Rehabilitation Engineer in Ashford

We have an exciting opportunity for a Rehabilitation Engineer to join our friendly and supportive Wheelchair Service team, delivering high-quality care across Kent and Medway. Our service supports individuals who require long-term mobility equipment and specialist seating solutions to maintain independence and achieve their lifestyle goals. In this role, you will carry out holistic assessments and prescribe specialist wheelchair equipment.

You will be part of a multidisciplinary Clinical Team led by a Clinical Lead, working alongside OTs, Physios, fellow REs, technicians, and support staff. As part of a fully integrated service including Customer Services, Warehouse Operatives, and Field Service Engineers, you will help deliver equipment efficiently, enabling provision of wheelchairs, cushions, and accessories on the same day as assessment. The role is primarily clinic-based across two well-equipped sites in Kent and Gillingham, with additional work in service users' homes, schools, day centres, and specialist settings. You will collaborate with community and acute services.

We offer a supportive and flexible working environment, where you will work independently and with peer support. You will receive line management from an experienced RE, with additional support from the Clinical Lead. We are committed to your professional development, offering comprehensive training, regular supervision, and ongoing learning opportunities through PDR/PDP and CPD.

• Provide specialist assessments of mobility, posture, and function for service users with complex, long-term needs, informing tailored wheelchair and seating solutions.
• Work collaboratively with service users, carers, and multidisciplinary teams to deliver holistic, person-centred care, valuing individual goals and lived experience.
• Provide expert technical advice within the Wheelchair service, applying engineering principles to support clinical decisions, optimise posture, and enhance quality of life.
• Contribute to quality assurance and continuous improvement, ensuring safe, effective, and efficient service delivery in line with best practice.
• Assess, design, and recommend bespoke equipment adaptations, producing clear technical specifications and drawings to support safe implementation.
• Prepare, issue, and set up powered wheelchairs, demonstrate controls, ensure suitability, and confirm safe operation at handover.
• Support pressure ulcer prevention and management through specialist seating and advice to service users and professionals.
• Contribute to medical device management, including maintenance, repairs, and quality control.
• Maintain safe clinical environments, adhere to infection control and health and safety standards, and uphold safeguarding responsibilities.
• Safely handle equipment in line with manual handling guidelines.

• To provide support to the Wheelchair Service, working with children and adults who have health, mobility, postural and social needs.
• The postholder will be based at the Wheelchair Service centres but will travel to other locations, including schools, hospitals, care homes, and/or Service Users' homes.
• There may be a need for occasional travel to other Ross Care sites.
• The Wheelchair Service provided by Ross Care, on behalf of the NHS, has a responsibility to ensure that all eligible Service Users receive the wheelchair equipment they require to meet their clinical mobility needs as assessed by the clinical team.
• The post holder will support the delivery of a safe, caring, responsive, effective and well-led Wheelchair Service.
• Providing clinical and technical input to the Wheelchair Service, working closely with Service Users, their families and carers and the multi-disciplinary teams supporting Service Users.
• Working under the direction of the Clinical Lead to achieve contractual standards of performance and excellent personalised customer service.

• Work positively with colleagues to maintain effective relationships within the team and with services such as the repair and maintenance service.
• Report to and work collaboratively with the Clinical Lead, demonstrating an understanding of demand and capacity and efficient ways of working, to ensure provision of an effective clinical service that meets contractual obligations within eligibility criteria and available budget.
• Supervise junior team members, where appropriate, as directed by Clinical Lead providing opportunities for reflection on clinical and technical practice.
• Identify areas for service development and participate in implementing developments.
• Support development/review of policies and standard operating procedures.
• Attend and support clinics in community/school settings.
• Communicate effectively with Service User groups and with other stakeholders to facilitate joint working.
• Facilitate sensitive discussion of contentious outcomes with Service Users, carers, relatives, Wheelchair Service staff and other professional colleagues.
• Facilitate effective communication with Service Users who have communication difficulties of any kind.
• At all times, comply with controls assurance standards for wheelchairs.
• Identify and report any areas of concern to service and senior managers.
• Work as an autonomous practitioner, managing a caseload of complex Service Users.
• Develop in-depth knowledge of mobility equipment and provide advice and guidance to other clinical team members.
• Demonstrate clinical and technical competence, effectiveness and best practice in key areas of clinical service delivery.
• Adjustments to, and appropriate modifications of, mobility equipment and accessories, following statutory and medical device regulations.
• Production of engineering drawings and manufacturing instructions for proposed modifications or adaptations.
• Assembly and programming of complex powered wheelchair control systems.
• Assembly and adjustment of modular/complex seating on all suitable wheelbases.
• Documentation, ensuring compliance with agreed record keeping systems and standards.
• Caseload management.
• Awareness of and compliance with medical device management, including management of incidents as directed by Clinical Lead.
• Identify and prescribe appropriate equipment from an agreed product range to meet the Service Users clinical needs and their agreed aims & objectives.
• Ensure that Personal Wheelchair Budgets (PWB) are offered when Service Users are eligible.
• Ensure that Outcome measures are implemented in assessments, working with the Service User to achieve their desired outcomes.
• Take responsibility for maintaining safe clinic environments.
• Understand and demonstrate knowledge of statutory obligations under the Mental Capacity Act in relation to capacity and consent.
• Follow best practice guidelines.
• Provide technical support as necessary to service centre manager and/or warehouse manager.
• Lead in reviews and evaluation of existing and new equipment as requested by the Clinical Lead and Product Review Group.
• Attend regular Rehabilitation Engineers/Rehabilitation Engineering Technicians meetings and contribute to group supervision.
• Carry out physical/low complexity postural assessments and interventions.
• Work with a variety of hand and powered tools in a range of environments.