Guy's and St Thomas' NHS Foundation Trust
Specialist Occupational Therapist - @home Service
The closing date is 01 March 2026
This is an exciting time for a Specialist Occupational Therapist (band 6) to join the @home service, which boasts as being one of the largest and longest running Urgent Community Response teams in London. We are continuously expanding the service in line with the NHS Long Term Plan to support England's ageing population and those with complex needs. Achieved through developing virtual ward pathways, supporting elderly fallers to remain at home, reducing pressure off LAS, and working more collaboratively with social care, other community therapy teams and key stakeholders in the community and acute settings; putting the patient at the heart of all we do. The @home service are searching for a dynamic, enthusiastic and experienced Occupational Therapist to join the team. Ideal candidates may be currently working at band 6 level and seeking new challenges; a current band 5 looking for progression into a band 6 role; or a returning to practice Occupational Therapist.
The role involves assessing patients in homes within the boroughs of Lambeth and Southwark, requiring the use of public transport; or via holding a current and valid UK driver's licence and /or vehicle that can be used for work purposes.
Main duties of the job
The successful post holder will demonstrate higher levels of assessment, specialist interventions and knowledge; patient‑centred goals setting abilities; and engage in collaborative multidisciplinary discharge planning in a face‑paced environment.
Previous community experience and a passion for urgent therapy assessment, intervention and rehabilitation in supporting patients to remain in their own home is desirable. Our locality means you will be working with some of the most diverse populations, cultures and languages in London. You will have supervisory, teaching and training responsibilities for the Nursing Rehab Support Workers, Allied Health Students, and the wider multidisciplinary team. Furthermore, you will be an active participant in evidence‑based projects, departmental research and audits including recommendations for changes in practice as required and in line with current NHS directives.
Excellent communication skills are essential, and you must be enthusiastic, flexible and able to work autonomously using strong clinical assessment and clinical reasoning skills. You will have opportunities for career progression and development an extended scope of practice role within the service; supported through regular supervision and performance development reviews.
About us
GSTT @home is a hospital at home service covering both Lambeth and Southwark boroughs, and is a joint venture between health and social care. @home provides high quality, safe, intensive multidisciplinary acute treatment and monitoring in the patient's usual place of residence that would otherwise be carried out in hospital.
The service operates 7 days per week, with therapists working 08.00hrs to 20.00hrs as the standard shift pattern. With this post being full‑time it is essential the post holder be able to work their hours flexibly and to contribute fully to both existing and new rota's.
Patients conditions range from those requiring a single episode of care e.g. postoperative to IV or antibiotic therapy; through to patients living with complex and long‑term conditions, including the frail elderly, who may require periodic short‑term intervention to maintain the best possible quality of life at home.
The service accepts referrals from GP's, LAS, Guys and St Thomas Hospitals, Kings College Hospital, St George's hospitals as well as other community services.
@home encompasses two main streams of work:
* 2‑hour, same day or next day response to support early discharge from hospitals from Guy's & St Thomas, King's College and is integrated with secondary care.
* Hospital admission avoidance, with 2 hour or same day response, working in conjunction with LAS, GPs, Community Matrons, District Nurses, Social Care and the other community therapy teams.
Job responsibilities
Please refer to the full job description for comprehensive summary of the essential and desirable criteria for this role. Main headings include:
* Professional and clinical responsibilities
* Communication
* Service Development – Research / Audit / Quality
* Staff management and Leadership
* Education and Training
* Personal and Professional Development
Key relationships include:Head of Nursing, Deputy Head of Nursing, Deputy Chief AHP, Therapy Lead Practitioners, Clinical Development Matron, Matrons, @home GPs, Nursing staff and the wider MDT, District Nurses and Community Matrons, Clinical Nurse Specialists, Allied Health Professionals, Consultants and Junior Medical Staff, community and acute therapy and rehabilitation teams, Social Services staff administrative and support staff, Home Care Provider Staff, Voluntary Sector Staff.
General points to note This job may involve frequent exposure to unpleasant working conditions, e.g. bodily fluids, unpleasant smells, and occasional exposure to verbal aggression. This is a community‑based role and will involve entering patients homes.
Person Specification
Professional/ Statutory Registration
* Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC) registration
Qualifications/ Education
* Degree in Occupational Therapy
* Evidence of Continued Professional Development including attendance at recent post graduate courses relevant to the clinical field
* Member of RCOT
* Recognised post‑graduate qualification in specialist clinical area
Physical Requirements
* Excellent knowledge and application of manual handling techniques in line with Manual Handling Guidelines, including highly developed therapeutic handling skills
* Demonstrated ability to carry out physical work often for prolonged periods and travel across Lambeth and Southwark Boroughs
* Valid current licensed UK car driver
Previous clinical experience
* Broad postgraduate experience across a range of clinical areas including working with adults and older people with chronic conditions and complex co‑morbidities
* Rehabilitation experience (minimum Band 5) in all core areas: medicine, vascular orthopaedics, and care of the elderly
* Previous experience within rapid response, acute and/or urgent care settings
* Rotational and/or community experience, preferably in an occupational therapy role
* Experience of teaching In‑service programmes and to the Multidisciplinary Team
* Experience of the research/Audit process
Skills/ Knowledge/ Ability
* Application of Occupational Therapy models of practice and an evidence based approach including clinical outcome measures to evaluate outcomes
* Knowledge, understanding and application of Occupational Therapy process relating to client centred practice
* Demonstrated ability to work as an autonomous practitioner and to make sound clinical judgments and decisions regarding patient care; and responsible and accountable for decisions made
* Ability to plan and organise the provision of care to a caseload of patients, and to work effectively under pressure with frequent interruptions
* Demonstrated ability to manage a complex and constantly changing workload of clinical and non‑clinical duties, demonstrating excellent time management, prioritisation and organisational skills
* Demonstrated ability in carrying out a range of risk assessments, in a variety of settings
* Ability to demonstrate skills sharing and collaborative multi‑professional working, at a variety of levels, including ability to co‑ordinate multi‑disciplinary/ multi‑agency meetings
* Excellent interpersonal and negotiating skills, including observation, listening and empathy to develop effective therapeutic and working relationships
* Demonstrate highly developed verbal, non‑verbal and written communication skills in English
* Able to effectively manage conflict and difficult situations, and to challenge and support others appropriately and assertively
* Demonstrated ability with supervising staff e.g. OT's and physios, AHP Apprentice, AHP students, Nursing Rehab Support Workers
* Competent IT skills, presentation skills and experience of running courses internal / external
* Committed to personal and team professional development
* Ability to adopt innovative and flexible working practices and support successful change management
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.
Address
Community
Elmcourt Health Centre, Norwood Road & Walworth Sexual Health Clinic, Walworth Road
£46,419 to £55,046 a year per annum inc HCA
Contract
Permanent
Working pattern
Full‑time
Reference number
196-LIS10274-O
Job locations
Community
Elmcourt Health Centre, Norwood Road & Walworth Sexual Health Clinic, Walworth Road
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