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Tees, Esk and Wear Valleys NHS Trust
About
We are the Mental Health & Learning Disability NHS Trust for County Durham and Darlington, Teesside, North Yorkshire, York and Selby.
From education and prevention, to crisis and specialist care —our talented and compassionate teams work in partnership with our patients, communities and partners to help the people of our region feel safe, understood, believed in and cared for.
We nurture the recovery journey of anyone in need of our help. In Our Trust, everyone has a say in how they are supported and treated because we listen to every person in our care until they feel understood. Our patients, their families and carers work together with us towards better mental health.
We’re committed to new thinking that improves the wellbeing of our region. We connect with our communities and partners to get mental health care right, in areas that really need it.
We won’t rest until everyone in our region has the mental health care they need, to lead their best possible life.
Contact
- Address
- Trust Headquarters
- West Park Hospital
- Edward Pease Way
- Darlington
- County Durham
- DL2 2TS
- Contact Number
- 01325 552000
Clinical Specialist Occupational Therapist
Accepting applications until: 10-Dec-2025 23:59
Vacancy status: Open
Accepting applications until: 10-Dec-2025 23:59
Key details
Location
- Site
- West Park Hospital
- Address
- Edward Pease Way
- Town
- Darlington
- Postcode
- DL2 2TS
Contract type & working pattern
- Contract
- Permanent
- Hours
- Full time
- Flexible working
- Compressed hours
Salary
- Salary
- £47,810 - £54,710 per annum
- Salary period
- Yearly
- Grade
- (NHS AfC: Band 7)
Specialty
- Main area
- Adult Mental Health
We are the Mental Health & Learning Disability NHS Trust for County Durham and Darlington, Teesside, North Yorkshire, York and Selby.
From education and prevention, to crisis and specialist care —our talented and compassionate teams work in partnership with our patients, communities and partners to help the people of our region feel safe, understood, believed in and cared for.
We nurture the recovery journey of anyone in need of our help. In Our Trust, everyone has a say in how they are supported and treated because we listen to every person in our care until they feel understood. Our patients, their families and carers work together with us towards better mental health.
We’re committed to new thinking that improves the wellbeing of our region. We connect with our communities and partners to get mental health care right, in areas that really need it.
We won’t rest until everyone in our region has the mental health care they need, to lead their best possible life.
Job overview
This exciting opportunity will give the successful applicant the chance to lead significant change within the Darlington Community Mental Health Teams; Darlington Community HUB and Darlington Community Treatment & Intervention Team. We hope to create a true Occupational Therapy offer within our service and hope you would like to join our positive and supportive team to help us make this happen.
As a Clinical Specialist Occupational Therapist in TEWV you will be professionally and clinically accountable for a complex caseload, assessing occupational performance and delivering specialist occupational interventions, providing clinical leadership and advice in own specialist area, demonstrating adherence to the Trust Values at all times and operating as a leader in the team, service and organisation.
Advert
To provide clinical leadership and advice in own specialist area.
To provide clinical supervision and specialist training for occupational therapy staff within the designated specialty and other healthcare professionals.
To be responsible for managing a highly specialist caseload, triaging and prioritising referrals, completing evidence-based assessments and interventions to address key occupational areas of self-care, productivity and leisure.
To use client-centred approaches to co-producing negotiated occupational goals and evaluate these with service users collaboratively.
To contribute to multi-disciplinary team working
To contribute to and lead on service improvement and quality initiatives
To use the Trust electronic patient record system
To abide by all Trust policies and procedures
To be able to respond flexibly and creatively to challenges.
To oversee and supervise a Band 6 Occupational Therapist and a Band 3 Occupational Therapy Assistant (not yet in post) - working across the Darlington Teams.
Working for our organisation
An exciting opportunity has arisen for a competent, confident, and enthusiastic Band 7 Clinical Specialist Occupational Therapist to join our teams.
We are looking for an OT who can demonstrate a highly developed knowledge and understanding of, and experience working with a wide range of mental health conditions and support us to develop our OT provision and offer to the population of Darlington.
