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Job summary

Main area
Rehabilitation
Grade
Band 3
Contract
Permanent
Hours
Full time - 37.5 hours per week
Job ref
320-CDCS-BUR-4028
Employer
University Hospitals of Derby and Burton NHS Foundation Trust
Employer type
NHS
Site
Queens Hospital Burton
Town
Burton-on-Trent
Salary
£25,760 - £27,476 per annum
Salary period
Yearly
Closing
28/04/2026 23:59
Interview date
12/05/2026

Employer heading

University Hospitals of Derby and Burton NHS Foundation Trust logo

Senior Occupational Therapy Assistant

Band 3

As a trusted organisation at the heart of our communities, we recognise the important role we can play in supporting the public, patients, our own people and local partners in achieving the best of health for the local population and the communities in which they live by providing Exceptional Care Together.

Our fundamental Values of Compassion, Openness and Excellence underpin how we intend to work as a Trust and the associated behaviours are becoming embedded in all aspects of how we work.

With over 14,000 members of staff you can expect huge variety and new opportunities every day! Our staff go above and beyond and take pride in caring for our patients.

University Hospitals of Derby and Burton NHS Foundation Trust is fully committed to promoting inclusion, equality, diversity and human rights in employment and delivery of its services.  The Trust is committed to providing an environment where all employees, patients, carers and visitors experience equality of opportunity by means of understanding and appreciating the value of diversity.

As a Trust we promote an inclusive environment and welcome applications from a diverse pool of talent and backgrounds.  All individuals are valued and given every opportunity to succeed based on merit.

The Trust actively encourages applications from members of our Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic communities. These groups are under-represented in our organisation, and it’s important to us that our workforce reflects the diversity of our communities as much as possible.

Armed Forces and Disability Confident guaranteed interview scheme

To further support the pledges in the Armed Forces Covenant and to make a positive contribution to support ex-armed forces personnel (veterans) make the transition to civilian life, the Trust has introduced a Guaranteed Interview Scheme for veterans who meets the essential criteria set out in the person specification, to help them overcome barriers to find civilian employment. The scheme will operate for all external recruitment.

The Trust is a Disability Confident Employer and committed to both employing and retaining people with disabilities.  This commitment is to guarantee an interview for any candidate that has disclosed a disability under the Equality Act 2010 and who meets the essential criteria set out in the person specification.  Reasonable adjustments under the Equality Act 2010 will be considered upon request.

if you are blind or visually impaired and require application material in an alternative format- such as Braille, large print, audio or accessible electronic formats or  you require support/adjustments with your application please contact the recruitment team on  01332 788466

Join us and help make a real difference to our Trust.

Here’s more about the role and what we’re looking for; 

Job overview

Are you looking for an opportunity to work within Occupational Therapy in an acute setting?

Are you a dynamic and enthusiastic individual who likes to work within a team and help care for our patients? If so, this is the post for you.

The Trauma, Orthopaedic and General Surgery Occupational Therapy Team at Queen’s Hospital are looking for a compassionate, proactive and dynamic Band 3 Occupational Therapy Assistant to join their team. 
 

The post holder will provide support to the team to provide assessment and treatment to the patient caseload whilst progressing discharge planning . 

The role is currently full time working core hours across Monday - Friday.

We are a friendly and supportive team who can offer:

  • Support from Therapy Inpatient Lead, Band 7 Team Leaders and Senior Rotational therapists within the team, including regular clinical supervision.
  • Supported to provide high quality patient care including basic assessment and treatment to a caseload of patients.
  • PT/OT joint working.
  • Support to attend appropriate in service training opportunities and courses to maintain competencies and to achieve personal development plans.
  • You will be joining our team as we look to develop our ambulatory pathway for those undergoing elective orthopaedic surgery

Main duties of the job

The Trauma, Orthopaedic and General Surgery Occupational Therapy Team is pleased to offer an exciting position for a flexible and driven individual to work within Occupational Therapy.

We are looking for a motivated individual with a passion for acute care who wishes to enhance their therapeutic skills to a Band 3 level. You should have excellent communication and interpersonal skills and a commitment to providing high quality care.

You will be expected to contribute to a varied clinical caseload, promoting functional ability whilst progressing discharge planning Therefore, previous experience of health care is essential.

To support the department it is essential to be a car driver with a clean full driving license.

