Lead Occupational Therapist (Care Transfer Hub)

Discharging an individual on to the right care pathway when they no longer need to remain in a hospital or community bed requires a whole system approach. Every local health and care system has a transfer of care hub where (physically and virtually) relevant community services across sectors (e.g. health, social care, housing, voluntary sector) are linked together.

The hub coordinates care for people who require care and support after discharge from hospital, and any support for unpaid carers providing care. This covers any patient discharged from hospital or community beds regardless of the area they are resident in. The hub is staffed by a small team, dedicated to ensuring people are discharged from hospital on the right pathways, with the right discharge information, and that they get the right onward care and support if needed.

The hub supports safe discharges through close working with the acute and community wards, quality assurance of information and practical support, including proactive early identification of those who may become ready for discharge, supporting planning as early as possible following admission. This role within the Care Transfer Hub will provide the skillset of an Occupational Therapist who will take a lead in supporting patient discharges that have complexity around function and / or cognition.

Main duties of the job

Accountable for the delivery of high quality therapy care within a defined clinical area or pathway.

Responsible for providing expert clinical practice with advanced clinical reasoning and support to staff.

Provide clinical leadership to develop staff.

Lead evaluation and development of clinical practice within the specialism ensuring compliances with National Frameworks.

Assist and support Clinical Service Managers and Lead Therapists in the service in the improvement of AHP services within STH.

This vacancy is advertised on a fixed term contract basis until March 2027 due to the post being externally funded. The fixed term contract status of the post holder will be reviewed in accordance with the Trust's legal obligations regarding fixed term contracts taking into consideration the ongoing source of the external funding and the requirement for the post to be maintained.

Please note all existing NHS staff will only be considered on a secondment basis. This must first be agreed with your substantive line manager.

You will be working for an organisation which values and respects all its staff and the community it serves. The Trust is a leader in the NHS and research sectors and provides excellent benefits for its staff. This includes commitments to professional development but also many policies to support employees in balancing their personal and professional lives.