Senior Occupational Therapist in Acute Inpatient Therapy

Job summary
An exciting and appealing opportunity has arisen for a Senior Occupational Therapist to join our Acute Inpatient Therapy Team (AIP) at Poole to provide Therapy assessment and treatment to a new medical directorate continuing care ward.

The aim of this ward is to deliver hight quality of therapy intervention for patients who no longer fit the criteria to reside in hospital to help determine most appropriate discharge pathways and promote recover, independence and optimise function.

This is a fantastic opportunity where you will be encouraged and supported to enhance your clinical practice and develop extended skills in acute inpatient setting whilst working alongside our highly regarded and innovative Acute Therapy Team in the hospital. This role will encompass the use of your excellent clinical and leadership skills for complex case management, encouraging you to work holistically developing yourself and your colleagues including the supervision of staff.

University Hospital Dorset works in partnership with health and community providers within the county to enable the Discharge to Assess and Home First principles: You will have the opportunity to support patients within the acute hospital and within their own homes to ensure they receive the right service in the best place for them.

Participation in weekend working is an integral aspect of this post.

Interview Date: 3rd September 2026

Main duties of the job
Within this role you will have the opportunity to utilise your skills to provide excellent services for our patients, to be involved in the training of others, and to expand your own knowledge with training opportunities. So come and join our team!

We are looking for an Occupational Therapist who is competent in completing core therapy assessments providing specialist Occupational Therapy interventions. You will be required to use your core Occupational Therapy skills including assessment of Occupational Performance through activity analysis informing your clinical reasoning and decision making.

About us
Our values define who we are as #TeamUHD. They underpin everything we do now and in the future. They define how we treat our patients, visitors, and each other, our valued team mates and colleagues.

UHD are investing in services across the Trust, with many being transformed and developed following merger and the New Hospital Programme.

In some cases this means that a services may move site this year or next, either temporarily or long term. Recruiting Managers interviewing for this role will be happy to answer any specific questions that you have at interview.

Details
Date posted: 06 August 2026
Pay scheme: Agenda for change
Band: Band 6
Salary: £39,959 to £48,117 a year
pa/pro rata
Contract: Permanent
Working pattern: Full-time, Part-time
Reference number: 153-SP06568
Job locations: University Dorset Hospitals Poole Site, Longfleet Road, Poole, BH15 2JB, United Kingdom

Job responsibilities
To understand the role in more detail please read the full job description and person specification documents which are attached to this advert

Person Specification
Qualifications
Essential

• BSc (Hons) Occupational Therapy Degree
• HCPC Registration

Desirable

• Member of Royal College of Occupational Therapists

Experience
Essential

• 2+ years experience within the NHS
• Band 5 Occupational Therapy experience covering the following core areas: ? Older adults ? Neurology ? Hand/Orthopaedics ? Acute
• NHS Experience in an acute physical setting

Desirable

• Involvement in audit

Technical skills
Essential

• Ability to teach patients, relatives, carers & staff.
• How to critique research articles
• Demonstrate excellent verbal and nonverbal communication with an ability to establish a good rapport with a range of people.
• To be able to delegate appropriately.
• Ability to teach & supervise Junior staff & assistants .
• Good time management.
• IT Skills within word processing.
• Ability to prioritise clinical workload.

Other requirements
Essential

• Ability to drive, hold a clean drivers licence
• Ability to speak English as necessary to undertake the role

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.

Certificate of Sponsorship
Applications from job seekers who require current Skilled worker sponsorship to work in the UK are welcome and will be considered alongside all other applications. For further information visit the UK Visas and Immigration website (Opens in a new tab).

From 6 April 2017, skilled worker applicants, applying for entry clearance into the UK, have had to present a criminal record certificate from each country they have resided continuously or cumulatively for 12 months or more in the past 10 years. Adult dependants (over 18 years old) are also subject to this requirement. Guidance can be found here Criminal records checks for overseas applicants (Opens in a new tab).

UK Registration
Applicants must have current UK professional registration. For further information please see NHS Careers website (opens in a new window).

Employer details
Employer name: University Hospitals Dorset NHS Foundation Trust
Address: University Dorset Hospitals Poole Site, Longfleet Road, Poole, BH15 2JB, United Kingdom
Employer's website: https://www.uhd.nhs.uk/careers (Opens in a new tab)

Employer contact details
For questions about the job, contact:
Clinical Lead Occupational Therapist
Emma Woodcock
emma.woodcock9@nhs.net
03000192582

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.
Applications from job seekers who require current Skilled worker sponsorship to work in the UK are welcome and will be considered alongside all other applications.
Applicants must have current UK professional registration.