Senior Occupational Therapist–Islington Urgent Community Response

To provide advanced Occupational Therapy assessment, treatment and clinical leadership within the Urgent Community Response Team (UCRT), supporting admission avoidance and facilitating timely discharge from acute and community services across Islington. The post holder will deliver day‑to‑day team leadership for the Occupational Therapy team within UCRT, providing clinical oversight, support and coordination for Occupational Therapists, Rehabilitation Assistants and students. The post holder will contribute to the effective operational management of the team, supporting clinical supervision, caseload prioritisation and service delivery across urgent community pathways. They will work closely with the Lead Physiotherapist and wider multidisciplinary team in planning, coordinating, delivering and evaluating an effective, responsive and high‑quality service. The post holder will work autonomously, managing a complex caseload of adults presenting with acute deterioration, frailty, falls, mobility impairment, cognitive impairment and complex social circumstances. The post holder will provide clinical leadership for Occupational Therapy within UCRT and support service development initiatives, quality improvement projects and pathway redesign.

Main duties of the job

• To be professionally and legally accountable for all aspects of own clinical practice and delegated work, maintaining a high standard of care in accordance with HCPC, RCOT, Trust and local policies.
• To undertake highly specialist Occupational Therapy assessment of patients with complex physical, cognitive, psychological and social presentations within community settings.
• To independently assess, triage and manage urgent referrals, identifying and managing clinical risk and determining appropriate intervention pathways.
• To autonomously manage a complex caseload within urgent response timeframes, using advanced clinical reasoning and decision‑making skills.
• To provide Occupational Therapy interventions including rehabilitation, equipment provision, environmental adaptation, moving and handling assessment and falls prevention strategies.
• To maintain accurate and timely documentation and electronic patient records in accordance with Trust standards and professional requirements.
• To contribute to multidisciplinary assessment, care planning and discharge coordination to support admission avoidance and timely patient flow.
• To provide day‑to‑day clinical leadership and support for Occupational Therapy staff within UCRT, promoting high standards of clinical practice.
• To supervise, support and develop Band 5 and Band 6 Occupational Therapists, Rehabilitation Assistants and students through regular supervision and appraisal processes.

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

• To undertake appraisal, supervision and contribute to staff development and workforce planning as delegated.
• To support workload allocation, caseload prioritisation and capacity management across the team to ensure safe and effective service delivery.
• To act as a specialist Occupational Therapy resource within the multidisciplinary team, providing advice and support regarding complex patient management and rehabilitation pathways.
• To provide formal and informal teaching, advice and support to patients, carers, students and multidisciplinary colleagues.
• To support student education, clinical placements and the development of junior staff.
• To maintain own continuing professional development portfolio and contribute to revalidation and professional development within the team.
• To support and contribute to service development initiatives, quality improvement programmes and pathway refinement and redesign across UCRT services.
• To support and promote implementation of evidence‑based practice, audit and outcome measures within the service.
• To ensure compliance with Trust policies including lone working, moving and handling, health and safety and safeguarding procedures.

Person specification

Qualifications

• Degree/Diploma in Occupational Therapy
• HCPC Registration
• Evidence of significant postgraduate learning and CPD
• Evidence of postgraduate study relevant to community rehabilitation, frailty, urgent care or leadership

Skills

• Able to communicate highly complex and sensitive information to patients, carers, staff and senior managers across organisations
• Highly developed clinical reasoning and problem‑solving skills
• Ability to lead, motivate and support junior staff
• Ability to prioritise and manage competing clinical and operational demands
• Ability to work autonomously and manage clinical risk

Knowledge

• Experience in community / urgent response setting.
• Experience managing patients with frailty, falls, dementia and complex co‑morbidities.
• Knowledge of NHS community and urgent care pathways
• Experience supervising staff and students
• Experience of Virtual Ward pathways

Safeguarding Children and Adults

To comply with the Trust’s safeguarding policies, procedures and protocols. All staff have a duty to safeguard and promote the welfare of children, young people and vulnerable adults. Requirements include:

• Familiarity with and compliance with London Child Protection Procedures and protocols for promoting and safeguarding the welfare of children and young people.
• Familiarity with London Multi‑Agency Safeguarding Vulnerable Adults Pan‑London Procedures.
• Familiarity with local protocols and systems for information sharing.
• Knowledge of appropriate contact numbers and required reporting lines.
• Participation in required training and supervision.
• Compliance with professional boundaries and codes of conduct.