Mental Health Occupational Therapist

Posting date:	18 November 2025
Salary:	Not specified
Additional salary information:	Negotiable
Hours:	Full time
Closing date:	23 November 2025
Location:	Nottinghamshire, NG17 7BG
Company:	NHS Jobs
Job type:	Contract
Job reference:	E0220-25-0013ASHS

Summary

ProfessionalLeadershipandDevelopment To be responsible for maintaining own competency to practice through Continuing Professional Development activities and to participate in the review and appraisal process. To adhere to the individual Professional code of conduct and practice at all times. To reflect on own practice individually and/or through regular clinical supervision. Provide clinical education, training, and evaluation of clinical competence of team and multidisciplinary team staff, providing support and guidance. To maintain, develop and disseminate specialist knowledge of evidence-based practice. To critically evaluate own work using evidence-based projects, audits, and outcome measures. To work autonomously as an Occupational Therapist within professional and PICS guidelines, policies, and procedures. Communication and Relationships Demonstrate advanced communication skills in providing advice, empowerment, facilitation, influence, motivation, and counselling. Be able to provide concise summary of appointments, raise any concerns to appropriate professionals, communicate treatment plan and request additional support or requirements from GP or other Healthcare Professional. Manage complex communication issues that may arise between differing health and social care professionals including de-escalation skills when working in highly antagonistic, hostile, and emotive clinical areas. Demonstrate an understanding of the need to involve patients, parent sand carers in decision making, offering them informed choices, respecting their views. Demonstrate the ability to recognise barriers to understanding that can been countered with those without English as their first language, patients with disabilities and those with mental health difficulties such as anxiety, clinical depression, or personality disorders. Seek out different styles and methods of communicating to assist longer term needs and aims. The nature of some communication can be unpredictable and can be of an urgent high priority nature: this can therefore be responsible for impacting into time allocated towards other necessary tasks. Provide and receive complex and sensitive information in relation to patient care and will have the ability to advise and support others to communicate information in an understandable, empathic, and reassuring way to children and young people with Mental Health and/or Learning Disabilities and/or Cognitive difficulties and their parents, family and carers. Utilise communications in accordance with Caldicott Principles, Data Protection, Freedom of Information Act and Trust Policies and procedures. Knowledge, Skills, Training and Experience Occupational Therapyqualification HCPC registered occupational therapist. Post graduate degree/equivalent qualification or experience. Practical experience inmeeting the health needs ofChildren and Young Peoplewith Mental Health underpinned by theory and experience. In depth knowledge of National and HCPC policies, procedures, code of conduct and standards of care in relation to service provision for adults with mental health. Post qualification experience of working collaboratively with statutory partners, third sector partners and families/carers. Knowledge of safeguardingchildrensprocedures and the ability to take on a lead role in strategy meetings as and whenrequired. Developed skills from a wide and variant background, experience and a broad yet deep knowledge base underpinned with a proventrack recordand/or an academically scrutinised knowledge base. Proven professional development, a profile thatdemonstrates, advanced clinicaloccupational therapypractice. Systematic understanding of how to manage a designated, complex, occupational therapy caseload(relativeto primary care)using theoretical and practical experience, completing assessments, planning, implementing occupational therapy interventions, and evaluating outcomes aligned to care plans. Offer advanced consultation skills and developed specialist and generic knowledge to undertake comprehensive assessment of health and psychosocial care needs of patients with complex disease, including holistic assessment,gatheringand interpreting information, performing tests and analysingresults. Analytical judgement underpinned with specialist knowledge and experience is used to develop evidenced based holistic personal care plan with patients, carers,relativesand health care professionals based on a fullassessment. Provide evidence based written information, ensuring easy access to advice and information for patents, parents/carers. Working knowledge of Microsoft and GP practice data monitoring systems. Ability to write comprehensive clinical notes, implement and evaluate care plans. Provides specialist education and training to other professionals involved in patient care Participate in the education, inductionprogrammesand support meetings for other professional staff. Monitor own performance by reflective practice andidentifytraining and educational needs. Regular self-direction of learning needs. Maintain up to date mandatory training records. Identifythe potential benefits of, andparticipatingin, educational programmes forchildrenand their relatives/carers. Address specific health targetse.g.,NHS Plan, National Service Frameworks related to own area of practice through education Ensure own compliance and compliance of otherswith regard tomandatory training and individual health professional requirements. Analytical and judgment skills Ability to analyse and interpret complex, dynamic, and incomplete information, pre-empt and evaluate issues, and recommendappropriate courseof action to address emergency issues in unfamiliar contexts. Demonstratea high levelof reflective practice and competence in clinical reasoning and decision making based onevidence-basedOTpractice. Analysis of and ability to work across organisational boundaries within health and social care and with wider community partners. Make a judgement on whetherchildrenhave the capacity to give informed consent seekingadditionaladvice when necessary.It is desirable to have risk assessment experience including use of the Mental Health or Mental Capacity Actincluding with children Planning and organisation skills Responsible for planning andmanagingtheir ownworkloadalongside surgery rotas. Work independently to manage own complex caseload. Plan and organise specialist occupational therapy provision andadjustasrequired. Promote, develop, and implement clinical standards and good practices both in care delivery andappropriate recordkeeping. Responsibilities for patient/client care Following the completion of a comprehensive core assessment, develop and provide an individualised,evidence-basedprogramme of care based on formulation, including to those with complex needs/challenging behaviours. At all times work in collaboration with patients and carers ensuring that theCYP and parents /carersaretreated with compassion,respectand dignity. Manage distress and conflict in theday-to-daywork withCYP and parents /carerswho, as an expression of their condition/ diagnosis, may at times be difficult to engage and/ordemonstratesignificant risk behaviours. Provide effective care and therapeutic interventions tochildrenpresenting with a range of difficulties. To engage in active relapse prevention planning withCYP and parents /carerscontributing to their recovery and/ or wellbeing and discharge planning. Provide specialist advice and guidance toCYP,parents/carers and practitioners of other professional disciplines, less experienced staff, voluntaryorganisationsand the public. Recognise andanticipatesituations that may be detrimental to the health and wellbeing of patients and theircarersand advise and treat on the promotion of health and the prevention of physical/mental and behavioural deterioration. Work flexibly to meet the needs ofthe PCNwhich may regularly include working extended hours.This is pre-agreed with the surgeries if yourequireto work Enhanced Access. Demonstrate flexibility in the role. This may involve working across clinical pathways to support the needs of the service, whilstensuring the delivery ofhigh-qualitycare at all times. Policy and Service Development Adhere to policies, procedures,protocolsand standards and be instrumental in embedding these in service provision. Adhere to professional code of conduct and standards, and requirements of other legislation. Understand,contributeand advise on statutory issues whichimpacton patients and carers. Perform statutory duties and seek advice where necessary. Ensure Implementation of National, Trust and Local Service Legislation, Policies, Procedures and Guidelines for Health and Social Care and be involved in their development whereappropriate. Report any deficiencies within the clinical environment or equipment. Activelyparticipatein service developments and improving the quality of the delivery ofevidence-basedTreatment Interventions by others, ensuring a consistent and standardised approach across the Pathway. Participate in the effective monitoring, review and evaluation of the service provided Human Resources Take responsibility for keeping own professional knowledge and skills up to datethroughmandatory training, reflective practice, shared learning, etc. Be responsible forbeing actively involved in CPD and professional development plans via supervision and appraisal process. Please see the supporting documents for more information