Clinical Lead Occupational Therapist - Stroke
Band 8a
Main area Clinical Lead Occupational Therapist - Stroke Grade Band 8a Contract Permanent Hours
* Full time
* Flexible working
37.5 hours per week Job ref 213-Division-A-7697971
Employer King's College Hospital NHS Foundation Trust Employer type NHS Site King's College Hospital NHS Foundation Trust Town London Salary £64,156 - £71,148 per annum, inc HCA Salary period Yearly Closing 24/01/2026 23:59
Job overview
King’s College Hospital NHS Foundation Trust has 300+ therapy staff from occupational therapy, physiotherapy and speech and language therapy. Each service has a head of profession accountable to the chief of therapies who represents therapies across the trust. We focus on equitable provision and shared decision making with our patients.
We value continuing professional development to ensure all staff develop skills and knowledge to reach their full potential. You will be encouraged and supported to develop your clinical and teaching skills and become involved with in-service development.
This is an exciting opportunity to lead the Stroke Occupational Therapy Team at King’s College Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, Denmark Hill site. The role requires an experienced occupational therapist with expert knowledge of managing stroke patients. The role also requires someone with knowledge and experience of team management and leadership and the ability to plan and develop services.
This is a challenging and interesting position that combines expert clinical input, teaching, service and staff development, team leadership and management. You will be responsible for the running of your team including clinical governance, managing capacity and demand of the caseload and managerial administrative tasks.
Main duties of the job
The role of the clinical lead occupational therapist is to ensure their service area provides a quality service which is evidence-based, effective and efficient. The role also requires a focus on staff management, engaging staff in an attitude of excellence and instilling confidence, focusing on providing thorough inductions and training to enable staff to provide the best service and strive for continual improvement.
The clinical lead provides leadership by demonstrating highly specialist knowledge (theory and practice) within the area of stroke and both managing and supporting others to manage a complex clinical caseload. Team management is a core component of this role with the clinical lead taking responsibility for the provision of their service. Excellent interpersonal skills are required to work across services and disciplines to provide a coordinated, integrated service. As an expert the clinical lead will make an active contribution to training both within and external to the organisation. The clinical lead will be active nationally through specialist interest groups, conferences and study days and also be actively engaged in research opportunities.
The post requires a flexible approach to working and a commitment to weekend working as required.
Working for our organisation
King’s College Hospital NHS Foundation Trust is one of the UK’s largest and busiest teaching Trusts with a turnover of c£1 billion, 1.5 million patient contacts a year and more than 15,000 staff based across South East London. The Trust provides a full range of local and specialist services across its five sites. The trust-wide strategy of Strong Roots, Global Reach is our Vision to be BOLD, Brilliant people, Outstanding care, Leaders in Research, Innovation and Education, Diversity, Equality and Inclusion at the heart of everything we do. By being person-centred, digitally-enabled, and focused on sustainability, we aim to take Team King’s to another level.
We are at a pivotal point in our history and we require individuals who are ready to join a highly professional team and make a real, lasting difference to our patients and our people.
King’s is committed to delivering Sustainable Healthcare for All via our Green Plan. In line with national Greener NHS ambitions, we have set net zero carbon targets of 2040 for our NHS Carbon Footprint and 2045 for our NHS Carbon Footprint Plus. Everyone’s contribution is required in order to meet the goals set out in our Green Plan and we encourage all staff to work responsibly, minimising their contributions to the Trust’s carbon emissions, waste and pollution wherever possible.
Detailed job description and main responsibilities
CLINICAL
1.To organise and manage the specialist provision of occupational therapy rehabilitation to patients across the hyperacute and acute stroke services.
2.To work at an advanced clinical level within stroke, particularly in the assessment, diagnosis and management of complex patients.
3.To use analytical and judgement skills to diagnose occupational difficulties (physical, cognitive, perceptual and emotive impact on functional performance), understand complex situations and formulate appropriate solutions.
4.To develop programmes of care to meet the highly specialist and complex needs of patients that includes meeting the needs of patients and their extended support system. This practice should be evidence based and be in accordance with current research.
5.To manage a clinical neurological inpatient caseload to a high standard, including assessment, interventions and discharge planning. To carry out this care in accordance with research findings and evidence based practice.
6.To plan and co-ordinate complex multi-disciplinary activities e.g. case conferences; discharge planning and other keyworker activities.
7.To work within local policies and procedures, national standards and guidelines and adhere to the Royal College of Occupational Therapy professional standards and ethics.
8.To fulfil requirement to exert moderate physical effort to provide manual physical therapy within occupational therapy practice. To be able to manoeuvre patients and specialist equipment safely and effectively.
9.To supervise, train and provide day-to-day management to occupational therapists and assistants.
10.To provide advice/support to occupational therapy colleagues on clinical practice issues and service development initiatives.
11.To propose and action changes, develop, organise and manage stroke occupational therapy services.
12.To consult with occupational therapists within the trust and external to the trust regarding occupational therapy in stroke.
13.To work across disciplines and services to develop protocols and procedures.
14.To liaise with the service manager, therapy lead and stroke consultants to agree protocols/care pathways for the assessment and management of patients.
