Specialist Occupational Therapist – IDT (28.5 hours): Sponsorship Available

Royal Surrey NHS Foundation Trust

Job summary

Specialist Occupational Therapist Band 6 | 28.5 hours over three fixed days | A&E & Front Door | 8am-6pm

Do you enjoy acute assessment, clinical reasoning and finding alternatives to hospital admission?

We are looking for an experienced Band 6 Occupational Therapist to join our Integrated Discharge Team (IDT), working across A&E and other acute assessment areas.

This is a varied and fast-paced front-door role where you will use your OT expertise to rapidly assess patients, understand what matters to them and identify the most appropriate outcome. You will support admission avoidance where safe and appropriate, helping patients to return home with the right support, access rehabilitation or be admitted when this is required.

The working pattern is a key feature of this post: 28.5 hours over three fixed days, ideally Monday, Tuesday and Friday, with approximately 1 weekend in 4. Days off in lieu are provided for weekend working.

If you enjoy autonomy, problem-solving and making a difference to a patient’s journey through hospital, we’d love to hear from you.

Main duties of the job

You will assess working-age and older adults presenting in crisis, considering the physical, functional, environmental, social and psychological factors affecting their ability to return home safely.

You will work closely with A&E, acute medicine, acute frailty, adult social care, Hospital at Home and community services to develop person-centred plans and support positive risk-taking.

We particularly welcome applicants with experience in A&E, SDEC, acute assessment, acute frailty, front-door therapy, admission avoidance, UCR, or Hospital at Home.

You will work autonomously within a supportive team, with responsibility for clinical decision-making, supervision of junior staff/students and contributing to service development.

The service is supported by highly specialist Band 7 OTs and an experienced team lead, providing excellent opportunities to develop your clinical reasoning and front-door assessment skills.

Person Specification

Qualifications

Essential

  • Diploma/degree in OT/PT by recognised awarding body e.g. Royal College of Occupational therapists/CSP.
  • Must satisfy the criteria for full membership of the Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC)
  • Further qualifications/Study

Desirable

  • An approved supervisor for OT/PT degree students

Knowledge

Essential

  • Knowledge of the role of Occupational Therapy for people with a wide range of physical dysfunction.
  • Able to assess for and fit basic equipment to facilitate safe discharge
  • Previous experience relating to specialist area
  • Experience of working in an acute hospital setting
  • Knowledge of relevant NHS and SS legislation
  • Able to assess for and fit complex equipment and teach patient/carer in the safe use of these
  • Experience with community/mental health conditions

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 November 2026

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