Team Lead Occupational Therapist - Integrated Discharge Team in St Leonards

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Team Lead Occupational Therapist - Integrated Discharge Team

NHS AfC: Band 7

Main area Occupational Therapy Grade NHS AfC: Band 7 Contract Permanent Hours Full time - 37.5 hours per week Job ref 374-KN376

Site Conquest Hospital Town St Leonards on Sea Salary £49,387 - £56,515 per annum, pro rata Salary period Yearly Closing 22/10/2026 23:59

We are proud to provide ‘Outstanding’ care and be a great place to work.

East Sussex Healthcare NHS Trust provides safe, compassionate and high quality hospital and community care to the half a million people living in East Sussex and those who visit our local area.

We are one of the largest organisations in East Sussex with an annual income of £700 million and we are the only integrated provider of acute and community care in Sussex.

Our extensive health services are provided by over 8,000+ dedicated members of staff working from two acute hospitals in Hastings and Eastbourne, three community hospitals in Bexhill, Rye and Uckfield, over 100 community sites across East Sussex, and in people’s own homes.

The Care Quality Commission (CQC) rated us as ‘Good’ overall, and ‘Outstanding’ for being Caring and Effective. The Conquest Hospital in Hastings and our Community Services were rated ‘Outstanding’ and Eastbourne DGH was rated ‘Good’ Our two acute hospitals have Emergency Departments and provide 24 hour a day care, offering a comprehensive range of surgical, medical, outpatient and maternity services, supported by a full range of diagnostic and therapy services.

Job overview

Band 6-7 Developer may be considered for this position

This role will be active in developing and evaluating occupational therapy service delivery within acute care to support patient experience, treatment and discharge planning. The successful applicant will work with another B7 Team Lead to support clinical development and governance needed to deliver best patient care.

You will work closely within a multi-disciplinary team, with the service manager and AHP advanced care practitioners, to support clinical standards and governance needed to maintain and support effective patient care.

We are proud of the developments that have been made with acute services specifically regarding reconditioning and advocating for home first and appropriate discharge pathways. This role offers the opportunity to further shape the workforce model for the future.

We are looking for someone who is an effective, committed and motivated clinician with the relevant operational and clinical experience; someone who can lead change and forge strong working relationships.

We can offer you excellent peer support and robust supervision with a focus on wellbeing because we recognise that this is the success to achieving excellence in patient care. We invest in the education and development of our workforce.

Main duties of the job

Undertakes clinical Occupational Therapy that requires specialist clinical expertise – medical and surgical conditions.

To undertake line management for planning, co-ordinating delivery and evaluation of the Occupational Therapy team in IDT on the Conquest site. This will include the management of staff, standards of care and staff competency.

To participate in pooled budget meetings within Integrated Community Equipment Service.

To be responsible for ensuring Clinical Governance within the IDT

To assist the Therapy Lead in the IDT with recruitment, appraisal, CPD and all issues relating to Trust policies.

Working for our organisation

A wide range of staff benefits are available to our staff including staff development, enrolment in the NHS pension scheme, auto-enrolment to our Temporary Workforce Service, access to onsite nurseries. staff restaurants and accommodation.

In addition to an internal Occupational Health department, all staff also have access to free psychological support through our confidential Employee Assistance Programme. Onsite parking is available from only £50 a year.

There has never been a better time to join East Sussex Healthcare NHS Trust, submit your application today.

Statement on the Use of AI

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Using AI for your application may not accurately represent your knowledge, skills, and experience and may result in a disconnect between your qualifications and our assessment of your application.

We encourage applicants to take the time to thoughtfully complete their applications; by doing so, you allow us to better understand your true potential and ensure a fair and transparent evaluation of your application. Over reliance on AI-generated content may diminish your chance of success.

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

Please refer to the job description attached.

If you have any questions about this position please do not hesitate to contact us.

Person specification

Qualifications

• BSc or MCs in Occupational Therapy
• Health professional council registration
• Evidence of a comprehensive record of continued professional development including attendance at specialist / advanced clinical courses.
• Post graduate courses relevant to the clinical specialism
• Member of specialist Interest Group (BAOT)
• Evidence of postgraduate development to Masters level

Experience

• Previous experience of working as an Occupational Therapist at band 6 or above
• Experience of assessment, treating and discharging planning for patients with highly complex needs
• Experience of developing and appraising staffExperience of delivering services along with evidence based guidelines
• Experience of performance management
• Three years experience within area of speciality
• Experience in leading and teaching programmes of education
• Previous experience as a band 7
• Experience of service development
• ICES Pooled Budget management responsibility

Skills

• Expert clinical skills and reasoning within area of speciality
• Excellent interpersonal skills to deal with complex family dynamics and distressing or sensitive situations
• Full understanding of the national agenda for relevant clinical pathways
• Ability to highlight development needs of self and staff and provide appropriate plan of action
• Able to operationally lead on the delivery of services within a high pressure service and during times of variable demand

Patients come first at East Sussex Healthcare NHS Trust.

Our vision is to be:

• The healthcare provider of first choice for the people of East Sussex.

Our mission is to:

• Deliver better health outcomes and an excellent experience for everyone we provide with healthcare services.

Our strategic objectives are to:

• Improve quality and clinical outcomes by ensuring that safe patient care is our highest priority.
• Play a leading role in local partnerships to meet the needs of our local population and improve and enhance patients’ experiences.
• Use our resources efficiently and effectively for the benefit of our patients and their care to ensure our services are clinically, operationally and financially sustainable.

Our aims are that all services delivered by the Trust are:

• Safe
• EffectiveCaring
• Responsive and
• Well led

Employer certification / accreditation badges

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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