Occupational Therapist

Job description

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.

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.

We are dedicated to being an outstanding place to work and will work with you to get the best experience. We know flexible working is not a one size fits all and will mean something different to everyone. We are inclusive, so if you are interested in flexible working, please speak to the recruiting manager.

Job overview

Although this position is a 12 months fixed-term contract, the actual contract duration will be adjusted to account for the time taken to advertise the post, complete the hiring process, and finalise pre-employment checks. This means the contract will begin when the candidate starts the role and may be slightly shorter than 12 months.

We are looking for an enthusiastic and motivated Occupational Therapist with post qualification experience to join our team at Whipps Cross. This is an excellent opportunity for experienced OTs looking for the next challenge and wanting to develop clinical & leadership skills across a wide and varied settings to cover maternity leave.

We offer fantastic Band 6 rotation opportunities that will help you to develop and consolidate your skills in:

• Hand Therapy
• Stroke and Neurotherapy
• Orthopaedics
• Surgery, Critical Care and Amputees
• Medicine and Palliative Care
• Older People Services / Care of the Elderly
• Emergency Therapy Team (Emergency Department and Acute Assessment Units)

Main duties of the job

We are able to offer the benefits of working in one of the largest NHS organisations in the country, with access to a variety of education and training opportunities and a robust personal development program. We offer Professional OT support and development provided from the on-site OT Clinical Leads in conjunction with the OT/PT Clinical Lead. In addition to site-based In-service Training, we provide a Trust-wide post-core programme. We have a dedicated departmental Practice Development team to support your learning and development.

The service operates a seven day service covering core hours between 8am and 6pm. You will need to be a versatile, adaptable team player who is prepared to work across a 7 day rota.

To provide high quality occupational therapy interventions to a wide variety of patients including the advanced assessment and treatment of patients, provision of individual and group education and treatment, provision of assistive devices (orthotics) and equipment, minor structural home adaptations and provision of complex disability management and advocacy services.

To contribute to the acute hospital occupational therapy weekend service provision.

Working for our organisation

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.

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.

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. For both documents, please view the attachment/s below.

Person specification

Qualifications

Essential criteria

• Diploma/Degree in OT
• Member of the Health Care Professions Council

Desirable criteria

• Member of the British Association of Occupational Therapy

Other

Essential criteria

• Demonstrated ability to build rapport and establish trust with patients, evidenced by at least one example of creating a safe, supportive therapeutic environment (e.g., explaining interventions clearly, using de-escalation techniques, or adapting communication to patient needs).
• Demonstrate ability to work across a 7-day service.
• Demonstrate Digital Skills, for example: ability to use MS Software

Skills

Essential criteria

• Demonstrated ability to identify, assess, and document clinical risks, with at least one example of applying a recognized risk-management process (e.g., risk assessments, safety plans, incident reporting) and describing the actions taken to reduce or manage the risk.
• Experience providing structured supervision, guidance, or competency support to junior staff, assistants, or students, evidenced by at least one example such as supervising a student placement, completing a competency checklist, or delivering feedback during supervision sessions.
• Demonstrated ability to plan and deliver training sessions to colleagues or other professional groups, evidenced by at least one example of internal (OT team) or external (wider MDT) teaching, including the topic, audience, and outcomes.
• Demonstrated ability to organise and prioritise a clinical caseload, meet deadlines, and delegate tasks appropriately, evidenced by specific examples of managing competing demands or coordinating workload within a team.
• Ability to present information clearly and logically, both verbally and in writing, evidenced by examples such as case presentations, written reports, handovers, or contributions to MDT meetings.
• Demonstrated ability to remain professional and effective when working with distressed, emotional, or aggressive patients/carers, evidenced by at least one example of de-escalation, boundary-setting, or managing conflict safely.
• Demonstrated ability to prescribe ADL equipment in line with clinical indications, providing at least one example of doing so that has lead to a good patient outcome.
• Demonstrated ability to write structured and accurate clinical case notes e.g. using SOAP notes or other documentation standards.
• Demonstrate ability to complete a Moving and Handling risk assessment to ensure patient and own safety e.g. TILE.

Experience

Essential criteria

• Post registration experience working as an OT, with clinical examples provided to demonstrate responsibilities undertaken and outcomes achieved.
• Post registration experience in relevant clinical settings e.g. Acute hospital setting and community setting. Experience in Care of the Elderly, Orthopaedics, Surgery and General Medicine.
• Documented evidence of CPD, in accordance with HCPC recommendations
• Evidence of CPD, in accordance with HCPC standards.
• Experience providing structured advice, supervision, and/or training to junior staff, support workers, or OT students, evidenced by at least one example such as delivering a teaching session, supporting competency development, supervising a student placement, or contributing to induction or skills training.

Desirable criteria

• Demonstrated experience participating in at least one service improvement activity, evidenced by a clear description of your role (e.g., data collection, analysis, report writing, presenting findings) and the outcomes or improvements resulting from the work.
• Demonstrated experience working within NHS organization.

Visa Sponsorship Information

This role is subject to UK immigration requirements. Where sponsorship is required, applicants must meet the eligibility criteria for a Skilled Worker visa in accordance with current UK Visas and Immigration rules, including any salary, qualification, and role-specific requirements applicable at the time of appointment. Candidates who require sponsorship will only be considered where the post is eligible and where all sponsorship criteria can be met. Evidence of the right to work in the UK will be required before appointment. Please note that for roles employed under Agenda for Change Terms and Conditions, the High-Cost Area Supplement (HCAS) is not included when calculating the basic salary for the purposes of sponsorship.

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.

After applying via NHS Jobs, your submitted application will be imported into our preferred Third party recruitment system. All subsequent information regarding your application will be generated from apps.trac.jobs.

By applying for this post you are agreeing to Barts Health NHS Trust transferring the information contained in this application to its preferred applicant management system. If you are offered a job, information will also be transferred into the national NHS Electronic Staff Records system.

Barts Health is committed to safeguarding the welfare of children and to child protection. The Trust aims to ensure as far as is possible that anyone, paid or unpaid, who seeks to work in our organisation and who gains access to children, is safe to do so. As such, you may be required to undertake a Disclosure and Barring Check as part of the recruitment process if appointed to a post with direct access to children or vulnerable adults.

Barts Health promotes active travel as part of its goal to reach Net Zero. Each site is accessible by public transport and the Trust has a cycle to work scheme and some sites have Brompton Hire Pods.

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