support service development at our hospital. This is a clinical site-based role supported by the clinical leads and Head of Therapy, and via peer support from other Lead Occupational Therapists across the hospital and wider Trust.

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

The full job description provides an overview of the key tasks and responsibilities of the role, and the person specification outlines the qualifications, skills, experience, and knowledge required.

Person specification

Qualifications

• Degree or diploma in Occupational Therapy
• HCPC registration
• Fulfills outline for Occupational Therapist (Band 6)
• Experience in specialist field(s) gained by experience in rotational position and specialist training to post-graduate diploma level or equivalent
• DBS clearance
• Evidence of CPD
• Member of the Royal College of Occupational Therapy
• Supervision Training
• Practice placement educators training

Experience

• Candidates should have attained a level of experience proportionate to the competencies associated with this post
• Previous experience at a senior level i.e. band 6 working in a general rotation
• Experience working in an acute physical service setting
• Evidence of CPPD
• Exposure to the critical care setting
• Experience of patient education
• Experience of wheelchair prescription and pressure relieving techniques
• Acute neurological experience

Knowledge

• Knowledge of core OT skills in both physical and mental health areas
• Experience of working with patients who have fallen
• Understanding of recognised professional frameworks of practice in OT
• Liaison with professional colleagues, carers, relatives, and patients
• Participation in/knowledge of audit/research
• Clinical knowledge of common conditions/diagnoses and an awareness of less common conditions within cardio-respiratory services
• Knowledge/ability to use a range of different assessments/interventions with patients with medical disabilities

Skills

• Ability to take responsibility for a clinical caseload with evidence of skills in an acute physical setting
• Skills to manage mental health issues associated with the clinical caseload
• Ability to treat patients individually and in groups working as an independent practitioner in clinical situations
• Ability to manage administration (e.g. reports and statistics) whilst maintaining timely patient activity
• Ability to work with a MDT
• Ability to organise and prioritise work
• Ability to cope with pressure and prioritisation of an acute caseload
• Ability to apply timely clinical reasoning to enable prompt decision making
• Understand and implement appropriate standards, including risk management in all work undertaken
• Ability to reflect on and critically appraise own performance
• Ability to seek guidance and support when necessary
• Ability to undertake physical activity involved with therapeutic handling of patients
• Ability to perform motor tasks e.g. splint fabrication/equipment adjustment
• Ability to appreciate the sensitivity and complexity of patients' culture and diversity and the skills to provide services appropriate to individuals’ needs

Other

• Ability to communicate effectively, both written and oral
• Can demonstrate an enthusiastic, approachable, and friendly manner
• The ability to communicate with patients in an empathetic manner regarding their treatment and procedures
• Ability to communicate effectively at all levels across the Department and Directorate
• Ability to work as part of a multi-disciplinary team
• Physical qualities sufficient to meet the requirements of the role with any reasonable adjustments

We strive to live by our WeCare values and are committed to promoting inclusion, where every staff member has a sense of belonging. We value our differences and fully advocate, cultivate and support an inclusive working environment where staff treat one another with dignity and respect. We aim to create an equitable working environment where every individual can fulfil their potential.

As an Equal Opportunities Employer we actively support applications from individuals who apply under the Guaranteed Interview Scheme and will process your application as appropriate.

We reserve the right to expire vacancies prior to the advertised closing date once a sufficient number of applications has been received and we regret that we are unable to provide notification if your application is unsuccessful.