Highly Specialist Occupational Therapist

Job overview

The @home Service are at the forefront of community healthcare transformation, aligning with NHS England’s Long-Term Plan enabling London’s ageing population and those with complex or urgent health needs to remain safely at home. This is achieved through the delivery of responsive, high-quality multi-disciplinary treatment in community settings.

We are seeking a Highly Specialist Occupational Therapist (Band 7) to join the team on a fixed term 9-month contract, at 0.80 WTE. The current post holder is taking maternity leave.

The successful post holder will demonstrate a passionate for delivering rapid, holistic, and patient-centred care within the community. Previous experience in admission avoidance / A & E / acute medicine or similar is highly desirable. You will possess advanced assessment and clinical reasoning skills, enabling you to make timely decisions and deliver effective interventions that promote independence and reduce unnecessary hospital admissions.

This is a collaborative role, building strong working relationships across health and social care services to ensure coordinated, seamless care for patients. You will be adaptable, proactive, and enthusiastic about contributing to safe, effective, and efficient service delivery, while contributing to shared learning, professional development, and continuous service improvement.

Main duties of the job

Provide expert Occupational Therapy and extended scope assessment, intervention, and care planning for patients within the community.

Work autonomously, and collaboratively with colleagues and partner services across a various settings to support patient care.

Demonstrate strong clinical judgement in the triage of new referrals, prioritising and assigning resources to ensure the timely allocation of care for patients with urgent needs.

Provide clinical oversight of the therapy caseload within the Therapist in Charge role, ensuring the safe, efficient, and coordinated delivery of care across the therapy team.

Supervise and line manage junior Occupational Therapists and support workers, providing professional support, mentorship, and clinical guidance; and contribute to mentoring AHP students on placement.

Act as a senior clinical resource within the @home team, supporting complex case management, facilitating shared learning, and contributing to the development of staff knowledge and clinical practice.

Initiate, supervise, and participate in evidence-based practice, service improvement projects, audit, and research activities, implementing recommendations to enhance service quality and patient outcomes.

Engage in ongoing professional development across the four pillars of practice through regular supervision, peer support, and collaborative working within a large multidisciplinary team.

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

Please refer to the full job description for a comprehensive summary of the essential and desirable criteria for this role. Main headings include:

• Professional and clinical responsibilities
• Communication
• Service Development - Research / Audit / Quality
• Staff management and Leadership
• Education and Training

Personal and professional development key relationships include Deputy Head of Nursing, Deputy Chief AHP, Therapy Lead Practitioners, Service Lead and Deputy Service Leads and Matrons, Clinical Nurse Specialists and Practitioners, Allied Health Professionals, @home GPs, Consultants and Junior Medical Staff, Social Workers and Social Services, Nursing and Rehabilitation Support Workes, Practice Development Nurses, and various community and acute therapy and nursing teams.

General points to note: This job may involve frequent exposure to unpleasant working conditions, e.g. bodily fluids, unpleasant smells, exposure to variant weather conditions, and within a fast-paced environment.

Being community-based, you will visit patients in their own homes across Lambeth and Southwark. Travel within the boroughs can be achieved by public transport and/or trust-provided or your personal vehicle for those holding a valid UK driving licence.