Job summary
Exciting Opportunities for Band 6 Occupational Therapists!

We are delighted to offer exciting opportunities for Band 6 Occupational Therapists to join our dynamic and supportive Therapy Services at the William Harvey Hospital.

These roles provide the chance to work within the Emergency Department, Frailty, Stroke, Medical, Trauma and Orthopaedics, HCOOP, Surgical and Critical Care services. Delivering high-quality, patient-centred care at some of the most pivotal points in the patient journey. Whether working within rotational posts or specialist services, you will play a key role in assessment, clinical decision-making, and proactive discharge planning.

You will work as part of a highly skilled multidisciplinary team, including Occupational Therapists, Physiotherapists, Therapy Assistant Practitioners, and Discharge Managers, contributing to safe patient flow, optimising functional outcomes, and supporting timely transitions of care.

We welcome applications from motivated Occupational Therapists who are passionate about acute care, frailty, emergency services, and service development.

We are happy to consider return to practice or developmental posts.

If you are interested in learning more about this post or would like to spend some time with the team, please contact us via the details below.

Main duties of the job
Main duties involve:

• To manage daily a clinical caseload of patients, and be responsible for the assessment, formulation and treatments and to give specialised therapy advice to members of the MDT.
• To deputise for Team Leader on clinical and managerial issues within the team
• To be actively involved with training within the Department in support of new graduate Occupational therapists, student therapists, therapy apprentices and support workers alongside other senior members of the team

These posts offer:

• Exposure to a fast-paced and varied clinical environment
• Opportunities to develop advanced clinical and leadership skills
• Strong MDT working and collaborative service delivery
• Ongoing professional development, supervision, and support
• The chance to make a meaningful impact on patient care from admission through to discharge.

Additional information can be found within the attached full Job Description.

About us
We are one of the largest hospital trusts in England, with five hospitals and community clinics serving a local population of around 800,000 people. Our vision is 'great healthcare from great people'. Everything we do is guided by our values: 'People feel cared for, safe, respected and confident that we are making a difference'. We have a new way of working at East Kent Hospitals, called 'We care'. It's about empowering frontline staff to lead improvements day-to-day. We're looking for compassionate people to be part of our improvement journey for the patients, families and carers we care for every day.

Please note that if you require a Certificate of Sponsorship to work in the UK you must declare this on your application form, even if you currently have a certificate of sponsorship or a work permit for another role and are already working in the country. Please note we are only able to sponsor candidates for a Skilled Worker Visa for roles that are eligible at the time of application.

Details
Closing date: 11 November 2026
Date posted: 03 November 2026
Pay scheme: Agenda for change
Band: Band 6
Salary: £39,959 to £48,117 a year per annum
Contract: Permanent
Working pattern: Full-time, Flexible working
Reference number: 344-7474DCB-Q
Job location: William Harvey Hospital, Kennington Road, Ashford, TN24 0LZ

Person Specification
Qualification

• Essential: BSc Occupational Therapist; HCPC Registration
• Desirable: Member of RCOT

Skills

• Essential: Highly developed clinical skills in acute inpatient setting; Excellent written and verbal communication skills; Excellent organisational skills; Excellent time management
• Desirable: Evidence of working within acute inpatient setting; Competent presentation skills

Experience

• Essential: Post graduate experience in relevant specialist area; Proven record of providing high quality intervention for high risk patients; Experience working within a fast pace setting or emergency department; Completion of preceptorship
• Desirable: Experience working within acute inpatient setting; Experience managing challenging situations

Knowledge

• Essential: Awareness of professional issues and recent developments in the NHS and Primary Care including Clinical Governance, NICE and CQC; Knowledge of up to date clinical / evidenced based practice; Knowledge of discharge pathways
• Desirable: Experience providing complex assessments and discharge planning; Experience using appropriate outcome measures linked to the assessment of medical/frailty patients; Knowledge of extended role of Occupational Therapy within discharge pathways

Disclosure and Barring Service Check
This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (Exceptions Order) 1975 and as such it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service (formerly known as CRB) to check for any previous criminal convictions.

Certificate of Sponsorship
Applications from job seekers who require current Skilled worker sponsorship to work in the UK are welcome and will be considered alongside all other applications. For further information visit the UK Visas and Immigration website.

From 6 April 2017, skilled worker applicants, applying for entry clearance into the UK, have had to present a criminal record certificate from each country they have resided continuously or cumulatively for 12 months or more in the past 10 years. Adult dependants (over 18 years old) are also subject to this requirement. Guidance can be found here Criminal records checks for overseas applicants.

UK Registration
Applicants must have current UK professional registration. For further information please see NHS Careers website.

For questions about the job, contact:
Lead Therapist for Frailty and Front Door Services, Laura Collins, l.collins12@nhs.net, 07955321055

Apply through our website