Occupational Therapist
Closing date: 28 July 2026

Job summary
An exciting opportunity has arisen for an experienced, dynamic, and enthusiastic Occupational Therapist with excellent multidisciplinary communication to join the Healthcare of the Elderly Occupational Therapy team at Derriford Hospital on a fixed term contract for 12 months.

This post is integral to the delivery of a high standard of therapeutic care and is integral to the multidisciplinary team's ability to provide smooth and appropriate discharge planning with the wider community MDT. The successful candidate will work as an experienced clinician across the Healthcare of the Elderly wards.

The successful candidate must be registered and have experience in the field of HCE & general medicine working in the acute environment; and be able to demonstrate an appropriate level of personal autonomy & clinical skill. You must have good inter-personal skills, work well in a multidisciplinary team environment, and be willing to support the Team Lead to deliver a specialist occupational therapy service in challenging times.

***Preference will be given to internal Trust staff, as well as 'Priority' and 'At Risk' status including NHS At Risk staff throughout Devon who are able to display recent relevant experience as dictated by the Person Specification.***

Main duties of the job

• To perform a specialist Occupational Therapy role to a comprehensive Occupational Therapy service to the patients on the Healthcare of the Elderly wards. This includes carrying out a range of functional and cognitive assessments.
• Be part of the multidisciplinary team, ensuring the Occupational Therapy input is an integral part of the patients overall care and discharge.
• To deputise for the Team Lead when necessary.
• Will be required to work on the 7 day rota.

About us
We are a people business - where every member of staff matters and can make a difference. Patients are at the heart of everything we do. Joining University Hospitals Plymouth NHS Trust means becoming part of a team of dedicated staff, who are committed to leading the way through innovation, clinical excellence and great customer care.

The Trust has great opportunities for career development in a highly progressive working environment. We offer all of this in a vibrant, modern city with a historic reputation for adventure.

PLEASE NOTE THAT ALL COMMUNICATION WILL BE ELECTRONIC, PLEASE CHECK YOUR EMAIL ACCOUNT REGULARLY.

If you have any issues with applying online and need additional support including reasonable adjustments with the application process, please contact the recruitment manager for this post who will put you into contact with the recruitment team.

We recognise that work life balance is important for our colleagues and so we invite requests from applicants around less than full time/flexible working for our advertised roles. Please contact the recruiting manager to discuss this prior to your application submission. We commit to giving this full consideration in each case.

We encourage people from diverse backgrounds to apply for our roles, as diversity strengthens our teams. It is sometimes necessary to close vacancies before the closing date.

If you have not heard from us within 4 weeks of the closing date, please assume that you have not been shortlisted.

Details
Date posted: 14 July 2026
Pay scheme: Agenda for change
Band: Band 6
Salary: £39,959 to £48,117 a year
Per Annum
Contract: Fixed term
Duration: 12 months
Working pattern: Full-time, Flexible working
Reference number: 216-LT-DA8087852
Job locations: OT Dept, Derriford Hospital, Derriford Road, Plymouth, PL6 8DH, United Kingdom

Job description
Job responsibilities
Clinical

• 1. Ensure the patients, relatives, and those the therapist encounters are aware of the role of the Occupational Therapist and components of the Occupational Therapy treatment programme.
• 2. Obtain informed consent from the patient, and work within the current legal framework for patients who lack capacity to consent, prior to commencing any treatment.
• 3. Select from a wide range of standardised and non-standardised assessments to assess and aid diagnosis of cognitive, perceptual, behavioural, physical, and social functioning of the patients referred. This includes, but is not limited to social environmental interview, cognitive tests (Mini ACE & ACE III), personal care assessments, kitchen assessments, feeding assessments.
• 4. Make reliable interpretations of the assessment results, to inform other professionals in the diagnosis and management of the patients. Also to guide the Occupational Therapy treatment plan, and for the recommendation of the discharge destination, rehabilitation, or placement.
• 5. Plan, deliver and review treatment programmes in close liaison with all members of the multi-disciplinary team, patients, carers, and family in accordance with any consent given. Addressing areas such as disease management, sensory, motor, splinting, psychosocial needs, and functional abilities.
• 6. Carry out environmental home assessments & pre-discharge home assessments as required. Assess the patient carrying out functional skills to maximise independent living, arranging equipment provision, adaptations, and support services as required. Assess for disability access and safety, also ensuring access to community resources and assessing carer needs.
• 7. Assess for and provide aids and adaptive equipment to increase / enable independent function, teaching compensatory techniques as required. These include but are not limited to feeding, dressing, domestic & leisure activities. Responsible for providing information and instruction for the safe use of the items provided.
• 8. Rise requisitions for minor adaptation on behalf of Social Services; and OT equipment on behalf of the OT Department, Derriford Hospital, per referral.
• 9. Assess for wheelchairs, specialist seating and positioning needs treating as appropriate, referring on to wheelchair and seating clinics as required.
• 10. Responsible to plan, deliver and review treatment programmes in close liaison with all members of the multi-disciplinary team, patients, carers, and family in accordance with any consent given.

For further details please see attached JD&PS.

Person Specification
Knowledge & Experience
Essential

• To have extensive demonstrable experience as an Occupational Therapist in the physical field.
• To have worked with a wide range of medical & surgical conditions affecting the elderly person.
• To have specialist proven knowledge & demonstrable experience of a wide range of OT assessments and interventions relevant to this patient group, demonstrated by advanced clinical reasoning.
• To have good oral, verbal and written communication skills.
• To have proven knowledge of a wide range of OT equipment and minor adaptations.
• To have demonstrable experience in liaising with community services.
• To have demonstrable experience in caseload management.
• To have skill and demonstrable experience of staff appraisal.
• To have demonstrable experience of allocating and assessing the work of a team.
• To have proven evidence of continuing professional development
• To have completed clinical supervisor training.
• To have demonstrable experience in conducting audits and research & development activities.

Desirable

• To have worked in the physical field and have demonstrable experience of busy environment acute wards.
• To have demonstrable experience of supervising staff of all grades.
• To have demonstrable experience of supervising student occupational therapists.
• To have demonstrable experience in teaching other members of the MDT team both internal and external settings.
• To have demonstrable experience in delivering patient education.

Qualifications
Essential

• To hold degree, or equivalent in Occupational Therapy.
• To be registered as required Healthcare professional

Desirable

• To have relevant qualification

Aptitude & Abilities
Essential

• To be skilled in handling frail, aging patients and their families.
• To be interested in promoting independence.
• To have interest and skill in persuading, teaching, and managing people of all age groups.
• To be skilled in helping people to problem solve.
• To have proven ability to attend to details.
• To have good time management skills.
• To be computer literate.
• To understand confidentiality.

Disposition, Attitude & Motivation
Essential

• To have a co-operative nature and be able to get on well with others, work as a member of the Multidisciplinary Team.
• To be a self-starter and be able to work without supervision.
• To be independent and able to accept responsibility.
• Be steady and dependable and able to persist in difficult situations without being distracted.
• Recognise own limitation

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).

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 (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: University Hospitals Plymouth NHS Trust
Address: OT Dept, Derriford Hospital, Derriford Road, Plymouth, PL6 8DH, United Kingdom
Employer's website: https://www.plymouthhospitals.nhs.uk/ (Opens in a new tab)

Employer contact details
For questions about the job, contact:
Occupational Therapy Team Lead
Jo Couch
joanna.couch1@nhs.net
01752432220