Occupational Therapist

We provide NHS care and treatment for people living in south east England. Our mental health services provide care and treatment for people with conditions such as psychosis, depression, anxiety, dementia and personality disorder. Our vision is to provide outstanding care and treatment you can be confident in.

Location: Pepperville House, Wick, Fort Road, Littlehampton, BN17 7QU

Contract type: Permanent

Hours: 37.5 hours per week (09.00am to 17.00pm)

Salary: £37,338 - £39,405 per annum

We’re looking for people who share our values (compassion, accountability and optimism) to help us provide high quality care to the patients, carers, families and local communities we serve. We specialise in providing NHS mental health and learning disability services.

As a Trust we are committed to making a difference. Your development is important to us, so don’t forget to ask us during the interview what opportunities we can offer. We can offer fully funded lifelong learning opportunities such as an apprenticeship from GCSE to Masters level.

We look forward to welcoming you to the Littlehampton Neighbourhood Assessment and Treatment Service as a band 6 OT. Do you want to be part of a dynamic, supportive, friendly, and innovative community mental health team dedicated to providing exceptional care for people living with severe and enduring mental health problems? If so, we would like you to be part of the team. Collaboration and teamwork are at the forefront of everything we do.

As an OT you will provide OT specific assessments, interventions, group work, occupational formulation, and OT consultation to the multidisciplinary team. You will have a caseload of people who are cared for within a recovery focused model of care designed to enable and encourage service users to develop positive coping strategies to maximise their quality of life and potential.

We are striving to establish clear OT pathways and processes in the new Community Mental Health Neighbourhood Teams, and to effectively articulate and communicate the unique contribution of OT in this setting. We are keen to continually develop and improve, and this role would suit someone who is motivated and enthusiastic to establish a strong OT offer in the team, and participate more widely to OT development and OT priorities in West Sussex.

We believe in a healthy work-life balance and offer flexibility to accommodate your personal and professional needs.

To provide occupational therapy interventions for service users using evidence-based, client-centred principles to assess, plan, implement and evaluate interventions. To promote and develop the role of Occupational Therapy within the clinical area. To act as a care coordinator if appropriate and to cover duty on a rota basis. Working autonomously in the community and with our third sector partners and other organisations.

We can offer you development opportunities including group planning and facilitation skill development, experience using a range of OT standardised assessments, embedding occupational formulation, and training in specific intervention approaches. As your career develops, we can provide you with leadership experiences, and opportunities to develop specialist skills and interests (for example using sensory approaches, Recovery through Activity, and leadership skills training).

The NHS is changing and with more emphasis on community-based care there’s never been a better time to join us. Over the next three years, community mental health services are going to be undergoing a real transformation and you could be part of these exciting developments. Our community mental health teams will become part of a much more integrated network of services and our mental health clinicians will be central in driving the changes, in close partnership with our primary and third sector colleagues.

We recognise that working in mental health can be stressful so we prioritise staff welfare, providing regular supervision, reflective practice, mentoring, and any other support that our clinicians need to ensure their wellbeing. You will have access to other CPD opportunities including the Trust's AHP training offer and the West Sussex OT CPD community network and development hubs.

If you are an OT with previous mental health experience who has a desire to develop into a community mental health OT role, please contact us as we would be delighted to talk about any development opportunities.

To manage a caseload of clients. To provide specialist clinical advice and input for clients with complex problems and needs. To ensure occupational therapy contribution to the provision of quality clinical care and performance standards. To participate in the planning, development and evaluation of occupational therapy and local multi-professional services. Operate as a senior occupational therapy practitioner and manage an appropriate complex clinical caseload. Promote evidence-based practice in occupational therapy and the relevant mental health service/learning disability service. Provide a specialised range of clinical interventions and demonstrate knowledge of models of practice.

Sussex Partnership NHS FT is committed to supporting a diverse workforce that reflects our communities. Our workforce is currently under-represented from Black and Minority, Ethnic and disabled communities and we would welcome applications from these communities.

Successful candidates are normally offered salaries at the bottom of the relevant salary range. However, where previous or equivalent NHS experience in a similar role can be demonstrated and evidenced, this may be taken into consideration when setting the starting salary.

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.

Essential criteria include a Degree/Diploma in occupational therapy, evidence of post graduate level study/training, registration with the HPC as an occupational therapist, and training in the use of standardised occupational therapy assessment tools.

For further details or informal visits, please contact Louise Vinton, Professional Lead Occupational Therapist at [email protected] or call 07391408838.