Occupational Therapist - Acute Inpatient Mental Health


Location
Derby, England
Salary
£32,073 - £39,043 per annum, pro rata
Profession
Occupational Therapist
Grade
Band 5
Deadline
26 Oct 2026
Contract Type
Permanent
Posted Date
12 Oct 2026
Medical Protection — the side of locally employed doctors from £83

Job requirements

Essential

10 listed

Requirements the employer expects applicants to meet.

  • Skills

    IT skills

  • Skills

    Ability to work as an autonomous practitioner

  • Skills

    Good communication skills

  • Skills

    Effective working with the Multidisciplinary Team

  • Education

    Degree in Occupational Therapy

  • Education

    HCPC Registration

  • Experience

    Working Mental Health Experience

  • Experience

    Group work and planning

  • Experience

    Experience of using the recovery approach

  • Experience

    Completion of assessment and intervention

Desirable

5 listed

Additional qualities the employer would prefer.

  • Education

    MOHO Framework

  • Education

    L'APPLE Accreditation

  • Education

    Level 2 Food Hygiene

  • Experience

    Good Understanding of NHS and relevant national standards

  • Experience

    Inpatient experience

Job overview

We are pleased to offer an exciting opportunity for a part-time Band 5 Occupational Therapist to join the Psychiatric Intensive Care Unit at Audrey House.

This service offers direct support to adult acute mental health patients in a intensive care unit

The role of an Occupational Therapist focuses on the assessment of therapeutic interventions and delivers specialist care in this unit. .This service requires you to build on MDT working and collaborate with an innovative and forward-thinking ethos. This service will support you with your development and offer clinical supervision (and preceptorship programme, if needed).

It’s a great time to join Derbyshire Healthcare and be part of a dynamic, supportive team making a real difference in mental health care!

The post is currently part time week on a flexible working pattern. And wider OT team is currently undergoing a review so working patterns may be subject to change. Patterns of work can be discussed upon recruitment.

Main duties of the job

As a member of the team, you will be expected to adopt the policies and philosophy of the service and provide occupational assessment and treatment using a range of appropriate interventions based on the recovery philosophy and the Model of Human Occupation and promotion of VtD OT assessments.

Additionally, you will be expected to work and support the wider MDT to contribute to a safe and effective discharge plan back into the community.

You will be required to offer and facilitate recovery focused intervention which supports the development of patient skill and autonomy.

You will be required to link with wider community links and support networks which support patient transition into the community.

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

Please review the Job Description and Person Specification. To apply, please click APPLY FOR THIS JOB - this link will take you to the TRAC Recruitment Site. You will need to register if you do not already have an account.

The Occupational Therapist will work flexibly in an occupation focused way by developing and delivering meaningful activity within an individual and group environment that focuses on person centred care and recovery principles. The post holder will ensure each assessment and treatment is delivered in a person-centred manner ensuring the gender, sexual orientation, ethnic, cultural and spiritual needs of service users are adhered to and support the Care Programme Approach including enabling service users/carers/significant others to become involved in decision making processes for the implementation and evaluation of treatment.

Within the role you will need to have the ability to work autonomously to develop and deliver an Occupational Therapy Service for inpatients and support the Occupational Therapy care pathway based on evidence-based practice. You will need the show initiative, drive and ability to think creatively for solutions. You will actively manage your own workload, effectively and efficiently prioritising competing demands. Therefore, the post holder will be required to be a dynamic clinician and demonstrate a range of skills, including effective communication, empathy, self-awareness and critical, self-reflection skills.

DHCFT can offer both personal and clinical development opportunities, in addition to regular professional and clinical supervision, personal development plans, and support for continual professional development activities.

As a member of the team you will be expected to adopt the policies and philosophy of the service and provide occupational assessment and treatment using a range of appropriate interventions based on the recovery philosophy and the Model of Human Occupation. They will promote social inclusion, enabling independence and enhancing the autonomy of the service user. This will involve being proactive in initiating and sustaining a respectful, consistent, and reliable therapeutic relationship with service users that enhances their ability to build social networks and work in partnership with other agencies.

You will be aware of and work within all legislative requirements relevant to occupational therapy (Mental Health Act, Code of Practice, Human Rights Act, Disability Discrimination Act etc), and ensure that Child and Adult protection procedures are followed.

You will also nurture a culture of respect for others, and an environment that values and is pro-actively respectful of ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, culture and individuality for service users and staff. Whilst also ensuring Trust policies, procedures, and legislative directives are adhered to e.g. Equal Opportunities, Human Rights Act, Disability Discrimination Act, Race Relations, Sex Discrimination etc.

You should: Demonstrate the ability to monitor personal practice ensuring that Health Professions Council registration is maintained. Ensure personal professional development promotes good practice, prevents poor practice, and intervenes in unacceptable practice. Working with service users within the limitations of inpatient environments and being aware of potential hazards. Taking responsibility for utilising local support systems as necessary e.g. manual handling, management of violence and aggression, lone worker policy etc.

This job description will be reviewed annually with you according to the needs and development of the service; alterations will only be made after consultation and agreement. You may be asked to undertake duties not directly highlighted within this job description. This will only be done when the skills and experience of the post holder meet the requirements of the job.

Applicant requirements

You must have appropriate UK professional registration.

This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (Exceptions) Order 1975 (Amendment) (England and Wales) Order 2020 and it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service.

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Applying for this NHS job

This advert is for Occupational Therapist - Acute Inpatient Mental Health with Derbyshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust in Derby, England. It is listed as a Band 5 Occupational Therapist role. The advertised salary is £32,073 - £39,043 per annum, pro rata. The contract type is Permanent. The application deadline is 26 Oct 2026.

Before you apply, compare the job description with the person specification and mirror the employer's essential criteria in your supporting information. Use the vacancy title, employer, location, salary, contract type, closing date and posted date (12 Oct 2026) to decide whether this role fits your current NHSjob search. If the employer can close applications early, prepare the application before the stated deadline rather than waiting for the final day.

For more context, review related Job Clerk pages for the same profession, band or location where they exist, then use the application-support guides to tailor your statement and prepare for interview.