Band 6 Peripatetic Occupational Therapist
Job overview
Previous applicants need not apply**
An exciting opportunity has arisen for an HCPC-registered Occupational Therapist to join Birmingham Community Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust’s Adults and Specialist Rehabilitation (ASR) services. This varied and challenging role allows you to work across inpatient and community settings, supporting teams during vacancies, maternity leave, or high demand.
You'll deliver high-quality assessments and interventions across diverse services including the West Midlands Rehabilitation Centre (specialist clinics, amputee rehab, wheelchair/posture services) and Moseley Hall Hospital (neurological rehab, stroke units, outpatient brain injury care, and early supported discharge).
Therapy may be delivered at service bases, client homes, or in the community across Birmingham and the West Midlands. Some roles involve independent travel and extended driving.
This is a great chance to gain broad clinical, organisational, and leadership experience in specialist rehabilitation. Candidates must have clinical experience in neurology and complex disability assessment, be flexible, and ready to adapt quickly to new environments.Strong knowledge of current clinical practices, excellent time management, and a full driving license are essential.
Main duties of the job
This peripatetic role supports rehabilitation services within the Adult and Specialist Rehabilitation (ASR) Division, which serves Birmingham and the wider West Midlands.
You'll work within interdisciplinary teams to assess clients with complex needs—physical, cognitive, social, and psychological—across various environments. You will evaluate rehabilitation, social, and care needs, formulating evidence-based interventions in collaboration with clients, carers, and other professionals.
On inpatient neuro-rehabilitation units and within the Birmingham Neuro-Rehabilitation Team, you will act as key worker for a caseload, coordinating outpatient programmes and serving as the main contact for clients, carers, and external agencies.
Effective communication is essential, requiring you to use a range of techniques to motivate, persuade, and reassure clients and stakeholders. The role involves close liaison with both internal and external professionals.
You will also provide supervision and support to junior staff, therapy assistants, and students, depending on the service area you are working in.
Working for our organisation
Be Part of Our Team...
BCHC has more than 5000 staff working across Birmingham and the West Midlands in a wide range of community nursing and specialist healthcare roles. BCHC delivers over 100 clinical services, in people's homes, health centres, clinics and inpatient facilities.We deliver a wide range of services for children, young people, and families as well as adults and community services, two community hospitals, services for people with learning disabilities, the internationally recognised West Midlands Rehab Centre and one of Europe’s leading Dental Hospitals and School of Dentistry.
We deliver all of this with a commitment to integrated, personalised care that is rooted in our local communities. We have an ambition to deliver outstanding, integrated care as one of the key NHS providers in the West Midlands.
Detailed job description and main responsibilities
Detailed job description and main responsibilities
For further details on the main responsibilities, please see the attached job description and person specification.
All services are provided by teams of clinical professionals and support staff who aim to provide personalised, integrated services that best meet the needs of individual patients and their careers and assist them in managing their physical, cognitive, emotional and social disabilities.
For further information please contact Ruth Banner Clinical Specialist OT on 0121-4666-6590.
Person specification
Qualifications
Essential criteria- Graduate Dip OT / Degree in Occupational Therapy.
- HCPC Registered
- Evidence of Continuous Professional Development.
- Relevant nationally recognised post-graduate training
- Member of relevant clinical interest group.
Experience
Essential criteria- Relevant experience as junior therapist/student to establish core OT skills & team working (acute, community & rehab
- Assessment & prescription of ADL equipment.
- Assessment & treatment of patients with complex disability, including neurological and deteriorating conditions
- Core / Basic IT skills; Word, Outlook, Excel.
- Familiarity of Postural management systems (wheelchairs and special seating systems ( or willing to learn) and the assessment & treatment of patients with amputations.
- Supervisory experience of students
- Participation in service developments; project, audits
Skills/ Knowledge
Essential criteria- Knowledge of the OT process & ability to use specific OT modalities.
- Ability to demonstrate high level of clinical reasoning/problem solving, development skills, for patients with neurological problems.
- Ability to manually handle patients and / or equipment safely, to attain positioning necessary to perform safe and effective clinical assessment / treatments.
- Ability to generate written communication, which is relevant, concise, accurate and legible.
- Evidence of good organisational skills, including prioritisation of workload and time management skills
- Ability to demonstrate high level of clinical reasoning/problem solving, development skills for patients with amputations , postural and wheelchair needs.
- Ability to demonstrate splinting skills with thermoplastics and casting skills (or prepared to develop these skills).
Personal Qualities
Essential criteria- Demonstrate flexibility within the changing NHS environment.
- Demonstrate initiative and motivation when working in a variety of situations.
- Willing to develop new skills as the services develop.
Other job requirements
Essential criteria- Ability to travel and access various work locations (eg. home visits). Must be car driver and have access to a vehicle for the community based services.
Disability Confident Employer and Guaranteed Interview Scheme
BCHC offers a guaranteed interview to any candidate who is Disabled, Neurodiverse, has a hidden or long term health condition as recognised under the Equality Act 2010, providing they meet the essential criteria of the job role, as set out in the person specification.We encourage applicants to submit their applications and to request any reasonable adjustments where required.
Equality, Diversity and Inclusion
Birmingham is a fantastic place to live and we serve a wide range of people and communities. BCHC are an advocate of diversity and strive to mirror the community we serve as much possible.
We are committed to and actively promote equality of opportunity for all staff and applications from individuals from all areas of the community who meet the specific criteria are encouraged regardless of age, disability, sex, gender reassignment, sexual orientation, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion or belief and marriage/civil partnerships.
Promoting Workforce Equality
In response to data held by BCHC which demonstrates that individuals from particular protected characteristics are under-represented, BCHC are striving to redress these imbalances. In order to do this, the Trust is committed to the employment and career development of individuals with these protected characteristics.As part of this commitment and given this under-representation, the Trust guarantees an interview to any applicants from under-represented groups for positions at Band 8a and above whose application meets the essential criteria for the post as detailed on the Person Specification.
The Trust is currently under-represented in terms of people who identify as Black, Minority Ethnic (BME) and welcomes applicants from these communities. Selection will be on the basis of merit. In order to ensure the diversity of our workforce and understand the differing needs of our communities, the Trust is committed to the principles of Positive Action.
Flexible Working
Birmingham Community Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust (BCHC) supports a variety of flexible working practices and, where possible (given our range of services and community settings) dependent upon the requirements associated with the role, will actively consider requests made and support these where practically possible.This may include hybrid patterns of working to enable colleagues to request the flexibility of a mixture of home/base working.
In accordance with the NHS People Promise, the Trust is committed to facilitating a healthy work/life balance that is essential to health and wellbeing and to making BCHC a ‘Great Place to Work’. We will be happy to discuss and consider all requests relating to working patterns and hours at your interview so please do ask!
Using Artificial Intelligence
Birmingham Community Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust acknowledges Artificial Intelligence (AI) or Generative AI (GenAI) tools such as ChatGPT, Claude, Copilot, Gemini etc; are powerful tools that can help you in various stages of your job application and how they can be used in certain circumstances during your application process with BCHC.You can read more about acceptable use on our internet pages here
Benefits of working for us:
- Full NHS terms and conditions including extensive holidays, Agenda for Change pay with enhancements
- Attractive relocation payment if you relocate to the local area.
- Discounts for local and national retailers
- Dedicated well-being services for all employees
- Flexible working where possible