Occupational Therapist

Job summary
Enable is one of four national DWP funded pilots testing a new approach to fit notes and is the most clinical of the four. It runs across Barrow and Mid Furness Primary Care Networks, delivered by MBPCC under an NHS contract.

For participating practices, all fit notes are issued by the Enable service rather than by the GP practice. There is no change to fit note legislation, so every patient still needs a valid, signed fit note. The pilot then offers eligible patients registered at a pilot practice, in work, and agreeing to share data with the DWP a workability assessment and plan. Employers are contacted only with the patient's explicit agreement.

The service expects to handle more than 20,000 fit note requests a year at full rollout.

The service uses EMIS, AccuRx, X on Surgery Connect and Florey questionnaires.

Main duties of the job
To provide occupational therapy assessment and intervention for working age adults whose health is affecting their ability to stay in or return to work, as part of the Enable service.

• Carry out functional and work focused assessments with patients from pilot GP practices who request a fit note.
• Issue and sign fit notes as the certifying healthcare professional.
• Complete workability assessments and plans with eligible patients, setting practical, occupation focused goals to support a sustainable return to work.
• Work as part of a multidisciplinary team with the Advanced Nurse Practitioner, Occupational Health Nurses and admin team.
• Record activity and outcomes accurately so the pilot can supply data and learning to the Department for Work and Pensions.

About us
Morecambe Bay Primary Care Collaborative is the largest employer of Primary Care colleagues in South Cumbria, we are a not-for-profit Community Interest Company, and work to support, guide and underpin primary medical care across Lancashire and South Cumbria.

We deeply value education and learning, hosting the Lancashire and South Cumbria Training Hub. We have a great team on our board that guide our organisation, and you will be supported to excel in your role.

Details
Closing date: 06 November 2026
Salary: £35,000 to £39,000 a year
Contract: Fixed term, 12 months
Working pattern: Full-time
Reference number: B0160-26-0027

Job responsibilities
Fit note certification

• Assess patients fitness for work and issue and sign fit notes in your own name, as permitted for HCPC registered occupational therapists under the Social Security, Medical Evidence and Statutory Sick Pay, Medical Evidence, Amendment Regulations 2022.
• Assess the patient, by face to face, video or telephone consultation or by reviewing a written report from another healthcare professional, before issuing a fit note.
• Certify only within your own scope of practice and competence. Refer to the ANP or Clinical Lead when the presenting condition, complexity or risk falls outside it.
• Issue fit notes through EMIS, including correct dates, condition wording and review periods.
• Meet the service turnaround standard for fit note requests, currently 3 working days.
• Take part in audit of your fit notes for quality and consistency, and act on feedback from the Clinical Lead.

Clinical assessment and workability plans

• Manage a defined caseload of working age adults referred through the fit note pathway.
• Complete workability assessments and plans with eligible patients assessing physical, cognitive, psychological and environmental factors affecting work.
• Advise on graded return to work, activity pacing, fatigue and symptom management, and practical workplace adjustments.
• With the patient's explicit agreement, liaise with employers about reasonable adjustments and return-to-work arrangements.
• Signpost and refer to other services and community resources.
• Identify and act on risk, including mental health risk, escalating promptly to the Clinical Lead and Advanced Nurse Practitioner.

Communication and teamwork

• Communicate complex and sometimes sensitive information about health and work, adapting to each patient's needs and overcoming barriers to understanding.
• Work as an active member of the Enable multidisciplinary team and attend team meetings, case discussions and huddles.
• Build good working relationships with pilot GP practices, PCN teams and partner organisations.
• Contribute an occupational therapy perspective to the development of pathways, templates and patient information.

Records, data and evaluation

• Keep accurate, contemporaneous clinical records in EMIS to professional and MBPCC standards.
• Record activity and outcome data accurately and on time, as needed for DWP evaluation.
• Contribute to service evaluation, audit and quality improvement, including sharing learning from the pilot.

Professional development

• Take part in annual appraisal and agree a personal development plan.
• Maintain a CPD portfolio that meets HCPC requirements.
• Develop knowledge of vocational rehabilitation, occupational health and work and health policy.

