Job summary
- Main area
- Therapies
- Grade
- NHS AfC: Band 6
- Contract
- Permanent
- Hours
- Full time - 37.5 hours per week
- Job ref
- 409-8056642
- Employer
- Mersey and West Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust
- Employer type
- NHS
- Site
- Whiston Hospital
- Town
- Whiston
- Salary
- £39,959 - £48,117 per annum
- Salary period
- Yearly
- Closing
- 02/08/2026 23:59
- Interview date
- 13/08/2026
Employer heading
Specialist Occupational Therapist
NHS AfC: Band 6
After applying via NHS Jobs, your submitted application will be imported into our preferred Third-party recruitment system. All subsequent information regarding your application will be generated from apps.trac.jobs. You will not be able to track the progress of your application or receive messages through the NHS Jobs website, and furthermore, as an employer, we will not be able to respond to any e-mails sent to us via the NHS Jobs website. By applying for this post you are agreeing to "name of trust" transferring the information contained in this application to its preferred applicant management system. If you are appointed to a post information will also be transferred into the national NHS Electronic Staff Records system.
Job overview
Specialist Occupational Therapist - Band 6 Permanent
2-hour Urgent Crisis Response (UCR) and Community Frailty Team
37.5 hours post
An exciting opportunity has arisen for an experienced Occupational Therapist to join the St Helens 2-hour UCR, Community Frailty and Virtual Ward Therapy Team. This integrated multi-disciplinary and multi-agency team will provide specialist rapid assessment and interventions to our local population of St Helens. Whilst being predominantly community based you will also work as part of a larger team in several Frailty specialist areas. Working in a diverse environment offers scope to build on skills across all our pathways including the community, a high paced AED setting as well as a specialist service within Bevan Court - our Frailty and Reablement Unit.
Our progressive working environment will manage ‘crisis’ on a daily basis, taking referrals from community, care homes and acute colleagues as well as self-referrals. Your clinical skillset will contribute to people being able to remain safely and supported in their own homes wherever possible and preventing unnecessary A&E attendances.
Our Crisis Response Service operates as a clinically led multi-disciplinary team comprising of Frailty Consultants, Advanced Clinical Practitioners, Occupational therapists, Physiotherapists, Nurses, Social Workers and support workers.
The JD & PS are currently under AfC review and are subject to change.
Main duties of the job
The service provides a 7 day, 8am-8pm, urgent and timely response to referrals. Following this, a rapid assessment and community intervention for up to 72 hours will support adults ‘in crisis’ with health or social care needs at home.
You will be a champion of an integrated community care approach, a strong team player with experience of MDT working and an excellent communicator. You will be adaptable, committed, able to organise and prioritise work effectively and able to work well under pressure. You must be able to travel around various community locations delivering care. You must be motivated, enthusiastic and have proven experience of working as an autonomous practitioner. A commitment to improving the patient’s experience is essential.
The successful candidate should have a working knowledge and experience of community or acute services and be familiar with the patient pathways between hospital and home. You will be required to process referrals, manage a caseload independently and take responsibility for providing assessment and treatment of patients with a variety of medical conditions.
Working for our organisation
Mersey and West Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust serves a population of over 600,000 with a workforce of over 10,500 dedicated and skilled staff across 21 sites.
Our services:
Acute Care
Providing emergency and maternity services at Whiston, Southport and Ormskirk hospitals, and medical and surgical specialties across all our sites.
Primary Care
Providing primary care services at Marshalls Cross Medical Centre situated in St Helens Hospital.
Community Services
Providing adult community services for St Helens and a wheelchair service in Chorley, South Ribble, and West Lancashire. Our inpatient unit at Newton Community Hospital is where patients needing acute hospital beds can continue rehabilitation. We also provide urgent care at our Urgent Treatment Centre located in St Helens town centre.
Specialist Regional Services
We provide the Mersey Regional Burns & Plastic Surgery Unit at Whiston Hospital and the Spinal Injuries Unit at Southport Hospital to more than 4 million people across the whole of Merseyside, West Lancashire, Cheshire, Isle of Man and North Wales.
Achievements:
- Rated Outstanding by CQC Inspection August 2018
- Top 100 places to work in the NHS (NHS Employers & Health Service Journal)
- National Preceptorship Accreditation (2023) for Nursing & AHP Preceptorship Programme.
Detailed job description and main responsibilities
As a Trust, we are committed to continuing professional and personal development and will therefore provide support with regular supervision and training. We are keen to promote collaborative practice and to develop staff within a supportive and friendly environment. You will participate in delivering training to other staff to facilitate their development.
Current HCPC registration is essential.
The successful candidate will have a valid DBS check with the Trust and will be required to pay for the cost of the DBS disclosure, the cost of which will be deducted from their first salary.
Person specification
Qualifications
Essential criteria
- Degree in Occupational Therapist
- HCPC registration
Desirable criteria
- Clinical Educators Certificate
- Post Grad accredited study e.g. MSc in relevant health studies
Experience
Essential criteria
- Advanced clinical knowledge relevant to the care environment and evidence of evidence-based practise in relevant health setting
- Awareness of own strengths and limitations
- Knowledge of relevant national policies and guidance and relevant assessment tools
- Experience of line managing a team including setting objectives, conducting appraisals and effective delegation and co-ordination
- Evidence of effective working within an MDT
- Experience of Service development
- Demonstrate experience of problem-solving approaches
- Demonstrates continuous Professional Development
Desirable criteria
- Audit and research in a clinical area
Skills
Essential criteria
- Demonstrates ability to motivate team performance to achieve objectives
- Ability to prioritise and work to deadlines
- Ability to communicate effectively in a variety of settings
- Accurate record keeping, report writing and IT skills including presentation skills
- Have a flexible approach to working with good time management
Desirable criteria
- Mentorship skills
Other
Essential criteria
- Ability to travel various hospital locations by own car/ assisted driver
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
- Kirsty Lyon-Bowden
- Job title
- Team Lead Occupational Therapist
- Email address
- [email protected]
- Telephone number
- 0151 676 5137
- Additional information
Karen Blackburn (Clinical Lead Occupational Therapist UCR / Community Frailty)
Tel: 07386 657393 / 0151 290 4345
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