Specialist Occupational therapist

Job overview

Specialist Occupational Therapist

Are you an enthusiastic Occupational Therapist ready to take the next step in your neurorehabilitation career?

Looking for variety, flexibility, and real opportunities to grow?

Join our supportive and dynamic Community Stroke and Neurological Rehab Service in Bedford — where every day brings a new challenge and every team member is truly valued.

We are offering an exciting opportunity for a Band 6 Specialist Occupational Therapist to join our well-established and welcoming multidisciplinary team, delivering early supported discharge and community-based rehabilitation to adults with stroke and neurological conditions across Bedfordshire. You will benefit from flexible working patterns, regular supervision,CPD time, and a wide range of internal and external training opportunities to enhance your clinical and leadership skills.

Our caseload is varied and rewarding, offering you experience in both short-term intensive rehabilitation and longer-term support, with the chance to develop specialist skills in functional and cognitive assessment, equipment provision, and patient education.

If you're looking for a role where you’ll be encouraged to develop, supported by experienced clinicians, and able to make a real difference in patients’ lives while maintaining work-life balance — we’d love to hear from you.

(Should we receive a high number of applications we reserve the right to close this vacancy at any point after 20-07-2025)

Main duties of the job

As a Band 6 Occupational Therapist within the Community Neurotherapy Service, the post holder is responsible for managing a complex caseload of neurological and stroke patients, delivering specialist, evidence-based assessments and interventions in a community setting.

They will act as a case manager, coordinating multidisciplinary care and supporting patients' rehabilitation and independence through personalised therapy plans.

The role involves effective communication with patients, carers, and professionals across health and social care, as well as providing supervision to junior staff and students.

The therapist will contribute to service development, lead clinical projects, maintain accurate documentation, and work flexibly across different settings, including weekends and bank holidays as part of a rota.

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

Main Duties and Responsibilities

To establish and maintain positive interpersonal relationships with other staff, clients and their carers. Positive relationships are characterised by open communication, trust and respect.

To involve patients and carers in the planning of care/rehabilitation programmes and encourage self-management where appropriate.

To represent the service at county-wide forums.

To ensure all patients’ and their relatives’ cultural wishes are respected and their special mental and physical needs are met.

To have a good knowledge of supporting services available to clients from health, social care and voluntary agencies

To provide support and supervision to junior members of staff.

To work a variety of shift patterns which includes weekends and bank holidays on a rota basis

Nature of work

To form professional relationships with clients and communicate condition related information to them in a way that respects their views, autonomy and culture.

To manage and hold accountability for a defined caseload involving specialist and complex assessments using evidence-based client centred principles.

To work flexibly across bases within Bedfordshire, including rehabilitation bedded units, as service needs require.

Cambridgeshire Community Services NHS Trust: providing services across Cambridgeshire, Milton Keynes Luton, Norfolk, Peterborough, Bedfordshire and Suffolk

Where barriers to understanding exist staff will need to use tact, motivational negotiating and reassurance skills. Information received and given may be sensitive and will need to be handled in a empathic and professional manner

To involve patients and carers in the planning of rehabilitation programmes and encourage self-management where appropriate

To have a good level of knowledge of support services within the community.

To safely travel between patients’ homes and other venues on a daily basis within statutory requirements and adhering to relevant policies and guidelines.

To assess and regularly undertake the moving and positioning of patients and equipment adhering to relevant Trust policies.

To be able to manipulate, set up and demonstrate equipment to clients in their homes.

To have adequate keyboard skills and knowledge of IT systems provided by the Trust.

Planning

To deputise for the senior staffs in matters related to the daily running of the service as and when necessary.

To work in collaboration with patients, relatives, carers and the multi-disciplinary team in assessing, planning, implementing and evaluating care.

To act as a case manager for clients, coordinating their intervention whilst with the service.

Plan delegation of work to assistant practitioners and rehabilitation support workers.

To arrange for provision of assistive equipment from appropriate agencies as required and use equipment PIN numbers responsibly and effectively

To liaise with other services to ensure planned care and intervention as agreed with clients is given.

To have a good knowledge of supporting services available to clients from health and social care as well as voluntary agencies in the community

To be responsible for prioritising and organising own caseload, managing conflicting demands on time.

To participate in and facilitate group work, committees and workshops as required.

To organise and attend multidisciplinary case conferences and liaison meetings as necessary.