Employer Ashford and St. Peter's Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust Employer type NHS Site St Peter's Hospital Town Chertsey Salary £50,008 - £56,908 per annum inc. HCAS Salary period Yearly Closing 06/07/2025 23:59 Interview date 16/07/2025
Neonatal Clinical Specialist Occupational Therapist
NHS AfC: Band 7
Job overview
Due to team expansion, we have a post available for a Neonatal Clinical Specialist Occupational Therapist to work in our Level 3 Neonatal Care Unit.
We are a friendly, dynamic and supportive unit where the successful candidate will have the privilege of providing highly specialist care for premature and sick babies from the Kent, Surrey and Sussex Network as well as supporting their families and the MDT with advice and management support.
The post holder will help to develop, co-ordinate, deliver and evaluate the occupational service provided to the Neonatal and transitional care service. Flexible and part time requests will be considered.
Please contact Gemma Frisby, Clinical Lead for Children’s Physiotherapy if you have any questions via email g.frisby1@nhs.net
Main duties of the job
· To promote infant neurodevelopment on the neonatal unit by empowering parents/caregivers and working in collaboration with staff to provide developmentally supportive care, considering adaptations tothe environment and caregiving to promote an optimal sensory experience for brain development.
· To support the parent-infant relationship, by providing education and support to parents in order to understand and respond to their babies’ behavioural cues and signs of stress, to co-regulate their body systems andparticipate in co-occupations such as sleeping, feeding, and early interaction.
· To provide specialist assessment and early intervention for sensory, motor, attention, regulation and play development to support the infant to reach their development potential
· To use highly specialist skills to manage their own complex caseload, working collaboratively with the multidisciplinary team.
· To support timely discharge and provide anticipatory guidance to ease transition to home. Teaching and training alongside the AHP team to the wider unit forms part of this post.
· To develop and work in collaboration with the MDT team to deliver neonatal follow up clinics.
· To provide specialist neonatal OT advice to the wider therapy, neonatal and paediatric teams of contact to provide occupational therapy advice to the wider trust .
Please read the job description and personal specification for a details list
Working for our organisation
Ashford and St. Peters Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust serves a population of more than 410,000 people living in North-West Surrey, parts of Hounslow and beyond.
Over 3,700 highly trained doctors, nurses, midwives, therapists, healthcare scientists and other support staff make up our workforce, providing a wide range of services across our two hospital sites, Ashford, Surrey and St Peter's, Chertsey, Surrey.
We also run many specialist clinics in the community and local community hospitals and other healthcare facilities.
Our vision is to be one of the best healthcare Trusts in the country. There has never been a better time to join us in the NHS at ASPH. We are committed to providing continuous professional development and flexibility to shape our workforce around our patient care.
We are expanding our theatres at Ashford Hospital and moving towards this becoming our dedicated elective centre. We want to create a state-of-the-art centre for excellence for planned surgical procedures.
We can offer you the full range of NHS benefits/discounts and in addition:
* Excellent pension scheme and annual leave entitlement
* On-site Nurseries
* On-site staff cafes
* On-site parking
* Salary Sacrifice schemes including wage stream, lease cars, Cycle to Work schemes and home electronics
Adverts may close early, so applicants are encouraged to submit an application as soon as possible.
Detailed job description and main responsibilities
· To carry a designated neonatal clinical caseload including highly complex and diverse patient groups and prioritise that work efficiently, taking into account clinical and service priorities using specialist knowledge to underpin decisions.
· Apply an enhanced level of understanding of the effect of preterm birth, perinatal problems and congenital disabilities on the development and occupations of infants and their families and make appropriate recommendations for intervention and support.
· Support discharge planning and transitions to paediatric, outpatient and community services for caseload, providing relevant information to unit discharge team and internal paediatric and community teams.
· Taking the lead role in MDT ward rounds in turn with other members of the team promoting Family Integrated and Developmental Care principles to facilitate parental involvement.
· To be responsible for setting and monitoring of standards, policies and evidence based guidelines for clinical practice for the neonatal occupational therapy service and evaluate outcomes.
· To be able to manage potentially stressful and upsetting or emotional situations in an empathetic manner.
· To supervise junior, senior staff, therapy assistants, students and apprentices where appropriate
· To communicate effectively with all disciplines involved in a patient’s care, both those from within the organisation and those outside to ensure efficient multidisciplinary working.
In addition to this, familiarise yourself with the full job description document attached to the advert.
Person specification
Qualifications
* Diploma/degree in Occupational Therapy leading to inclusion on HCPC register
* Evidence of ongoing professional development
* MSc or post graduation equivalent study
* Specialist neonatal post grad training
* Member of appropriate special interest group
Experience
* Experience as a band 6 in neonatal or paediatrics within in the NHS
* Knowledge of developmental models and core skills
* Experience of managing babies with complex needs
* Band 7+ experience in neonates and/or paediatrics
* Experience as a band 6 in neonatal and paediatrics within in the NHS
* Broad range of acute and community clinical experience
* Knowledge and experience of using a wide range of different infant assessments and interventions
Knowledge & Skills
* Demonstrate an understanding of the impact of disabilities on patient, families and carers. • Knowledge and experience of a range of assessment and interventions/approaches in neonatal and paediatric care.
* Knowledge and experience of child development, common neonatal and paediatric conditions and in-depth knowledge of developmental disabilities and factors influencing early infant development
* Knowledge and experience of a range of assessment and interventions/approaches in neonatal and paediatric care.
* Experience in leadership, service development and education
Employer certification / accreditation badges
You must have appropriate UK professional registration.
This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (Exceptions) Order 1975 (Amendment) (England and Wales) Order 2020 and it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service.
Name Gemma Frisby Job title Clinical Lead for Children's Physiotherapy Email address g.frisby1@nhs.net
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