Opportunities will include:

  • Development of basic assessment and treatment skills to work within the acute site, to include patients with a wide variety of conditions particularly Orthopaedic and General Surgical patients.
  • Development of skills to enable close MDT working and discharge planning in a high pressured environment.
  • Contribute to support student Therapists.
  • Support service improvement projects.
  • Support clinical and team audit, including notes audits, stats audits and compliance with team clinical standards audits.
  • Experience working within established multidisciplinary teams.
  • Experience and support with discharge planning.

Closing date of applications - 28 April 2026

Interview date - 12 May 2026

Working for our organisation

As a trusted organisation at the heart of our communities, we recognise the important role we can play in supporting the public, patients, our own people and local partners in achieving the best of health for the local population and the communities in which they live by providing Exceptional Care Together

Our fundamental Values of Compassion, Openness and Excellence underpin how we intend to work as a Trust and the associated behaviours are becoming embedded in all aspects of how we work.

In return we will offer:

  • Development opportunities, both professional and leadership development
  • On-going support from recruitment to when you join our team and beyond.
  • Staff benefits including employee assistance programme, discounted gym membership, onsite fitness classes, car schemes

Key Facts:

  • We see on average 4810 OP appointments a day.
  • We are the 4th busiest Trauma & Orthopaedic outpatients department in England – an average of 2077 per week.
  • An average of 1115 patients are seen in A&Es across our network every day – 3rd largest in the country.
  • Our hospitals admit an average of 195 emergency patients daily.
  • Last year we undertook almost 33,700 planned surgical operations in our 57 operating theatres.
  • We are one of only 7 Trusts nationally with more than 50 operating theatres.
  • We carry out more than 140 elective procedures each working day.
  • UHDB is a research active University Hospital with a large and varied portfolio of clinical trials and research opportunities for all staff.

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

Please see attached Job description and Person Specification. To apply please click APPLY FOR THIS JOB – this link will take you to the TRAC Recruitment Site. You will need to register if you do not already have an account.

UHDB is committed to fair and transparent recruitment. We welcome authentic applications that reflect your own skills, experience and motivations for the role. While we understand that candidates may use AI tools for grammar, formatting or accessibility purposes, applications that appear to be substantially AI‑generated may be subject to additional review. If this applies to your submission, we will let you know and may ask for clarification. Please ensure your application accurately represents your experience and is written in your own words. 

Following the recent update on UK immigration policy for those on a Health and Care Visa or Skilled Worker Visa, please click on the link to check your eligibility before applying for this post as we may be unable to provide sponsorship Impacts of the changes to the UK immigration policy | NHS Employers

Your application (for shortlisting purposes) is assessed based on the Person Specification in the job advert (below). 

Person specification

Experience

Essential criteria
  • Previous experience of working in health care
  • Relevant qualification in health care
  • Previous work as a Therapy assistant
Desirable criteria
  • Experience of working within the NHS
  • Experience of working in an acute setting

Equipment

Essential criteria
  • Evidence of understanding relevance of equipment
Desirable criteria
  • Evidence of stock management
  • Evidence of issuing equipment

Skills

Essential criteria
  • Evidence of working in a team
  • Evidence of working independently
  • Evidence of working with the patients/clients
Desirable criteria
  • Evidence of supporting/delivering group education sessions

Communication

Essential criteria
  • Evidence of clear written and oral commincation
Desirable criteria
  • Evidence of using supervision to improve practice
  • Evidence of using computer based systems to complete documentation

Employer certification / accreditation badges

No smoking policyArmed Forces Covenant Gold AwardMindful employer.  Being positive about mental health.Disability confident employerCare Leaver CovenantStep into healthArmed Forces CovenantCareLeaver CovenantAge Friendly EmployerNational Preceptorship for Nursing Quality Mark 2024

Applicant requirements

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

If we receive a high number of applications for this position we reserve the right to withdraw the post before the closing date, therefore it is advisable that you apply as early as possible to avoid disappointment. Please ensure that you had read the Job Description and Person Spec and that you meet the criteria before applying.

Documents to download

Apply online now

Further details / informal visits contact

Name
Joanne Weaver
Job title
Occupational Therapist
Email address
[email protected]
Telephone number
07385954847
Additional information

Nicola Briggs - Inpatient Therapy Lead

[email protected]

07385 954847

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