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Job summary

Main area
Allied Health Professionals
Grade
Band 6
Contract
Permanent
Hours
  • Full time
  • Part time
37.5 hours per week (Mixture of earlies and lates service runs 8-8pm 365 days a year and some weekend working)
Job ref
150-OM1815-UPC
Employer
Sussex Community NHS Foundation Trust
Employer type
NHS
Site
Horsham Hospital
Town
Horsham
Salary
£37,338 - £44,962 Per annum
Salary period
Yearly
Closing
22/06/2025 23:59
Interview date
03/07/2025

Employer heading

Sussex Community NHS Foundation Trust logo

Senior Occupational Therapist

Band 6

Job overview

The Home First service brings together therapists, nurses, and health and therapy assistants to work in close partnership with acute hospital teams and Transfer of Care Hubs, supporting safe and timely discharges back home.

Our multidisciplinary team provides a 7-day service, 365 days a year from 8am to 8pm, delivering step-down intermediate care to patients in their own homes. As a therapist, you will carry out community-based assessments and rehabilitation interventions that promote recovery, monitor health, and reduce the risk of re-admission in the crucial early days post-discharge. Where required, Home First offers up to 10 days of acute reablement, helping patients regain function and independence in daily living.

This is an exciting opportunity to be part of a wraparound recovery-focused service, where therapists play a central role in enabling individuals to achieve their goals and maximise independence. If you're passionate about delivering high-quality, person-centred care in the community and want to work as part of a supportive and innovative team, we’d love to hear from you!

Main duties of the job

Band 6 Therapist:

As a Band 6 Therapist, you will manage a complex caseload, delivering high-quality, evidence-based therapy interventions to patients in their own homes. You'll use your advanced clinical reasoning to complete holistic assessments, develop tailored treatment plans, and monitor progress, adapting interventions as needed.

This is a leadership role where you'll supervise and support colleagues from Bands 2 to 5, contribute to student education, and support appraisals and team development. You’ll be actively involved in service evaluation, audits, and improvement initiatives, ensuring best practice is embedded across the team.

Working as part of a responsive multidisciplinary team, you will play a key role in planning patient pathways, managing clinical risk, and promoting patient independence. You’ll also maintain accurate documentation, support equipment management, and engage in continuous professional development through training, reflection, and supervision.

Working for our organisation

We are the main provider of NHS community services across East and West Sussex, with 6,000 staff serving 1.3 million people. We deliver essential care to adults and children, helping them manage their health, avoid hospital admissions, and reduce hospital stays.

Our Trust vision is to provide excellent care at the heart of the community. We offer opportunities across medical, clinical, support, and corporate services.

Why work for us?
•    Positive 2023 NHS Staff Survey results, highlighting compassionate leadership and wellbeing
•    Varied environments: community hospitals, patients’ homes, and bases across Sussex
•    Flexible working options: part-time, flexi-time, annualised hours, and flexi-retirement
•    Excellent training, development, and research opportunities
•    Cost-effective workplace nurseries in Crawley, Hove, and Brighton
•    Active EMBRACE, Disability & Wellbeing, LGBTQIA+, and Religion & Belief networks
•    Level 3 Disability Confident Leader and Veteran Aware Trust
•    Beautiful Sussex location near the South Downs and coast

Our valuesCompassionate Care, Working Together, Achieving Ambitions, Delivering Excellence—guide everything we do.

We embrace diversity and encourage applications from all backgrounds, particularly from ethnically diverse, disabled, and LGBTQIA+ individuals. We aim to create an inclusive environment and support reasonable adjustments during recruitment.

This post may close early if sufficient applications are received. 

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

For further information on the roles available please see attached Job Descriptions and Person Specification.

Person specification

Criteria

Essential criteria
  • IT Skills
  • Evidence of further education

Experience

Essential criteria
  • NHS Experience
Desirable criteria
  • Community Experience

Ability to travel between sites

Essential criteria
  • UK Driving License
Desirable criteria
  • Own Car

Essential

Essential criteria
  • Degree in Occupational Therapy
  • Ability to Drive with UK licence
  • Experience of supervision and managing a team
Desirable criteria
  • Community Experience
  • Evidence of effecting time management and triage

Employer certification / accreditation badges

We are a Living Wage EmployerCommitted to being an Inclusive EmployerVeteran AwareApprenticeships logoNo smoking policyDisability confident leaderMindful employer.  Being positive about mental health.Armed Forces Covenant Bronze Award

Applicant requirements

You must have appropriate UK professional registration.

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.

Documents to download

Apply online now

Further details / informal visits contact

Name
Ellen Gaine
Job title
Operational Team Lead
Email address
[email protected]
Telephone number
07881380863
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