Senior Occupational Therapist
The closing date is 19 July 2026

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 & 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

• 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.

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 on a Skilled Worker Visa applying for roles Band 5 and above.

Details
Date posted: 10 July 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-N
Job locations: William Harvey Hospital, Kennington Road, Ashford, TN24 0LZ, United Kingdom

Job responsibilities
Please scroll down to access the full Job Description and Person Specification located in Documents to download.

If you have further queries please dont hesitate to contact the line manager using the contact details below.

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

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 (Opens in a new tab).

UK Registration: Applicants must have current UK professional registration.

Employer details
Employer name: East Kent Hospitals University NHS Foundation Trust
Address: William Harvey Hospital, Kennington Road, Ashford, TN24 0LZ, United Kingdom
Employer's website: https://www.ekhuft.nhs.uk/patients-and-visitors/ (Opens in a new tab)

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