15.To work with the head/ deputy head of occupational therapy and service managers, therapy leads and consultants to develop a service for patients with complex presentations.
16.To liaise with consultants and managers regarding service developments and changes in practice.
COMMUNICATION
1.To establish robust communication networks with patients, carers, multidisciplinary members and other agencies.
2.To ensure a quality service for patients by maintaining a high standard in relation to communication with patients, liaison with referrers and other team members, and documentation of intervention.
3.To promote awareness of the role of occupational therapy within the team, negotiating priorities where appropriate.
4.To ensure that up to date written and electronic records and activity data are maintained across the stroke occupational therapy service in accordance with professional and trust standards and provide reports relevant to practice setting.
5.To write good quality occupational therapy functional and discharge reports for social services, onward inpatient services and community services.
6. To represent occupational therapy at ward, departmental and service level meetings, including delegation for the clinical lead occupational therapist.
7.To provide and receive complex, diagnosis related information (including providing information regarding rehabilitation prospects that may be unwelcome) to patients and their social environment that may involve empathetic, re-assurance, persuasion and negotiation skills. Barriers to understanding may be present.
MANAGEMENT AND ADMINISTRATION
1.To keep comprehensive records of activity in accordance with local and national requirements.
2.Ensure ongoing evaluation of the service provided against agreed outcomes.
3.To provide occupational therapy input to service planning, developments and operational management, as required.
4.To provide input into clinical governance, risk management and quality programmes.
5.To ensure management across stroke of occupational therapy student placement offers and individually supervise and complete yearly appraisal with staff and/or students.
6.To be aware of the importance of staff wellbeing, accessing trust support as required and raising any concerns.
7.To evaluate the service requirements for occupational therapy input in order to maximise the potential for rehabilitation.
8.Attend and contribute to relevant stroke service and occupational therapy department meetings.
9.To be actively engaged in relevant professional networks.
10.To develop and implement relevant policies for own area and propose changes that applies to rest of department to occupational therapy in liaison with other clinical leads and head/ deputy head of occupational therapy.
11.To be aware of, interpret for specialist area and implement codes of practice, local and national guidelines.
12.To be responsible for the safe use of equipment and be responsible for encouraging the team reporting of defective equipment.
13.Responsible for maintaining stock control systems.
14.Authorised signatory for small petty cash payments, social services small equipment (up to value of £300) and locum timesheets.
15.To be actively involved in recruitment of new staff.
16.To abide by clinical governance agenda and responsible for appropriate risk management.
TRAINING, EDUCATION AND RESEARCH
1.Prepare and participate in lectures, seminars, specialist training programmes and demonstrations to occupational therapists and members of other disciplines both within and external to the trust.
2.To provide practical training and clinical supervision within discipline to students on clinical placement and staff within the service.
3.To participate in the occupational therapy preceptorship provision within the trust and encourage participation by the team.
4.To take responsibility for keeping own specialist knowledge up to date and maintaining evidence based clinical expertise, acting as a resource in this clinical area.
5.To participate in and develop as appropriate occupational therapy or multidisciplinary research, and actively participate in any evaluation or research projects within the unit as appropriate and as agreed.
6.To undertake clinical audit and service evaluation both within the trust and on a national level, taking the lead role where appropriate.
General
The post holder has a general duty of care for their own health, safety and wellbeing and that of work colleagues, visitors and patients within the hospital, in addition to any specific risk management or clinical governance accountabilities associated with this post.
To observe the rules, policies, procedures and standards of King's College Hospital NHS Trust together with all relevant statutory and professional obligations.
To live and role model the King’s Trust Values and Vision.
To observe and maintain strict confidentiality of personal information relating to patients and staff.
To be responsible, with management support, for their own personal development and to actively contribute to the development of colleagues.
This job description is intended as a guide to the general scope of duties and is not intended to be definitive or restrictive. It is expected that some of the duties will change over time and this description will be subject to review in consultation with the post holder.
All employees must hold an 'nhs.net' email account which will be the Trust's formal route for email communication.
Safe Guarding
The Trust takes the issues of Safeguarding Children, Adults and addressing Domestic Abuse very seriously. All employees have a responsibility to support the organisation in our duties by;
* attending mandatory training on safeguarding children and adults
* familiarising themselves with the Trust's processes for reporting concerns
* reporting any safeguarding child or adult concerns appropriately
Infection Control Statement
The post holder has an important responsibility for and contribution to infection control and must be familiar with the infection control and hygiene procedures and requirements when in clinical areas.
The post holder has an important responsibility for and contribution to make to infection control and must be familiar with the infection control and hygiene requirements of this role.
These requirements are set out in the National Code of Practice on Infection Control and in local policies and procedures which will be made clear during your induction and subsequent refresher training. These standards must be strictly complied with at all times.
Person specification
* Band 7 and above acute setting experience working within stroke and/or neurology
* Band 8a acute setting experience working within stroke and/or neurology
Management and leadership
* Experience of operational management and leadership of staff
* Management and leadership training at Dip/Msc levels
Communication
* High standards of verbal and written communication
* Published journals or articles
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.
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