Job summary
Occupational Therapist- Band 5
Re-open a 15-bed acute admissions ward to address the increasing need for medium secure male beds across the North London Forensic Collaborative (NLFC) provider catchment areas. The primary objective is to reduce the growing waiting list of prisoners requiring specialist mental health care.
This is an opportunity for a Band 5 Occupational Therapist to work in a Recovery Orientated Medium Secure Ward. You will hold a full clinical caseload on an inpatient unit, with a focus on supporting individuals to live a full and meaningful life. You will be part of a dynamic OT team providing OT provision on a unit wide level as well as ward based. The ideal candidate will have experience of working in mental health and / or a forensic setting.
Please contact Jessica Bolton on 020 85102468/7 or Jessica.Bolton7@nhs.net for further information.

Main duties of the job

• To manage a service user caseload on the Medium secure rehabilitation ward under supervision.
• To undertake both one-to-one and group interventions with service users within the Forensic Service independently with support through reflection and supervision.
• To use clinical reasoning to assess the impact of long term conditions such as a service user's mental health of learning disability diagnosis, on the occupational areas of self-care, productivity and leisure and the performance components of inter / intra personal, cognitive and physical abilities.
• To undertake assessment of daily living skills to ascertain the level of functional ability, risk factors, level of support / accommodation needs in order to aid discharge planning / community care plans.
• To work with the service users to develop a service user centred intervention, in conjunction with those involved in the service user's care ensuring regular evaluation of the care plan.
• To contribute to clinical meetings/ ward rounds/ CPA meetings and be responsible for the feedback of clinical information on service users progress.
• To carry out appropriate risk assessment and management with relevant professionals in relation to violence and aggression, absconsion and self-harm in conjunction with the MDT.

About us
Our mission is to make a positive difference to people's lives by improving the quality of life for all we serve. Our values are: We Care, We Respect, We are Inclusive - so we are looking for people who live and breathe these qualities when supporting service users and carers, and in their relationships with colleagues in the Trust and our partner organisations.

Details
Date posted: 13 July 2026
Pay scheme: Agenda for change
Band: Band 5
Salary: £38,488 to £46,852 a year per annum Inc HCAs
Contract: Permanent
Working pattern: Full-time
Reference number: 363-FOR8121419
Job locations: John Howard Centre, 12 Kenworthy road, Homerton, E9 5TD, United Kingdom

Job responsibilities

• To empower and educate service users about their holistic health and well-being to enhance quality of life and prevent relapse, considering the need for rehabilitation, social inclusion and health promotion.
• To contribute to the running and evaluation of a varied programme of cross-site activities including Recovery College courses and site wide events.
• To produce clinical reports on a regular basis and disseminate to other involved professionals, agencies and the service user.
• To apply equal opportunities and anti-discriminatory interventions that respect the service users customs, values and spiritual beliefs at all times.

Person Specification
Education/ Qualification/ Training
Essential

• Diploma or degree in Occupational Therapy.
• State Registration

Desirable

• Member of RCOT
• Further training in relevant area

Experience
Essential

• Previous experience in a clinical mental health setting, learning disabilities setting and/or demonstrable experience highly related to the clinical field

Desirable

• Experience of CPD and role development
• Experience of supervising unqualified / junior staff
• Experience in a forensic setting or working with offenders

Knowledge and Skills
Essential

• Clinical reasoning skills to assess service users' needs (including risk assessment) and guide interventions.
• Good organisational and time management skills
• Ability to manage distressing clinical interactions with service user's with severe personality disorder.
• Ability to deal with conflict on a clinical and organisational level.
• Word-processing/IT skills
• Ability to manage a clinical caseload under supervision
• Good interpersonal skills enabling therapeutic alliances to be developed with service users.
• Ability to liaise with other services around clinical issues
• Ability to prioritise activities in relation to clinical work.
• To have knowledge of the impact of long term conditions such as mental health or learning disabilities on occupational functioning (self-care, productivity and leisure) and performance components (inter/ intra personal, cognitive, physical) with particular reference to working in a forensic setting
• To have knowledge of Recovery based approaches and co-production principles.

Desirable

• Ability to apply specialist skills in individual and group based OT assessments, interventions and evaluations under supervision
• To have knowledge of the needs and rights of service users and / or carers in a forensic setting.

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. For further information please see NHS Careers website (opens in a new window).

Employer details
Employer name: East London NHS Foundation Trust
Address: John Howard Centre, 12 Kenworthy road, Homerton, E9 5TD, United Kingdom
Employer's website: https://www.elft.nhs.uk/ (Opens in a new tab)

Employer contact details
For questions about the job, contact: Occupational Therapist, Jessica Bolton, Jessica.Bolton7@nhs.net, 02085102468