Specialist Occupational Therapist | Mersey Care NHS Foundation Trust

Posting date:	18 February 2026
Salary:	Not specified
Additional salary information:	£38,682 - £46,580 Per Annum
Hours:	Full time
Closing date:	20 March 2026
Location:	Southport, PR9 9DL
Company:	Mersey Care NHS Foundation Trust
Job type:	Permanent
Job reference:	7808884/350-CC7808884

Summary

We are looking for an enthuastic collaborative Occupational Therapist or Physiotherapist with a passion for postural management / pressure management. We are a friendly and supportive team. This post will involve a mix of community and clinic based working. There may be scope to offer support to our other wheelchair services so the ability and willingness to work across sites is essential.

To assess service user referrals against criteria, providing equipment to meet needs, working as part of an MDT to meet wider needs of this service user group. Working across the community in clinics / homes/ care homes /day centres. completing documentation in line with professional standards working to professional code of conduct. Offering support to the team with continuing professional development and when needed represent the team at trust wide events.

Mersey Care is one of the largest trusts providing physical health and mental health services in the North West, serving more than 1.4 million people across our region and are also commissioned for services that cover the North West, North Wales and the Midlands.

We offer specialist inpatient and community services that support physical and mental health and specialist inpatient mental health, learning disability, addiction and brain injury services. Mersey Care is one of only three trusts in the UK that offer high secure mental health facilities.

At the heart of all we do is our commitment to ‘perfect care’ – care that is safe, effective, positively experienced, timely, equitable and efficient. We support our staff to do the best job they can and work alongside service users, their families, and carers to design and develop future services together. We’re currently delivering a programme of organisational and service transformation to significantly improve the quality of the services we provide and safely reduce cost as we do so.

Flexible working requests will be considered for all roles.

To contribute to the operational management of Wheelchair Service.
To deputise for the Band 7 Wheelchair Therapists as required.
To be responsible for a given service area and this will alter according to service needs.
To contribute to the development of procedures and implement these within the service
To comply with the organisational, service policies and procedures
To have a good working knowledge of existing national policies and guidelines e.g. NSF for
Older People and work to professional guidelines/standards (College of Occupational
Therapy / Chartered Society of Physiotherapy), be able to evaluate their impact and
demand on your practice
To ensure students, assistants and other relevant staff implement policy and service development changes.
As a specialist clinician working within the wheelchair service, contribute to the development of clinical guidelines, through participation in audit/research

To be responsible for the training, supervision and performance management of junior staff, assistant practitioners and students which includes the use of formal appraisal documentation and NVQ assessment.
To provide specialised assessment and intervention to service users within the wheelchair service.
To determine posture and mobility needs and therapy interventions indicated and to maintain records as an autonomous practitioner.

To work as an autonomous practitioner being professionally and legally responsible and accountable for all aspects of your own work.
Able to deliver a rapid response service to urgent cases, which
requires a flexible approach and excellent time management skills.

To interpret and analyse clinical and non-clinical facts for service users presenting with complex conditions and cognitive, physical and social care needs.
To refer on where appropriate to statutory and non-statutory agencies.
To undertake the comprehensive assessment of service user’s, including those with a complex presentation, using investigative and analytical skills to form individualised treatment plans. This involves clinical reasoning, utilisation of a wide range of treatment
skills and sound judgement of service user’s social support.
To adhere to Trust guidelines regarding manual handling in the transfer of equipment of various loads, and when manoeuvring service users in unsuitable and variable setting

To provide spontaneous and planned advice, teaching and instruction to relatives, carers and other professionals to promote understanding of the aims of therapy and to ensure a consistent approach to service user care. To provide specialist advice to other members of the multidisciplinary team on the management of service users with complex multi-pathological problems to ensure holistic
care.

To assess capacity, gain valid informed consent and have the ability to work within a legal framework regarding consent to treatment.
To provide continuity of care for service users with ongoing postural and mobility needs.
To maintain accurate, comprehensive and contemporaneous documentation, in line with legal and service requirements.
To be actively involved in the collection and inputting of appropriate data and statistics for the use of the service and for audit purposes.
To be aware of Health and Safety at Work policies, implementing relevant policies and Medical Devices Alerts/Field Safety Notices.
To record and report promptly any accidents and incidents using the Trust incident reporting process, and escalating issues to the Clinical Lead and where necessary to Mersey Care’s Health & Safety Team.

Act as part of a team providing a service throughout Southport and Formby, flexibility and adaptability is necessary within the working day to cater for the needs of the service users and their appointments.

To participate in the staff appraisal scheme and Personal Development Review as both appraiser and appraise.
As appropriate attend courses, both external and in-house.
Participate in reflective practice and clinical supervision.

To be an active member of the in-service training programme by the attendance at and the delivery of presentations and training sessions at staff meetings and tutorials.
To demonstrate a sound understanding of Clinical Governance and Risk Management and apply to work situation.

Provide carers, relatives, assistants, junior staff, students and other health professionals with education, training, monitoring and support as required.
To communicate effectively with service users and carers to maximise mobility potential.
To ensure understanding of conditions, prognosis, consent to treatment and posture/mobility outcomes.
To take enquiries from health care professionals and others regarding the service user and their condition to ensure the acquisition of appropriate information.

To appropriately refer on to healthcare professionals and others effectively
communicating the clinical/postural needs of the service user.

Sensitively communicate negative news regarding wheelchair management of service users e.g., where modifications for a chair are not possible or chair requested is clinically
unsuitable.

The post holder is required to overcome barriers to communication using a range of
verbal, non-verbal and listening skills. This will include patients with dysphasia, hearing difficulties, partially sighted, memory loss and confusion, behaviours that challenge, limited English and patients unable to accept diagnosis.
To produce timely informative assessments, interventions, reports and letters regarding service users.
If required, provide reports for legal or social care reasons in accordance with the Trust policy.




This advert closes on Sunday 1 Mar 2026