Job overview
An exciting opportunity has arisen for a motivated Band 6 Occupational Therapist to join our friendly and supportive team, working within our older adult Dementia ward at Walton Hospital. Snowdrop Ward is a 18 bedded assessment and treatment unit for older adults with an acute organic illness who require a period of assessment within an acute mental health setting.
As a Senior Occupational Therapist, you will:
- Provide strong clinical leadership, working closely with the MDT and other stakeholder in delivering high quality, person-centred care.
- Champion evidence-based practice to enhance service quality and responsiveness.
- Support the Ward Manager in developing operational and clinical mechanisms, including deputising in absence of the service lead.
- Collaborate with ward-based therapy staff, ensuring effective oversight of OT provision and assessments.
Main duties of the job
- Maintain a strong clinical presence by delivering individual interventions and overseeing the full range of therapeutic activities within the team.
- Demonstrate expertise in organic mental health care and share this knowledge effectively, promoting independence and person centred care.
- Proactively manage your own caseload, prioritising tasks efficiently to meet competing demands.
- Assess complex service user needs using professional judgement and evidence-based approaches, ensuring accountability for clinical decisions.
- Ensure every service user has a current, collaboratively developed Occupational Therapy plan tailored to their individual needs.
- Apply leadership principles adapting strategies to meet changing service requirements.
- Work closely with ward-based therapy team to ensure the delivery of high-quality, needs-led Occupational Therapy services.
- Contribute to clinical development through mentoring, coaching, and supporting student education and fieldwork placement
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 have an account.
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.
Person specification
Education
Essential
- Degree or diploma in OT
- Evidence of ongoing, CPD, Reflection, Team Leadership skills and Evidence based practice
Desirable
- Field work educators qualification
Skills and Experience
Essential
- Demonstrate 2 years post registration experience and expertise of mental health
- Evidence of specialised Occupational Therapy Assessments
- Analytical skills involving skilled interpretation, comparison and reasoned judgement in complex situations
- Supervision of Junior staff
- Evidence of leadership skills
- Evidence of risk assessment and management
- Evidence of application of theoretical models of practice.
- Evidence of working in an organic / dementia care setting and complex cases
- Evidence of group work experience
Desirable
- Demonstrate knowledge of research techniques and experience of clinical audit
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Applying for this NHS job
This advert is for Senior Occupational Therapist with Derbyshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust in Snowdrop Ward. It is listed as a Band 6 Occupational Therapist role. The advertised salary is £39,959 - £48,117 per annum, pro rata. The contract type is Permanent. The application deadline is 03 Sep 2026.
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