Clinical Specialist Occupational Therapist- ITU, Respiratory & Surgery: Sponsorship Available

  • Full Time
  • United Kingdom
  • 51,657 to 58,785 £ / Year

Ashford & St. Peter's Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust

Job summary

Join our vibrant and supportive team of Physiotherapists and Occupational Therapists at Ashford and St Peter’s NHS Foundation Trust. We’re looking for a passionate Band 7 Clinical Specialist Occupational Therapist to manage a small, dynamic team and drive service development within Critical Care and the Cardiorespiratory and Surgical wards.

As the Band 7, you will oversee the day-to-day operational management of Occupational Therapy services across Cardiorespiratory, Critical Care and Surgery, providing clinical leadership and supervision to our OT team (2 x Band 6, 2 x Band 5 and 1 x Band 4). You will work autonomously with complex patients, leading advanced assessments and rehabilitation planning within a multidisciplinary team. You will also act as a clinical expert resource, contributing to service development, quality improvement, research and audit activity.

Working within a friendly, collaborative and well-established multidisciplinary team, you will play a key role in further developing and embedding Occupational Therapy within Critical Care, helping to shape rehabilitation pathways and improve outcomes for critically ill patients across their recovery journey.

Main duties of the job

The postholder will

Provide specialist assessment, treatment and rehabilitation for patients with critical illness and complex post-operative needs, addressing physical, cognitive, psychological and functional recovery.

Lead the day-to-day operational delivery and development of Occupational therapy services to critical care, respiratory and surgical wards.

Work autonomously as an expert clinician and collaboratively with the multidisciplinary team to support shared decision-making, optimise patient outcomes and facilitate patient pathways from critical care through to discharge.

Participate in critical care follow up clinic.

Provide clinical leadership and supervision to occupational therapists, therapy assistants and students, contributing to workforce development.

Lead and support education and training programmes, including competency development, student education and MDT learning opportunities.

Drive service improvement, quality assurance, audit, research and innovation activities, contributing to clinical governance and the achievement of local and national strategic objectives.

Support the Trust’s move towards 7-day working by contributing to OT service provision on extended hours, weekends, and bank holidays.

Person Specification

Qualifications

Essential

  • Degree or Diploma in Occupational Therapy
  • HCPC registration

Desirable

  • Relevant postgraduate/leadership training
  • Member of relevant special-interest groups
  • Member of RCOT

Experience

Essential

  • Broad range of rotational experience including surgery, cardiorespiratory and neurology
  • Complex physical, cognitive and functional rehabilitation management including patient-centred goal setting
  • Experience managing patients who have been admitted to/stepped down from critical care
  • Experience supervising, teaching and supporting junior staff
  • Participating in audit, quality improvement, service evaluation and/or service development activities

Desirable

  • Experience of leading audit, quality improvement, service evaluation or service development projects
  • Experience within vascular surgery, including amputee rehabilitation
  • Splinting and tone management.

Knowledge

Essential

  • Physiological principles underpinning critical illness, respiratory conditions and post-operative recovery
  • Specialist knowledge of critical care rehabilitation principles
  • Knowledge of relevant evidence-based practice, clinical guidelines and national guidance
  • Understanding of clinical governance, audit, risk management, quality improvement and service evaluation processes

Skills

Essential

  • Highly developed skills in assessment, clinical reasoning and treatment in complex situations
  • Complex risk assessment, discharge planning, problem-solving and individualised patient-centred rehabilitation
  • Ability to prioritise and manage a complex clinical caseload
  • Strong communication and relationship-building skills to work collaboratively within a multidisciplinary team
  • Excellent communication and interpersonal skills in complex/sensitive situations

Desirable

  • Leading and motivating others
  • Coordinating and prioritising caseloads across teams, with effective delegation

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: 2 December 2026

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