Team Lead Occupational Therapist - Critical Care in City of London

NHS AfC: Band 7

Main area: Occupational Therapy

Grade: NHS AfC: Band 7

Contract: 12 months (12 month Fixed Term Contract)

Hours: Full time - 37.5 hours per week (Weekend working approximately one in every 6 weekends)

Job ref: 213-Division-A-7702104-A

Employer: King's College Hospital NHS Foundation Trust

Site: Kings College Hospital NHS Foundation Trust - Denmark Hill Site

Town: London

Salary: £56,276 - £63,176 per annum, inc HCA

Salary period: Yearly

Closing: 08/02/2026 23:59

King’s College Hospital NHS Foundation Trust is one of the UK’s largest and busiest teaching Trusts with a turnover of c£1.8 billion, 1.5 million patient contacts a year and more than 15,000 staff based across 5 main sites in South East London. The Trust provides a full range of local hospital services across its different sites, and specialist services from King’s College Hospital (KCH) sites at Denmark Hill in Camberwell and at the Princess Royal University Hospital (PRUH) site in the London Borough of Bromley.

We encourage all our staff to have a healthy work/life balance. In doing so, you can apply for flexible working from the beginning of your employment. We offer a range of options which are designed to suit different circumstances and priorities in line with service requirements.

An exciting opportunity has arisen to join the critical care as a band 7 fixed term contract at King’s College Hospital NHS Foundation Trust. This post offers the chance to develop advanced clinical expertise across a diverse and high-acutely complex general, liver neuro critical care caseload.

The team structure provides excellent opportunities for continued professional development, with access to specialist training, structured learning, peer support and opportunities to expand both advanced clinical and leadership skills. This is a rewarding and exciting role suited to an experienced critical care occupational therapist with a passion for team development and continuous improvement.

Main duties of the job

• To oversee, coordinate and develop the neuro occupational therapy services at King’s College Hospital.
• The post holder will provide specialist assessment, consultancy and intervention of patients’ occupational needs within the inpatient units as clinically indicated.
• They will carry a caseload of patients with complex health and social care needs, using evidence-based practice within the field of occupational therapy.
• They will use client-centred principles to assess, plan, implement and evaluate interventions.
• They will develop links with other departments and facilitate a multidisciplinary team approach.
• The post holder will provide clinical and professional leadership to a team of qualified members of staff and assistants.
• The post holder will attend relevant meetings as a representative of occupational therapy and will advise on service developments in line with government policy development.
• To lead and implement local and national clinical governance initiatives, evidence-based practice and clinical audit.
• To develop skills in presentation at study days and larger external conferences to raise the profile of occupational therapy within these fields of practice.
• The post requires a flexible approach to working and a commitment to undertake weekend working.

Working for our organisation

The Trust provides a full range of local and specialist services across its five sites. The trust-wide strategy of Strength Roots, Global Reach is our Vision to be BOLD, Brilliant people, Outstanding care, Leaders in Research, Innovation and Education, Diversity, Equality and Inclusion at the heart of everything we do. By being person-centred, digitally-enabled, and focused on sustainability, we aim to take Team King’s to another level.

We are at a pivotal point in our history and we require individuals who are ready to join a highly professional team and make a real, lasting difference to our patients and our people.

King’s is committed to delivering Sustainable Healthcare for All via our Green Plan. In line with national Greener NHS ambitions, we have set net zero carbon targets of 2040 for our NHS Carbon Footprint and 2045 for our NHS Carbon Footprint Plus. Everyone’s contribution is required in order to meet the goals set out in our Green Plan and we encourage all staff to work responsibly, minimising their contributions to the Trust’s carbon emissions, waste and pollution wherever possible.

