A Vacancy at Mid Cheshire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust. Band 7 Occupational Therapist – Orthopaedics We are seeking a motivated and dynamic Band 7 Occupational Therapist to join our specialist Orthopaedics Therapy Team. This is an exciting opportunity to lead a well‑established service dedicated to delivering high‑quality, patient‑centred orthopaedic care. As a senior clinician, you will play a vital role in supporting efficient patient flow, reducing length of stay, and ensuring safe, timely discharges across the orthopaedic wards. Working closely with the multidisciplinary team, you will provide compassionate, goal‑focused therapy throughout each patient’s recovery. What you will be doing • Leading the Occupational Therapy service for orthopaedic inpatients, ensuring excellent clinical standards and a seamless patient experience. • Working in partnership with a Band 7 Physiotherapist to deliver consistent senior leadership across the therapy team. • Supervising, supporting, and developing junior staff to build confidence and specialist orthopaedic expertise. • Using advanced clinical reasoning to manage complex discharge planning and maintain strong MDT communication. • Acting as an ambassador for Occupational Therapy, promoting its essential role in orthopaedic rehabilitation. Key Objectives• Develop and promote a clinically effective Orthopaedic Therapy, particularly OT, ensuring high‑quality, patient‑centred care and seamless discharge processes. • Provide expert knowledge and leadership in managing complex cases and enabling timely early discharges, supporting safe and efficient patient flow. • Design and refine effective orthopaedic discharge pathways, working collaboratively with the wider MDT, community services, and external agencies to ensure continuity of care. • Deliver education, guidance, and ongoing support to the wider therapy service, strengthening clinical practice and promoting service excellence. • Respond proactively to daily organisational bed pressures, ensuring effective prioritisation and contributing to operational flow. • Lead on audit and evaluation of this service development, disseminating findings to drive continuous improvement and evidence‑based practice. Formal training and demonstrable experience in team leadership, service development, and audit is essential for this role. When you join our organisation, you become part of a Trust committed to inspiring hope and delivering exceptional care for the people and communities we serve. From your first day, you will receive a supportive induction to ensure you feel welcomed, valued, and confident in your new role. We emphasise high‑quality supervision and continuous professional development, offering regular opportunities to set meaningful objectives, engage in reflective practice, and enhance your clinical and leadership skills. All staff have equal access to a wide range of CPD opportunities, reflecting our commitment to nurturing a skilled, motivated, and compassionate workforce. Innovation and continuous improvement are central to our culture. You will be encouraged to contribute ideas, participate in research and audit, and support service development initiatives that enhance patient care. We recognise that excellent care relies on staff feeling supported and valued. Our flexible working practices and generous annual leave promote a healthy work–life balance and strong staff wellbeing. Joining us means becoming part of a team that places patients, people, and community at the heart of everything we do and strives to deliver the best possible experience for our population. • Act as an expert source of specialist orthopaedic knowledge, providing advanced clinical advice and support to healthcare professionals and external agencies across organisational boundaries. • Work autonomously to manage a highly complex orthopaedic caseload while contributing effectively as part of the multidisciplinary team. • Contribute to the delivery of the orthopaedic therapy service across a range of clinical environments, including inpatient wards, outpatient pathways, community rehabilitation clinics, and patient homes. • Utilise highly advanced communication skills to deliver clinical advice and treatment plans sensitively, acknowledging and addressing the needs of carers and families. • Obtain valid consent for treatment and motivate patients to participate in therapy programmes, using tailored strategies to overcome barriers such as cognitive impairment, dementia, and sensory or communication difficulties. • Comply with the Mental Capacity Act when assessing capacity, ensuring informed consent is gained and best‑interest decisions are made for patients who lack capacity. • Undertake highly specialist orthopaedic clinical assessments, integrating all relevant information and advanced clinical reasoning to develop evidence‑based, individualised treatment plans. • Lead clinical audit and research activity within the orthopaedic specialty, using findings to develop practice, improve patient outcomes and inform service development. • Generate innovative ideas and lead on the development, implementation, and evaluation of service improvements in response to patient and service needs. • Contribute to the achievement of service objectives, taking a lead role in designated projects across the orthopaedic therapy pathway. • Support workforce development by leading on the recruitment of junior and assistant staff as delegated, including the planning, delivery, and evaluation of high‑quality induction programmes. This advert closes on Wednesday 25 Feb 2026