Working arrangements

• This is a fixed term post for 12 months, funded through the national pilot. Continuation beyond the pilot period cannot be guaranteed and is subject to national decisions on the future of the model.
• A flexible and agile approach to working is expected. The service operates a blended model of face to face clinics, remote consultation and home working, and the balance between these will vary with service demand and patient need.
• Home working is supported for remote assessment, report writing, supervision and administrative activity, subject to a suitable, confidential home working environment and compliance with information governance requirements. Home working is an operational arrangement, not a contractual entitlement, and does not remove the requirement to attend sites.
• Regular travel across Barrow and Mid Furness is required. Access to a vehicle and a full UK driving licence, or an equivalent means of meeting the travel requirements of the post, is necessary.
• Some flexibility over working hours may be needed to accommodate patients who are in work and employers who are only available outside core hours such as Saturday working.
• The post holder will be expected to work in a rapidly evolving service where processes, systems and documentation change during the pilot period, and to lead others through that change.

General responsibilities

• Professional standards: Work within the HCPC Standards of Conduct, Performance and Ethics and the RCOT Professional Standards and Code of Ethics. Maintain HCPC registration; any lapse must be reported immediately and stops fit note certification.
• Information governance: Keep all patient and service information confidential in line with UK GDPR, the Data Protection Act 2018, the Caldicott Principles and MBPCC policy. Share data with the DWP only as set out in the Enable privacy notice and the patient's agreement.
• Safeguarding: Follow safeguarding adults and children procedures and complete the training required for the role before commencement of job.
• Health and safety: Follow health and safety and lone working policies, and report incidents and near misses promptly.
• Infection prevention and control: Follow infection prevention and control policies.
• Equality and diversity: Treat everyone with dignity and respect, and act in line with MBPCC's equality policies.
• Mandatory training: Complete all statutory and mandatory training on time.
• Flexibility: This job description is not exhaustive. It may change as the pilot develops, by agreement with the post holder.

Person Specification
Experience

• Essential: At least 12 months post registration OT experience, including preceptorship, with working-age adults in physical or mental health. Assessed by application form, interview and references.
• Desirable: Experience in primary care, occupational health, vocational rehabilitation, musculoskeletal or community mental health services.

Qualifications

• Essential: Degree or diploma in Occupational Therapy. Assessed by application form and certificate or registration check.
• Desirable: Vocational rehabilitation or occupational health qualification or module.

Registration

• Essential: Current HCPC registration as an Occupational Therapist, with no conditions affecting practice. Assessed by certificate or registration check.
• Desirable: Membership of the Royal College of Occupational Therapists.

Other

• Essential: Able to travel between pilot practice sites in Barrow and Mid Furness. Satisfactory enhanced DBS check and occupational health clearance. Assessed by application form, interview and references.
• Desirable: Full UK driving licence and access to a vehicle, reasonable adjustments considered.

Knowledge and skills

• Essential: Understanding of how health conditions affect function and the ability to work; clinical risk assessment, safeguarding and when to escalate; confidentiality, consent and information governance; clear, professional decision-making on fitness for work within own scope of practice; effective verbal and written communication, including sensitive conversations about health and work; good IT skills, including using clinical systems to record consultations and data; able to manage own time and prioritise a caseload to meet turnaround standards. Assessed by application form and interview.
• Desirable: Knowledge of the fit note, Statutory Sick Pay, Access to Work and the Equality Act 2010 reasonable adjustments duty; awareness of the DWP Fit Note Reform Pilot and national work and health policy; knowledge of standardised work-related assessments such as the Worker Role Interview or Work Environment Impact Scale; experience of quality improvement or service evaluation; motivational interviewing or health coaching skills; experience of EMIS, AccuRx or another GP clinical system.

Fit note certification

• Essential: Willing and able to issue and sign fit notes in own name. Assessed by application form, interview and references.
• Desirable: Experience of issuing fit notes, or contributing to fitness-for-work decisions.

Personal qualities

• Essential: Commitment to person centred, enabling practice that supports people to stay in or return to work; able to work autonomously and as part of a new multidisciplinary team, using supervision well; flexible and comfortable working in a pilot where processes are still being developed. Assessed by interviews and references.

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.

UK Registration
Applicants must have current UK professional registration. For further information please see NHS Careers website.

Employer details
Employer name: Morecambe Bay Primary Care Collaborative
Address: Barrow Health Hub, The Strand, Barrow in Furness, Cumbria, LA14 2HF, United Kingdom
Employer's website: https://mbpcc.co.uk/

For questions about the job, contact:
HR Manager, Pam Compston, pamela.compston@nhs.net

Privacy notice: Morecambe Bay Primary Care Collaborative's privacy notice (opens in a new tab).