Children's Occupational Therapist

Job overview

An exciting opportunity has arisen for a committed and passionate clinician to join a highly experienced and specialist Children’s Occupational Therapy Team. This role is offered on a fixed-term contract for 6 months, with a contract end date of 27th March 2027

The base for this post is the Child Development Centre at The Westhampnett Centre in Chichester, a well-equipped facility designed to meet the needs of families and staff, supporting the delivery of an effective and holistic service.

The post will ideally suit an experienced band 5 or a band 6 wishing to expand their skills in Children's services.

Current HCPC registration is essential.

The role involves working closely with children, families, and a range of professionals across different settings, including clinics, homes, schools, and nurseries. We are committed to multidisciplinary working and actively contribute to specialist clinics.

Please note: Due to recent changes in UK immigration and visa rules, this role may not be eligible for Skilled Worker visa sponsorship. Applicants who do not currently have the right to work in the UK may not be considered. Candidates requiring sponsorship should review the eligibility criteria on the gov.uk website before applying to assess their eligibility for a Certificate of Sponsorship for this role.

Skilled Worker visa: going rates for eligible occupation codes - GOV.UK

Health and Care Worker visa: If you’ll need to meet different salary requirements - GOV.UK

Main duties of the job

The team are very committed to Sussex Community Trust’s values of “Working Together, Achieving Ambitions, Delivering Excellence and Compassionate Care”, and aspire to deliver a service of ‘compassionate patient centred care, promoting independence and empowering families’.

We offer excellent in-service training, supervision and clinical support from the Countywide Paediatric Professional Lead.

The ability to travel is essential as you will need to visit nurseries, schools and children’s homes.

To work as a band 6 registered professional within a Sussex Community NHS Foundation Trust service:

• To manage a caseload of patients with a variety of conditions.
• To formulate and deliver generic and specialised treatment programmes based on a sound knowledge of evidence-based practice and treatment options using clinical assessment and reasoning skills.
• To treat all patients with respect and courtesy, maintaining dignity and respecting individual needs and differences, both physical and cultural.
• To be involved in the support and supervision of staff at Band 3 to 5 level.
• To act as a clinical educator for undergraduate students within own professional area.
• To receive and deliver internal training and keep your own Personal Development plans up to date.
• To take on an audit and evaluation role of the service in which you work.
• To assist the team with service development initiatives

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

The main tasks you will spend your time doing are:

• To work effectively as a team member in providing and facilitating a high standard of care, social and rehabilitative support across various settings.
• To plan therapy, social and rehabilitative pathways taking account of the fluctuating needs of the patient and assist in evaluating the outcomes.
• To report and document variances in a patient’s condition or planned pathway of care.
• To offer advice and support and education on healthcare to both patients and carers.
• To take referrals for all services using the criteria specified in their operational policies.
• To undertake a holistic assessment of all the patients’ needs and understand the routes for escalating issues that are not directly resolved by own professional practice.
• Formulate and deliver an individual treatment programme based on a sound knowledge of evidence-based practice and treatment options using specific clinical assessment, reasoning skills and knowledge of treatment skills.
• To evaluate patient progress, reassess and alter treatment programmes as required.
• Assess patient understanding of treatment proposals, gain valid informed consent and have the capacity to work within a legal framework with patients who lack capacity to consent to treatment.
• To manage clinical risk within own patient case load and recognise potential risks to others, complying at all times with the requirements of health and safety regulations.
• Work in line with the SCFT lone worker policy where lone working is integral to the role.
• To be responsible for maintaining personal accurate and comprehensive patient treatment records in accordance with SCFT Information Governance and professional bodies.
• To be responsible for maintaining and developing own competency to practice through CPD activities and maintain a portfolio which reflects personal development.
• To clinically supervise, support and teach other staff, including Band 5 therapists, assistants and students.
• To support the operational lead with annual appraisals for staff at Band 3 to 5 staff and assist them with their career development.