Highly Specialist Occupational Therapist - Orthopaedics

Job overview

The Occupational Therapy service at Great Ormond Street Hospital have an exciting opportunity available for an experienced orthopaedic occupational therapist who would like to work in a world-renowned paediatric hospital.  We are looking for someone to work within our acute orthopaedic and spinal team, providing assessment and intervention for children and young people with complex conditions and neurological difficulties who are undergoing orthopaedic or spinal surgery. The successful candidate will have experience working in an acute setting and the ability to communicate the potential impact of these types of surgeries on occupational engagement. Whilst previous experience working in paediatrics would be beneficial, it is not essential and support to transition into a paediatric role would be provided if required.

You will join our large, extremely well supported Occupational Therapy department, which has 35 Occupational Therapists and support staff. You will be supervised and managed by one of the Clinical Specialist Occupational Therapists. We have a flexible and robust supervision process and regular in-service training opportunities that support professional development. Training from other specialists is available within the hospital and externally.

Main duties of the job

You will participate in pre-op assessment, post-op intervention and seating assessments for children undergoing complex orthopaedic surgery in both an inpatient and outpatient setting. Surgery is predominately lower limb and spinal, but there are also a small number of upper limb orthopaedic procedures undertaken. Liaison with children’s local services is paramount to ensure continuity of care and safe discharge and expert communication skills are therefore a necessity. The role also involves input to the Pan Hospital Wheelchair Service and previous experience of assessing for and providing a wide range of wheelchairs and seating systems is required. The team are looking for an individual who can promote a functional approach that both enables engagement in meaningful occupations and promotes participation within an acute setting.

You will be one of five Occupational Therapists working in the orthopaedic team and the post is line managed by the Clinical Specialist Occupational Therapist in Orthopaedics and Spines. As a senior member of this team, the post-holder will be responsible for prioritisation and delegation of duties to others on a day-to-day basis, and for providing clinical supervision to a Band 6 Occupational Therapist as well as students. They will also benefit from working within an extremely supportive Occupational Therapy Team which comprises 35 permanent staff.

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

The full job description provides an overview of the key tasks and responsibilities of the role, and the person specification outlines the qualifications, skills, experience and knowledge required. For both documents please view the attachment/s below.