The post holder will provide evidence-based OT assessment and interventions as part of the OT Pathway. They will have the vision, energy, and inspiration to develop imaginative solutions to delivering occupational therapy in this clinical specialty. They will contribute to collaborative plans to manage risk as part of the MDT.
They will be part of the leadership team where an expectation of ability to utilise skills including supervision of staff, development and delivery of training and service evaluation and development both within the team and wider within the trust and local sectors.
Supervision is provided by the Trust Professional Head of OT and lead OT for the service. The post holder will attend Learning and Governance Networks to ensure fidelity to core OT delivery, enhance CPD and contribute to the wider OT service developments.
Detailed job description and main responsibilities
Professionally accountable for own occupational therapy caseload, working autonomously in a variety of community settings. Service users have complex needs that require highly specialist occupational therapy skills to enable them to maintain, restore or create a balance between their abilities and the demands of their occupation and environment in the areas of self-care, productivity and leisure. Service users have diverse presentations and a range of mental health conditions and/or learning disabilities.
To have responsibility for ensuring that the highest professional standards and attitudes towards the care of service users and their carers are maintained at all times and that care is delivered in accordance with evidence based practice and a client-centred approach by all members of the occupational therapy team.
To provide clinical leadership and advice in own specialist area.
To have responsibility for providing clinical supervision and specialist training for occupational therapy staff within the designated specialty and other healthcare professionals, as agreed.
To lead clinical audit, development of professional practice and quality improvement in own specialist area.
To promote at all times a positive image of people with mental health conditions and learning disabilities.
To promote at all times a positive image of the Occupational Therapy Service and the wider Trust.
Additional contact :- Paul Meylan - Lead Occupational Therapist Durham and Darlington Adult mental health - [email protected]
Right to Work in the UK
Applications from job seekers who require sponsorship to work in the United Kingdom (UK) are welcome and will be considered alongside all other applications. Please note that from January 2021, to work in the UK all candidates who are not UK or Republic of Ireland (RoI) nationals require sponsorship unless you have permission to work via another route. Non UK / RoI candidates wishing to apply can self-assess the likelihood of obtaining a Certificate of Sponsorship here Browse: Work in the UK - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk).
Please provide full and accurate details of your current immigration status on the application form. Overseas applicants applying for entry clearance into the UK must present a criminal record certificate from each country they have resided in continuously or cumulatively for 12 months or more in the past 10 years. Guidance can be found here Criminal records checks for overseas applicants - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk). Your current immigration status will not be considered as part of the shortlisting or interview process.
Please note that not everyone needs a ‘Skilled Worker’ visa. If you are applying for a vacancy in health or adult social care, you may be eligible to apply for the Health and Care Worker visa instead, subject to role meeting the required conditions.
We are able to offer sponsorship for a Health and Care Worker or Skilled Worker visa, subject to candidate and position eligibility. Please review the job eligibility guidance for skilled workers here: Skilled Worker visa: Your job - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk) and for the Health and Care Worker visa here: Skilled Worker visa: eligible healthcare and education jobs - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)
Please note: if the job you are applying for does not meet the eligibility criteria above, we will be unable to offer you sponsorship and you will need to explore whether you may be eligible to apply for an alternative immigration route which will secure your Right to Work in the UK before you apply. If you are in the UK already on a visa, please ensure you have no restrictions that would prevent you from taking this post.
AI in Recruitment
We are aware that Artificial Intelligence (AI) technology is increasingly being used to generate responses for application forms. Applications for this role should be written by the applicant and if, during shortlisting, a Recruiting Manager believes AI has been used then the application may be rejected due to this document being an important part of the assessment process. This does not prevent applicants seeking appropriate support with applications should they need to for the purposes of any declared disability.
Fixed Term Posts
If the contract type on the vacancy states 'Fixed Term' this would mean the vacancy is being advertised to address a temporary need for the duration stipulated on the advert, however, in the event that permanent funding is secured for the post the successful applicant will be confirmed in post on a permanent basis.
Internal applicants must ensure that prior to applying they have agreement from their current line manager that they can be released on a secondment basis.
