Job overview

We have an exciting opportunity to join Gateshead’s Children’s Occupational Therapy Team for a 12 month fixed term contract. Our service works with children aged 0-18 completing assessment and intervention at the environment best suited for the child including home, school, and clinic. We work with children who present with coordination, physical and sensory related difficulties where there is an impact on more than one functional area/life skills. This is an exciting time to join our service as we are introducing new projects such as Coordination groups, sensory related parent groups, MDT intervention groups, Occupational Therapy/Portage pathway focused on neurodiversity preschool children. 

The post is fortunate to sit within a well-established and supportive Children’s MDT and benefits from excellent support from the OT department. Here in Gateshead, we encourage and support continuing professional development and have robust supervision processes. We are looking for a highly motivated, experienced person to work with the Children’s Occupational Therapy team. Please see the job description for a detailed list of the knowledge, skills and experience required for this post. 

A UK Driving License and access to a vehicle for work purposes will be required for this post for community working. You will be based at one of the Gateshead Health Locations as directed by your line manager.  

Main duties of the job

1. To act as an experienced autonomous practitioner, providing specialised occupational therapy assessment and treatment for client’s
2. To independently manage a caseload, using evidence-based practice and patient centered principles to assess, plan, implement and evaluate interventions. 
3. To work closely with children, families and carers to identify individualised and meaningful goals incorporating the child’s voice.
4. To work as a key member of the MDT.
5. To participate in service development projects and training including in service training and support of colleagues. Where appropriate, to provide supervision to team colleagues and students.
6. Actively maintain CPD.
7. The post holder will assist in the delivery of the occupational therapy service across community settings, including a range of health and social care locations and the patient’s own home.
8. To be involved in a variety of service improvement initiatives and support delivery of OT business plan as directed by Team/Service Lead. 

Working for our organisation

Based in the North East of England we provide a range of hospital and community health services from our leading facilities, including the Queen Elizabeth Hospital, Blaydon urgent care centre and Bensham Hospital, all within Gateshead.

Established in 2005, we were one of the first foundation trusts in the country and since then have consistently achieved the highest levels of care for patients.

We now employ around 4,800 staff and currently provide 444 hospital beds across the Gateshead region.

Our values should be the ‘golden thread’ which runs through everything we do – they are the core of who we are. Our five values can easily be remembered by the simple acronym ICORE; Innovation, Care, Openness, Respect, Engagement.

We have a number of staff networks including the BAME network, D-Ability network, LGBTQ+ Network and the Women’s Network, to challenge us and help us to constantly improve. Our armed forces network is one of our emerging networks.

The health and wellbeing of our staff is one of our highest priorities, and we offer a range of support and initiatives as part of our ‘Balance’ programme balancegateshead.com to cater for our diverse workforce, so that your individual needs can be supported, allowing you a happy and healthy working experience with us.