Job summary
- Main area
- Senior Occupational Therapist
- Grade
- NHS AfC: Band 6
- Contract
- Permanent
- Hours
- Full time
- Part time
- Job share
- Flexible working
- Job ref
- 395-ET240-25-A
- Employer
- NELFT NHS Foundation Trust
- Employer type
- NHS
- Site
- thurrock community hospital
- Town
- Grays
- Salary
- £38,682 - £46,580 p.a. (plus HCAS) pro rata
- Salary period
- Yearly
- Closing
- Today at 23:59
Employer heading

Senior Occupational Therapist
NHS AfC: Band 6
Joining #TeamNELFT means you’ll become part of a welcoming and supportive working environment. We’re CQC rated Good, and we want you to join us on the journey towards an Outstanding rating. NELFT has sites across North East London, Essex, Kent and Medway. We provide community and mental healthcare services to adults and children within these areas.
The Trust has award winning equality and diversity initiatives and staff health and wellbeing activities. We invest heavily in your development, because when you are valued and supported, we provide the best care to our patients. We are a Level 3 Disability Confident Leader, have been featured in the Working Families Top 10 Employers benchmark for five consecutive years, and we have achieved a Carers UK Level 1 Accreditation. Along with our staff networks and training opportunities, we work hard to embed a just and compassionate culture here at NELFT.
Find out more about NELFT careers and what makes our Trust a great place to work, in this video
Job overview
Urgent Community Response Senior Occupational Therapist Wanted! 🚨
Join our dynamic Urgent Community Response Team working in South West Essex and play a vital role in Admission Avoidance as a Senior Occupational Therapist!
We're looking for an experienced, passionate professional who enjoys the thrill of unplanned care and direct rewards of helping transform lives by providing urgent, person-centered care in the community.
This is a 7 day service with work patterns of 8am to 8pm
Main duties of the job
What You'll Do:
- Deliver high-impact, prompt OT assessments and interventions to prevent hospital admissions.
- Work closely with our multidisciplinary teams which includes urgent response Nurses, Social workers and healthcare assistants, providing comprehensive support.
- Empower our patients, families and carers to overcome crisis scenarios focusing on enabling independence and improving immediate quality of life.
- Make a direct difference in the heart of our community and support our ambulance service with people who may be acutely unwell or have fallen and are unable to get up off the floor.
- Provide tailored, urgent OT interventions to support people’s basic needs and activities of daily living, collaborating with our pathway services to recognise therapy goals beyond our admission avoidance input.
💡 What We Need:
- Senior OT experience, ideally in community or urgent, emergency and crisis care settings.
- Quick, critical, clinical decision-making skills and a creative approach to problem-solving complex cases.
- A passion for making a real impact on people’s lives, improving patient outcomes and preventing admissions to our local A&Es.
- A collaborative, positive attitude!
Working for our organisation
🌟 Why Join Us?
- Be part of a supportive, friendly, innovative team making a direct impact in health and social care.
- Help shape the future of urgent, emergency and crisis community healthcare in South West Essex.
- Competitive salary and benefits.
- Opportunity for career development and growth.
If you're ready to make an immediate impact, we want to hear from you! Apply now and help us keep patients at home and out of hospital!
Our Values 2025 - 2030
Working with our colleagues, patients and carers we have co-produced three new values that we aim to embed within our culture here at NELFT.
They are:
- We are kind.
- We are respectful.
- We work together with our communities.
These three values help us to strive to provide the best care by the best people.
Probationary Period
This post will be subject to a probationary period.
NELFT place great importance on new starters being properly welcomed and inducted into the Trust. All new starters will join the Trust on the first Monday of each month and undertake a comprehensive induction of up to two weeks, including mandatory training, systems training and the allocation of equipment. The induction will be held at our head office in Rainham, Essex.
High Cost Area Supplement - Fringe
This post also attracts payment for High Cost Area Supplement of 5% of the basic salary (with a minimum of £1,303 to a maximum of £2,198 p.a. pro rata for part time).
Detailed job description and main responsibilities
Job Description
Please see the attached job description and person specification for more information about this role and working at North East London NHS Foundation Trust. We encourage you to refer closely to this when completing your application.
We welcome your application even if you do not meet all the criteria listed in the person specification. Any development needs to help you succeed in the role, can be discussed at the interview stage.
Person specification
Qualifications
Essential criteria
- Active HCPC Registration as Occupational Therapist
- Evidence of updating professional knowledge and skills (CPD)
Experience
Essential criteria
- Significant previous post registration experience
Desirable criteria
- Minor Injuries/ Minor Illness/ Clinical Assessment & Diagnosis
Knowledge
Essential criteria
- Understand the importance of MDT urgent/crisis assessment and community therapy rehabilitation
Desirable criteria
- Demonstrate clinical knowledge base and experience within a community-based setting including an awareness of onward referral pathways e.g. RAFT/Virtual Frailty Ward, District nursing/ICT, Hospice/EOL care, A&E
Other
Essential criteria
- Willingness to participate in 7 day working
- To be able to travel efficiently throughout the area
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.
Documents to download
Further details / informal visits contact
- Name
- Barbara Spinns
- Job title
- Operational Lead UCRT
- Email address
- [email protected]
- Telephone number
- 07858689116
- Additional information
Ben Robertson-Tselepis - Clinical Lead OT UCRT
07738977028
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