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Job summary

Main area
Occupational Therapy Assistant / Assistant Practitioner
Grade
Band 4
Contract
Permanent
Hours
Full time - 37.5 hours per week
Job ref
351-CEN2360-CC
Employer
Lancashire & South Cumbria NHS Foundation Trust
Employer type
NHS
Site
L7F9 L1314 RITT Central (65+)
Town
Preston
Salary
£27,485 - £30,162 per annum
Salary period
Yearly
Closing
19/11/2025 23:59

Employer heading

Lancashire & South Cumbria NHS Foundation Trust logo

Occupational Therapy Assistant

Band 4

Our Vision is to provide the best mental health, learning disability, autism and community based services for the populations we serve.

As an integrated mental health, learning disability and community Trust, Lancashire and South Cumbria NHS Foundation Trust provides a range of services including:

•    Primary and secondary mental health care for children and adults including specialist inpatient child and adolescent mental health provision, perinatal mental health, forensic services including low and medium secure care.
•    Specialist community support for children and adults with learning disabilities and autism, including intensive support.
•    Community physical health and well-being services for children and adults.

The Trust was first established in 2002 and employs approximately 7,000 staff who provide care from more than 400 sites. The organisation offers opportunities for medics, mental health and general nurses, allied health professionals, psychology, administration and clerical staff, apprentices and volunteers.

Lancashire and South Cumbria NHS Foundation Trust supports flexible working, we believe that a positive work/life balance benefits NHS employees through improved health and wellbeing. We would consider working patterns such as; term time, part time, compressed hours, home/remote working, and flexi-time.

For more information visit our website via Lancashire & South Cumbria NHS FT.

Please note that further communication from Lancashire and South Cumbria NHS Foundation Trust (LSCft) will normally be to the email address given on the application form. You should also ensure that email addresses and telephone numbers are provided for your referees, to enable LSCft to contact them.

Job overview

An exciting opportunity has arisen to join Lancashire and South Cumbria NHS Foundation Trust (LSCFT) to work as a Band 4 Occupational Therapy Assistant with the Older Adult Mental Health, Rapid Intervention and Treatment Team (RITT) / Care Home Liaison service (CHL), covering Preston, Chorley and South Ribble.

LSCFT offers a diverse and inclusive place to be an occupational therapy technical instructor and be highly valued in our Trust's approach to multidisciplinary care. We are committed to delivering excellent services, putting occupation at the centre of our work and championing people’s rights for occupational needs to be recognised and addressed. 

Main duties of the job

We are looking to appoint an enthusiastic and flexible thinking individual who has excellent communication skills and the ability to work autonomously as well as part of a team. 

You will have lots of opportunity to develop and enhance your skills using in-house training and specific courses, you will work with and receive supervision from experienced Occupational Therapists.

This post is subject to an enhanced DBS Disclosure and the successful applicant will be required to pay for their DBS check

Working for our organisation

Lancashire & South Cumbria NHS Foundation Trust provides a range of services including secondary mental health care across this area. Specialist provision comprises inpatient child and adolescent mental health services, perinatal mental health and forensic services including low and medium secure care.

The Trust also provides a range of physical health and well-being services in the community alongside a range of partners in the Lancashire, Cumbria and Sefton area. 

Lancashire & South Cumbria Foundation Trust encourages flexible working, we believe that a positive work/life balance benefits NHS employees through improved health and wellbeing. We would consider working patterns such as; term time, part time, compressed hours, flexi-time and career breaks. We encourage applicants to state clearly on their application forms this request and discuss these options at interview.

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

For further information about the role, please see the attached recruitment pack which includes a detailed job description and person specification, or visit our website via Lancashire and South Cumbria NHS FT.

Person specification

Qualifications

Essential criteria
  • GCSE/level 5 or above in English and Maths or equivalent
  • Qualification in health or care e.g. NVQ Level 4 / Training to Diploma or Foundation degree level/Assistant practitioner qualification
  • Relevant Qualifications for example sports therapy, personal training, etc

Knowledge

Essential criteria
  • Ability to demonstrate understanding of Occupational Therapy / The client group with which the post holder will work e.g. Mental health difficulties / The importance of being able to do the things, they want or need to do to people’s mental well being / The concepts of recovery
  • A knowledge of benefits, accommodation and community resources
  • Knowledge of humans as occupational beings
  • Knowledge of adult and social learning theories
  • Knowledge of research approaches including audit cycle, basic statistics, qualitative data

Experience

Essential criteria
  • Previous experience of working in a support worker role with people who experience mental health difficulties with an understanding of the roles of other professions within the multi-disciplinary team
  • Experience of working with people with a broad range of Mental Health conditions and people who have cognitive, physical, learning disability or challenging behaviour
  • Previous experience working in therapy/care settings e.g. inpatient settings or social services agency/department
  • Experience of working without direct supervision, including monitoring and reviewing the person’s progress

Skills

Essential criteria
  • Self-motivated and commitment to person-centred care and non-discriminatory practice.
  • Work with a degree of autonomy as part of a team, managing delegated activities, accepting accountability and responsibility for own actions
  • Demonstrate skills in motivating service users using activity
  • Able to adapt and grade activities and tasks to support service users’ independence and confidence within a pre agreed framework
  • Ability to work with people of all ages and adapt/develop physical health programmes that reflect physical abilities and interests

Employer certification / accreditation badges

Apprenticeships logoNo smoking policyArmed Forces Covenant Gold AwardMindful employer.  Being positive about mental health.Disability confident employerCare Leaver CovenantStep into healthDefence Employer Recognition Scheme (ERS) - Gold

Applicant requirements

This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (Exceptions) Order 1975 (Amendment) (England and Wales) Order 2020 and it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service.

Application numbers

This vacancy may close early if it receives a high number of applications. You are therefore advised to consider applying for this vacancy as soon as possible to avoid disappointment.

Documents to download

Apply online now

Further details / informal visits contact

Name
Aimee Wharton
Job title
RITT Team Leader
Email address
[email protected]
Additional information

For more information, please contact:

Aimee Wharton, RITT Team Leader: [email protected]
Katherine Heyes, Occupational Therapist:[email protected]
Sarah Hickson, Occupational Therapist: [email protected]

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