Support with applications
We have computers facilities available in our libraries (Durham, Middlesbrough, and Darlington) to support applicants. If you would like to access to a laptop for your application, please contact the library team to arrange a time to visit, please email: [email protected] . We will always endeavour to make this available however we cannot guarantee that we will be able accommodate this before the vacancy closes.
Trust Welcome Day
Here at Tees, Esk and Wear Valleys Foundation NHS Trust, we want you to have a positive experience when you start your new role with us. To ensure you have great welcome, for all new starters joining the Trust, we offer two start dates per month on the 1st and 3rd Mondays of that month.
On your start date, you will be invited to our in person Trust Welcome Day at our Flatts Lane Centre, Middlesbrough. Your first day will be engaging and informative, it will allow you to meet and network with a range of Trust staff, learn more about us and what we offer. For certain clinical roles, your Welcome Day may then be followed up with additional mandatory/statutory clinical training.
Applying for this post
We are an equal opportunities employer and welcome applications from individuals who have experience of mental ill health or learning disabilities. Our service users and carers tell us our staff should be consistently concerned with maintaining and improving care with pride, empathy and compassion.
This job advert may close as soon as sufficient suitable applications have been received. If interested please apply for this post as soon as possible.
In order for your application to be successfully processed we will require references from your current and previous employer(s) which must cover a minimum period of three years. Please ensure that the reference section of your application is completed appropriately giving the address, telephone number and work email address of each of your current and previous line manager(s). If this section is not fully completed your application may not be processed.
If your application is successful, the information you give on your application form will be used to create and be retained on your electronic staff record and to provide access to core Trust systems.
Please note that if the post you are applying for requires a DBS check, you will be required to also subscribe to the DBS Update Service, if successful, and thereafter renew your subscription each year. The Trust will reimburse the subscription fee.
After applying via the NHS Jobs link, you will be taken to our preferred Third party recruitment system so submit your application. 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, that 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 Tees Esk and Wear Valleys NHS Foundation Trust transferring the information contained in this application to its preferred applicant management system. If you are offered a job, information will also be transferred into the national NHS Electronic Staff Records system.
Candidates who are shortlisted for interview will be contacted by e-mail. You should check your SPAM folders as well as your inbox. If you have not been contacted within 4 weeks of the closing date you should assume your application has been unsuccessful.
Additional Information
Tees, Esk and Wear Valleys NHS Foundation Trust is committed to the protection of staff, service users and visitors to the Trust from second hand smoke and currently operates a no smoking policy which ensures all buildings and grounds are smoke free.
Applicant requirements
Person specification
Qualifications/Experience
Essential criteria
- Pre-registration qualification in occupational therapy as recognised by HCPC)
- Registration with HCPC.
- Evidence of post-registration Masters level learning
- Or in the absence of masters level learning • equivalent experience in relevant area. E.g. relevant level 7 courses, researcher role, quality improvement activity, leading service development, project management, strategic leadership, NICE involvement, service evaluation
- International English Language Testing System (IELTS) level 7 (SLT =8) for International recruits
- And the following - Substantial clinical experience of complex occupational therapy delivery in relevant specialist area in collaboration with people who use our services, families, and relevant others.
Desirable criteria
- Experience of working in Multidisciplinary Team
- Complex clinical risk assessment and application in practice
- Comprehensive awareness of professional standards and their application to practice.
- Experience of participating in quality improvement activities, service development, and/or project management.
- Experience of participating in clinical governance activities including clinical audit, quality assurance of practice
- Participation in research and development e.g., critical appraisal of research papers, service evaluation, small scale or large-scale research.
- Highly competent in clinical supervision of staff and/or students.
- Substantial experience in design and delivery of high quality and effective training
- Substantial experience of application of relevant legislation (i.e. Mental Health Act and Mental Capacity Act) in practice
Knowledge
Essential criteria
- Significant experience of supporting people with mental health conditions, learning disability or autism
- Significant understanding of the needs of people who use our services with mental health conditions or learning disabilities or autism
Desirable criteria
- Substantial knowledge of evidence- based practice in designated specialist area
Further details / informal visits contact
- Name
- Claire Watson
- Job title
- Community Team Manager
- Email address
- [email protected]
- Telephone number
- 01325 552322
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