Job summary
An exciting opportunity has arisen for a Senior Therapy Assistant to join our dynamic and friendly Trauma and Orthopaedic Therapy team, working on the inpatient Trauma wards at Poole Hospital UHD. As a team we are passionate in ensuring that any adults presenting to our hospital receive the highest quality care from clinicians with a holistic and rehabilitative approach.

This is an exciting opportunity for individuals with some background knowledge of Physiotherapy or Occupational Therapy within a health or social care setting.

The successful candidate will need to possess:

• Previous employment in a health or social care setting (or equivalent) in a care/ facilitation/ support role
• A GCSE (or equivalent) pass mark in English
• Good written and verbal communication skills
• Ability to work independently within a supportive environment
• Flexibility and to be able to work as part of a team
• Excellent personal organisational skills including time management

The department offers excellent support, clinical supervision and a collaborative working environment.

This post involves weekend working, and there will be an expectation that the successful candidate moves to the Bournemouth site with the service.

Base Site: Poole Hospital, with an expected move to Royal Bournemouth Hospital 2027.
Interview Date: 19th November

Main duties of the job
To understand the role in more detail please read the full job description and person specification documents which are attached to this advert.

Please note this post includes 7 day working. The post holder will be expected to participate in regular weekend working.

You will work alongside qualified Physiotherapists and Occupational Therapists to deliver combined therapy treatment programmes, undertake essential non-clinical roles to support the smooth running of the inpatient Trauma Therapy service and support service users who have sustained traumatic injuries out of hospital.

If you are successful, you will be supported to achieve the competencies for the role through induction, 'on the job training' and teaching sessions.

About us
UHD are investing, developing and transforming Trust services in line with the New Hospital Programme. As part of this, some services may move site this year or next, either temporarily or permanently. Recruiting Managers will be happy to answer any service-specific questions at interview.

This service has a planned move from Poole site to Bournemouth site in 2027.

If a role or service relocates as part of a planned move, excess mileage will not be reimbursed. Travel from home to the new work base will be classed as a normal commute. Any other changes will be managed under Trust or national terms and conditions.

UHD has active networks including Women's, Diverse Ethnicity Network, Pride, EU, Pro Ability, and Armed Forces. We support Disability Confident and Armed Forces Covenant interview schemes.

AI tools may be used, but applications must honestly reflect your own skills and experience. Integrity is key to our recruitment process.

Details
Date posted: 03 November 2026
Pay scheme: Agenda for change
Band: Band 3
Salary: £25,760 to £27,476 a year per annum
Contract: Permanent
Working pattern: Full-time
Reference number: 153-SP07042
Closing date: 05 November 2026

Person Specification
Qualification

• Essential: GCSE Grade C or above in English Literature/Language

Experience

• Essential: Previous employment in a health or social care setting (or equivalent) in a care/ facilitation/ support role
• Desirable: Previous Occupational Therapy Assistant/ Physiotherapy Assistant/ Speech and Language/ Dietetic Assistant or Rehab Assistant or Healthcare Assistant experience
• Desirable: NHS experience

Skills

• Essential: Good communication skills (both written and verbal) with real life examples
• Essential: Good personal organisational skills including time management with real life examples
• Essential: Ability to work under pressure with real life examples
• Desirable: Management of a caseload

Language Requirement

• Essential: Ability to speak English as necessary to undertake the role

Other requirements

• Essential: Possession of a clean UK driving licence
• Desirable: Ability to travel to all Trust locations to carry out post

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.

Employer details
Employer name: University Hospitals Dorset NHS Foundation Trust
Address: Poole Hospital, Longfleet Road, Poole, BH15 2JB, United Kingdom
Employer's website: Apply through our website

Contact for questions about the job
Therapy Lead for Trauma and Orthopaedics, Laura Bones, laura.bones@nhs.net, 03000198179