Mid Dorset Primary Healthcare Ltd
Primary Care Occupational Therapist

Job summary
Are you an enthusiastic Occupational Therapist who wants to make a real difference to people's lives? Are you looking for a role where your skills, ideas and professional expertise are valued, where you can work collaboratively, and where you have the opportunity to shape and develop services? Then we would love to hear from you.

At Mid Dorset Primary Healthcare, we are doing things differently. We are an ambitious, forward-thinking Primary Care Network working collaboratively across eight GP practices to deliver innovative, high-quality, patient-centred care to our local population.

We believe in bringing the right professionals together, making the most of everyone's skills and developing services that genuinely improve people's lives. This is an exciting opportunity to be part of a supportive, diverse and multi-disciplinary team.

We are looking for two Occupational Therapists to cover 5 days, made up of Mon-Wed and Wed-Friday.

This vacancy is only open to UK residents as MDPH Ltd does not have the ability to sponsor candidates at this present time.

Main duties of the job
The Occupational Therapy team establishes a key bridge between General Practices and existing Occupational Therapy services in the community. The team focuses primarily on patients in the rural Mid-Dorset region (primarily covering the GP Practices at Cerne Abbas, Milton Abbas and Puddletown but other practices may be covered additionally).

The approach is twofold, firstly aimed at providing Occupational Therapy approaches to patients living in their own home, who are at risk of deterioration, which may cause them to lose independence or the ability to remain living in their own homes. The second approach is proactively focused, looking at population health management to design and implement strategies to improve patient outcomes through preventative early intervention, self-management/empowerment, group consultations, Ageing Well strategies, wellbeing and functional movement promotion.

About us
Mid Dorset Primary Healthcare Ltd (MDPH) is the employing organisation for Mid Dorset Primary Care Network, bringing together eight independent GP practices serving more than 52,000 people across the Mid Dorset area.

Working collaboratively with its member practices and the wider health and social care system, MDPH delivers and develops a range of multidisciplinary services designed to improve access to healthcare, support people living with long-term conditions and provide coordinated, patient-centred care.

Its workforce includes a range of clinical and non-clinical professionals, working across practice locations and specialist services. The organisation is committed to improving patient outcomes, encouraging innovation, supporting continuous learning and developing a skilled, resilient and sustainable workforce.

Through collaboration, professional development and continuous improvement, MDPH aims to enhance the quality and accessibility of primary care for the communities it serves.

Details
Date posted: 13 November 2026
Salary: £31,080 to £47,726.80 a year. This is pro rata and dependant on experience
Contract: Permanent
Working pattern: Part-time
Reference number: A5663-26-0099
Job location: MDPH Ltd, Upper Floor, Puddletown Surgery, Puddletown, Dorchester, Dorset, DT2 8FY, United Kingdom

Job responsibilities

• Develop and utilise expert knowledge and clinical skills to assess, plan, implement and initiate evidence based clinical management of patients within the community.
• Lead on the systematic assessment, planning, implementation and evaluation of occupational therapy interventions. This will include assessing for and ordering equipment as required.
• Lead on creation of preventative, proactive approaches to improving health and functional outcomes through early intervention projects.
• Manage complete episodes of care and follow up working in partnership with all members of the team. This will involve delegating and referring as appropriate to optimise outcomes and patient experience.
• To develop a health promotion and prevention approach to case management with the ability to comprehensively assess patients for risk factors and early signs of declining health and functional status, providing patients/carers with education and self-management/empowerment strategies. This may encompass individual or group settings/consultations.
• Integrate clinical skills within clinical projects such as neighbourhood team interventions and Ageing Well clinics.
• Participate in MDT meetings, ward rounds, case presentations and other relevant meetings which contribute to the decision-making process in the management of the patient.
• Able to prioritise own workload daily to meet needs of the service and prioritise patients based on clinical need and to escalate appropriately to colleagues for assistance with workload if patient care would otherwise be compromised.
• Recognise and work within own competence and professional code of practice as regulated by the post holders professional body (HCPC).
• To acknowledge any limitations in knowledge and skill and must not perform activities which the post holder feel they are not competent to perform.
• Produce accurate, up to date and complete records of patient consultation, consistent with current legislation and local policies.
• Develop ability to liaise with internal and external stakeholders advocating Occupational Therapy practice provision that is effective and responsive so that patients and clinicians experience high standards of care, communication and continuity.
• Promote practice that is dynamic, efficient, innovative and continuously improved in its relevance and responsiveness to the needs of the population.
• Lead on development of preventative, proactive models to improve health and functional outcomes through early intervention.
• To act as a role model as an ambassador for OT. Lead by example ensuring that care is compassionate and caring at all times in line with PCN Values.
• Manage own workload to ensure patients are seen within a timely manner.
• Demonstrate effective multi-disciplinary working and acknowledge the role of individual team members, ensuring that expertise is seen as a resource within the team and PCN.
• Work collaboratively with representatives in other clinical areas, disciplines and services (e.g. ICRT, social services) to provide a seamless pathway of care.
• Demonstrate effective leadership skills, providing line management and clinical supervision for the Occupational Therapy Assistant (OTA).
• Contribute to the development and implementation of protocols, guidelines and policies that impact across the PCN.
• Identify need for change, contribute to practice innovations and collaborate with others to promote new practice and service solutions to better meet the needs of patients.
• Continually assess and monitor risk in own and others practice and challenge others about risk factors.

Person Specification
Essential qualifications

• BSc/MSc in occupational therapy from a training programme approved by the Royal College of OTs (RCOT) and the HCPC.
• Health & Care Professions Council (HCPC) registration.

Essential experience

• Relevant clinical experience as an Occupational Therapist.
• Experience in developing new services/service improvement.
• Experience in managing a designated caseload, complex assessments, planning, implementing interventions and evaluating outcomes.
• Line manager/team lead experience.

Desirable

• Relevant post registration qualifications.
• Mentorship or supervisor skills training.
• Experience within primary care/community care.

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. Applicants must have current UK professional registration.