Senior Therapy Technical Instructor – Therapies Complex Discharge Team: Sponsorship Available

Northampton General Hospital

Job summary

The Senior Therapies Technical Instructor will work as part of a roaming Therapies Complex Discharge Team, supporting the assessment, treatment and discharge planning of patients with complex therapy needs impacting discharge across inpatient wards, escalation areas and medically fit patient cohorts.

Working under the indirect supervision of registered Occupational Therapists and Physiotherapists, the post holder will manage a delegated caseload and undertake assessments, rehabilitation interventions and discharge planning activities within agreed competencies and care pathways. They will contribute to timely, safe and effective discharge planning by identifying barriers to discharge, supporting functional assessment, issuing appropriate low-level equipment and progressing treatment plans in collaboration with the multidisciplinary team.

Main duties of the job

The post holder will provide therapy support to complex discharge patients identified through ward teams, discharge hub processes, board rounds and escalation meetings. They will act as a key link between ward teams and registered therapists, gathering and communicating information relevant to patient flow, rehabilitation and discharge planning.

The Senior Therapies Technical Instructor will work closely with patients, carers and colleagues to promote independence, maximise function and support positive discharge outcomes. This may include undertaking access visits, supporting home assessments, participating in board rounds and contributing to discussions regarding discharge pathways and ongoing therapy needs.

The post holder will be expected to manage and prioritise their workload independently within their scope of practice, provide support and guidance to Band 2 and Band 3 therapy staff, contribute to service improvement activities and maintain high standards of clinical documentation, communication and patient care.

The role includes participation in seven-day working patterns and requires flexibility to work across inpatient services in response to patient need and operational priorities. The post holder will act as a role model for person-centred care, professionalism and collaborative working in line with UHN’s Dedicated to Excellence values.

Person Specification

Education Training and Qualifications

Essential

  • Personal portfolio of evidence of work based learning in healthcare
  • Or NVQ level 4 in care related topic or good standard of education equivalent to A level or BTec

Desirable

  • Foundation degree or equivalent in health related subject.
  • A combination of short relevant courses

Knowledge and Experience

Essential

  • Working in an acute NHS healthcare environment.
  • Significant Experience of working with a broad range of medical conditions and age groups.
  • Knowledge and understanding of roles, responsibilities and working practices of Occupational Therapists and Physiotherapists
  • Recognise boundaries of own scope of practice and duty of care, seeking assistance as appropriate
  • Understanding of basic anatomy and physiology relevant to Therapy care including muscle groups, gait and skeletal anatomy
  • Basic IT skills including use of email
  • Knowledge of the psychosocial elements of healthcare
  • Principles of confidentiality

Desirable

  • Experience of working within a community based setting.

Skills

Essential

  • Well-developed communication skills, including interpersonal skills, liaison, influencing and negotiation.
  • Ability to work on own without immediate support
  • Ability to organise and prioritise own workload
  • Ability to delegate and organise others
  • Ability to use initiative in addressing own learning needs and appraise own performance
  • Basic IT literacy, including use of emails in Microsoft or similar
  • Ability to problem solve.
  • Pass trust standard literacy and numeracy tests
  • Good observation skills.

Key competencies/ Personal Qualities and Attributes

Essential

  • Flexible and confident manner with a positive approach and high levels of motivation
  • Ability to manage work pressures to enable management of a caseload alongside involvement in non-clinical and professional activities
  • Appreciation of the dynamics of working within a team
  • Commitment to own personal and professional development
  • Enthusiasm for contributing towards development of the Therapy services
  • Physical ability to undertake manual handling of patients and equipment on a daily basis
  • Personal resources to cope when dealing with patients with complex conditions, acute or terminal illnesses, traumatic injuries, mental impairment and challenging behaviours on a daily basis
  • Professional manner and appearance
  • Personal mobility to move across the hospital site between clinic/office/treatment areas
  • Cope with exposure to body fluids, distressing situations and infections

Desirable

  • Car driver and ability to travel between hospital sites and patient homes

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).

Closing Date: 27 September 2026

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