Job summary
- Main area
- ICP & Therapies
- Grade
- Band 6
- Contract
- Permanent
- Hours
- Part time - 30 hours per week
- Job ref
- 210-2026-609
- Employer
- Countess of Chester Hospital NHS Foundation Trust
- Employer type
- NHS
- Site
- Countess of Chester Hospital
- Town
- Chester
- Salary
- £39,959 - £48,117 pa pro rata
- Salary period
- Yearly
- Closing
- 20/08/2026 23:59
Employer heading
Occupational Therapist
Band 6
Countess of Chester Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, staff pride themselves on not only leading through clinical excellence, but also by creating an environment where all staff are valued and appreciated. To achieve this, the Trust has embarked on an exciting new strategy focused on continuous improvement.
Our vision is to improve the lives of our community and provide excellence in healthcare, through partnership and innovation
Our High Performance Culture will support everyone to be the best version of themselves by being true to our Trust vision, values and behaviours.
We welcome applications from colleagues from our local and neighbouring communities of all backgrounds and identities, who are currently under-represented within our region such as Black, Asian, Minority ethnic and those with disabilities.
As a region we are reviewing the way we work, and exploring how new working practices that support flexible working can create a positive work-life balance. As part of our recruitment process we will explore how our inclusive employment policies, flexible working, staff engagement forums, Trust facilities and services can be of mutual benefit.
Job overview
Working Part time: 30 hours per week
As a Band 6 Occupational Therapist, you’ll step into a dynamic, forward-thinking team where your expertise will shape patient journeys and drive service innovation. If you’re motivated, enthusiastic, and ready to grow, this is the perfect environment to thrive.
Opportunities You’ll Experience
- Specialist Clinical Exposure: Working with patients across the Frailty wards, including the acute setting, rehab and intermediate care.
- Innovation in Practice: Contribute to service development projects, introducing new treatment approaches, digital tools, and patient-centred innovations.
- Leadership Development: Take on mentoring responsibilities for Band 5 OTs, Therapy Assistants, and students, building your leadership profile.
- Interdisciplinary Collaboration: Work closely with medical team, nurses, physiotherapists, and other specialists, becoming a key voice in multidisciplinary team decisions.
- Research & Governance: Engage in clinical audits, service evaluations, and governance activities that influence trust-wide practice.
- Acute & Community Balance: Experience the fast-paced acute hospital environment while also occasionally supporting patients in community and home settings, ensuring safe discharges and continuity of care.
- Career Progression: Build the skills and portfolio needed to move into advanced practice, specialist Band 7 roles, or leadership positions.
Main duties of the job
- To work as an autonomous practitioner to perform a specialist occupational therapy assessment of patients with diverse presentations. To use clinical reasoning to provide a diagnosis and develop, deliver and adapt individualised treatment programmes.
- To implement monitoring and evaluation of treatment in order to measure progress and outcomes to ensure effectiveness of interventions and service delivery.
- To be professionally and legally accountable for all aspects of own work and that of supervised physiotherapists and assistants and hold responsibility for own caseload for a specialist area of the service, working without direct supervision.
- To provide clinical cover, as appropriate during staff absence with guidance and support of a senior member of staff if required.
- To participate in 7 day working as per service requirements, including weekend duty rotas .
- To provide treatment to patients and to provide advice to medical and nursing staff and other members of the multidisciplinary team without direct supervision.
- To identify and carry out Home Visits in accordance with Trust and Professional standards and to assess patient condition and suitability for discharge and where appropriate supervise physiotherapists and assistants in these tasks.
- What We’re Looking For
- HCPC registered Occupational Therapist
- Broad Band 5 NHS rotational experience
- Strong organisational skills, time management, and resilience under pressure.
Working for our organisation
Detailed job description and main responsibilities
See Job Description for further details.
Recruitment selection processes are based on competence (see Person specification) and values. An applicant guide to help and support you through your recruitment journey can be accessed at the bottom of this page.
If you have a disability that meets the definition set out in the Equality Act 2010, and you can show that you meet the ‘essential’ criteria described in the person specification for an available position, please answer ‘YES’ to the question: ‘Do you wish to be considered under the Guaranteed Interview Scheme?’
Please inform the team if you have any special support needs to be considered as part of the interview and selection processes.
The trust offers a Guaranteed Interview Scheme to any armed forces community applicants who meet the essential criteria for the post.
If a DBS is required for your role, you are encouraged to enrol for the DBS Update Service. A small annual fee applies which is payable to the DBS Service. Please note applicants will be required to pay for their DBS check. Costs will be deducted from their salary over the first three months of employment.
New entrants to the NHS will commence on the minimum of the scale stated above.
Applicants requiring sponsorship may wish to determine the likelihood of obtaining sponsorship for this position by assessing themselves against the criteria on the gov.uk website - https://www.gov.uk/check-uk-visa.
The Trust will not sponsor where the starting salary does not meet immigration rules
Applicants are advised to apply early as if a large number of applications are received for this post, we reserve the right to close the vacancy prior to the advertised date.
Good luck with your application.
Person specification
Qualifications
Essential criteria
- Degree in Occupational Therapy or equivalent
- Relevant student training course or qualification
- HCPC Registered
Desirable criteria
- Membership of professional body
Experience
Essential criteria
- Between 24 and 36 months post graduate experience
- Evidence of post graduate short courses
- Evidence of CPD and reflective practice
- Evidence of group working and team working
- Evidence of audit and/or research work
Knowledge
Essential criteria
- Knowledge of current best practice in specialist OT area
- Understanding of professional ethics and their application in practice
- Knowledge of the principles of clinical governance
Skills
Essential criteria
- Communication skills (verbal and non- verbal)
- Ability to reflect and critically appraise own performance and that of others.
- Ability to organise and respond to complex information, and work under pressure
- Good computer skills.
- Good interpersonal and organisational skills
Desirable criteria
- Supervisory skills
Employer certification / accreditation badges
Applicant requirements
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.
Application numbers
Documents to download
Further details / informal visits contact
- Name
- Lucy Winterburn
- Job title
- Clinical Lead Physiotherapist
- Email address
- [email protected]
- Telephone number
- 01244 36 2272
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