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

CLINICAL

• To support the team to identify appropriate referrals, capacity and demand and prioritise workload across the team and other services within occupational therapy, particularly in relation to staff absence.
• To apply a high level of understanding of the effect of illness/disability on occupational performance and provide training and advice on adaptations to technique and the patient’s social and physical environment.
• To have a good physiological and medical knowledge of common conditions and critical care treatments, including ventilation and tracheostomy use in order to treat patients safely within this environment.
• To assess and treat patients with complex needs who would benefit from coordinated multidisciplinary assessment, rehabilitation and discharge services.
• To be competent in the development and implementation of remedial and preventative treatment programmes addressing motor, sensory, cognitive, perceptual, psychological and occupational areas.
• To identify risks, complete risk assessments and implement risk management strategies and document this accurately.
• To recognise any change in the condition of the patient and alter treatment accordingly or refer to medical teams as required.
• To work within local policies and procedures, national standards and guidelines and adhere to the Royal College of Occupational Therapy professional standards and ethics.
• To support patients in setting their own goals and implement this and evaluate appropriately.
• To plan and implement individual and/or group interventions, in collaboration with clients and carers, to achieve therapeutic goals.
• To provide highly skilled interventions and treatments for critically ill patients with support as needed, e.g. splinting, oedema management, delirium management.
• To select evidence-based techniques as part of a coordinated treatment program.
• To assess and demonstrate to patients and carers the safe use of equipment and adaptations and recommend provision of equipment to support discharge.
• To liaise with professionals in onward services to ensure continuity of care.
• To respect the individuality, values, culture and religious diversity of patients and contribute to the provision of a service sensitive to these needs, ensuring equity of service provision.
• To make appropriate clinical observations and keep accurate electronic records and activity data in accordance with professional and trust standards.
• To complete onward referrals to both inpatient and community services.
• To work as an autonomous practitioner and display appropriate problem solving, analytical and judgement skills.
• To support occupational therapists and assist with their managing their patient caseloads to a high level, offering advice or practical support as required.

COMMUNICATION

• To establish robust communication networks with patients, carers, multidisciplinary members and other agencies.
• To promote awareness of the role of occupational therapy within the team, negotiating priorities where appropriate.
• To ensure that up to date written and electronic records and activity data are maintained in accordance with Professional and Trust standards and provide reports relevant to practice setting.
• To represent occupational therapy at ward, departmental and service level meetings, including delegation for the clinical lead occupational therapists.
• To be skilled in managing differences of opinions, conflict and difficult conversations.

MANAGEMENT AND ADMINISTRATION

• To participate in the planning, development and evaluation of occupational therapy services within a designated area/team, holding responsibility for defined projects.
• To assist in developing services and standards according to occupational therapy objectives.
• Contribute to the trust’s clinical governance arrangements and quality agenda, including setting and monitoring of practice standards.
• To apply national guidelines/legislation relating to health and social care in the NHS service provision.
• To supervise, provide support and appraisal for occupational therapists, occupational therapy assistants and technicians and students.
• To be aware of the importance of staff wellbeing, accessing trust support as required and raising any concerns with supervisors or senior staff.
• To be responsible for competent use and maintenance of equipment, raising any concerns and reporting when further resources are needed.
• To carry out administrative duties as required, e.g. assisting in ordering, receiving and maintaining stock and managing petty cash.
• To have good IT skills and use a variety of IT systems to input patient and staff data as required.

TRAINING, EDUCATION AND RESEARCH

• To monitor and advise in the allocation of students in the critical care occupational therapy team.
• To review and reflect on own practice and performance through effective use of professional and operational supervision and appraisal.
• To promote development of occupational therapists, occupational therapy assistants, technicians and students according to their training and development needs as identified through supervision and appraisal.
• To regularly supervise occupational therapy students on practice placement.
• To co-ordinate supervision and appraisal of senior and junior staff.
• To contribute to the induction and training of students and other staff both within the Trust and where appropriate externally.
• To participate in and present on the in-service training, preceptorship programmes, multi-disciplinary trainings and external conferences.
• To undertake audit projects and take part in research projects, relevant to the service area, disseminating findings at local level.
• To demonstrate the ability to critically evaluate current research, apply them to practice and disseminate findings at a local and/or national level.
• To demonstrate ongoing personal and professional development through participation in internal and external development opportunities.
• To develop, run and teach on study days/seminars/present abstracts and posters at national conferences relevant to the critical care occupational therapy service, locally and nationally.
• To keep in touch with new developments and changing trends in occupational therapy and participate in wider issues of providing an occupational therapy service i.e. quality assurance, public relations including liaison with the community; planning and policy making.
• To undertake any other duties commensurate within the grade.

General

• The post holder has a general duty of care for their own health, safety and wellbeing and that of work colleagues, visitors and patients within the hospital, in addition to any particular risk management or clinical governance accountabilities associated with this post.
• To observe the rules, policies, procedures and standards of King's College Hospital NHS Trust together with all relevant statutory and professional obligations.
• To live and role model the King’s Trust Values and Vision.
• To observe and maintain strict confidentiality of personal information relating to patients and staff.
• To be responsible, with management support, for their own personal development and to actively contribute to the development of colleagues.

This job description is intended as a guide to the general scope of duties and is not intended to be definitive or restrictive. It is expected that some of the duties will change over time and this description will be subject to review in consulting with the post holder. An individual performance review and the setting of objectives will occur within each rotation.

All employees must hold an 'nhs.net' email account which will be the Trust's formal route for email communication.