Occupational Therapist

South West London and St Georges Mental Health NHS Trust

Job summary

An exciting opportunity has arisen for a band 6 occupational therapist to work full time in the Richmond Community Older Peoples Service across the Memory Assessment Service and the Recovery Support Team. This is an opportunity to be part of a dynamic multi-disciplinary team that assesses all referrals for old age adults with mental health needs and resident in the borough of Richmond.

We are looking for a self-motivated and flexible occupational therapist, with mental health experience and excellent interpersonal skills, to join our well-established multidisciplinary team, which is committed to providing the highest quality of service to older people in Richmond.

You will work to provide a high-quality occupational therapy service for your clients and carers, both within the Memory Assessment Service and the Recovery Support Team, targeting and prioritising people with severe mental health problems, people with mild-moderate dementia.

Staff are encouraged and facilitated in their personal and continuing professional development: there is a well-established Older People OT Forum aimed at supporting evidence-based practice and providing peer support.

We encourage applicants who are keen to develop their skills in assessment, monitoring and caseload management and who enjoy working autonomously but with the support of the team. You will work with a Recovery Model and be fully involved in MDT discussions.

Main duties of the job

You will work to provide a high-quality occupational therapy service for your clients and carers, both within the Memory Assessment Service and the Recovery Support Team, targeting and prioritising people with severe mental health problems, people with mild-moderate dementia.

The postholder will work closely with the team of doctors and be able to act autonomously to identify and raise concerns including urgent/emergency situations and escalating to the Team Manager or Consultant as appropriate.

They will assess clients with complex needs, and use evidence based/client centred principles to plan, implement and evaluate interventions.

Demonstrate the skills to professionally communicate complex information to users and carers regarding bio-psychosocial problems in an empathetic and supportive way.

To liaise with professionals/ agencies and ensure the patient receives continuity of care/ service through clear and timely communication with all involved in their care.

To support with the team’s duty triage system, screening referrals and doing urgent assessments to assist in information gathering in accordance with the team’s needs and to record these on the patient records.

To attend MDT meetings as required for service.

Person Specification

Education, Training & Qualifications

Essential

  • Diploma or degree in Occupational Therapy
  • Registration to practice in the UK
  • Evidence of post registration training relevant to mental health practice

Desirable

  • Practice placement educators course within one year of appointment
  • Apple registration

Experience

Essential

  • Experience of carrying a caseload in a mental health setting
  • Experience of working in a multi-disciplinary team
  • Experience of maintaining a written record of continual professional development
  • Experience of individual and groupwork
  • Experience of participating in a service development project

Desirable

  • Experience of working in a range of mental health settings
  • Experience of supervising junior staff

Knowledge and Skills – Communication

Essential

  • Developed interpersonal skills enabling therapeutic alliances to be developed & maintained with service users who have multiple & complex needs
  • Proficient standard of written communication skills
  • Ability to promote & maintain the profile of OT within an MDT & the wider organisation

Knowledge and Skills – Quality

Essential

  • Applied knowledge of current national legislation, policies & guidelines relevant to clinical area
  • Good personal management skills in order to manage a clinical caseload & varied workload
  • Ability to work effectively within a team and understanding of the importance of collaborative working in the delivery of good quality services

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.

Certificate of Sponsorship

Applications from job seekers who require current Skilled worker sponsorship to work in the UK are welcome and will be considered alongside all other applications. For further information visit the UK Visas and Immigration website (Opens in a new tab).

From 6 April 2017, skilled worker applicants, applying for entry clearance into the UK, have had to present a criminal record certificate from each country they have resided continuously or cumulatively for 12 months or more in the past 10 years. Adult dependants (over 18 years old) are also subject to this requirement. Guidance can be found here Criminal records checks for overseas applicants (Opens in a new tab).

UK Registration

Applicants must have current UK professional registration. For further information please see
NHS Careers website (opens in a new window).

Closing Date: 29 July 2026

To apply for this job please visit apps.trac.jobs.