Job overview

Please note: at this stage, the role is open only to colleagues currently employed within Kent and Medway NHS Trusts, the Kent and Medway Integrated Care Board (ICB) and Medway Community Healthcare. Nursing vacancies are also open to Student Nurses and Newly Qualified Nurses.

The Therapeutic Worker plays a vital role in supporting patients’ physical, emotional and psychological wellbeing through meaningful, person‑centred reablement activities. Working closely with the therapy and nursing teams, you will help design and deliver a varied programme of group and individual activities that promote independence, confidence and quality of life.

Evidence shows that purposeful activity reduces hospital‑acquired deconditioning, improves mood, lowers fall risk and supports recovery. Your work will be central to each patient’s rehabilitation plan, helping them prepare for discharge and maintain progress at home.

Main duties of the job

You will coordinate an inclusive timetable of therapeutic activities tailored to individual needs, collaborating with external partners, charities and volunteers to enhance the inpatient offer and support ongoing engagement after discharge. As part of the multidisciplinary team, you will contribute to holistic patient care within your scope of practice and may work across different community hospital sites to meet service needs across Kent and Medway.

• Work collaboratively with the multidisciplinary team (MDT).
• Develop, coordinate and deliver therapeutic reablement activities for all community hospital patients, providing an inclusive approach to ensure accessible reablement to all patients.
• Support patients and their families to be involved in activities to support ‘what is important tome’ and ‘this is me’ to enable person centred care.
• Support discharge planning through targeted activities and signposting in preparation for discharge.
• Work in collaboration with the multidisciplinary team to support individual patient’s physical, cognitive and emotional needs, particularly regarding reablement activity.
• Provide support to patients with cognitive needs, supporting delivery of enhanced therapeutic observation and care. This will require working closely with additional staff delivering 1:1 care, and where required referral to and liaison with the Dementia Nurse Specialist.

Working for our organisation

Kent Community Health NHS Foundation Trust is due to integrate with Medway Community Healthcare on 1 October 2026. Following integration and to align our community services to the new Neighbourhood Model of care delivery, there will be a period of consultation which may result in changes affecting some services, teams or roles. Depending on the area you are applying to work in, this could include potential changes to your role, work base, reporting arrangements, or terms and conditions of employment. Any changes would be subject to consultation and managed sensitively and in line with relevant employment processes. Please do contact the recruiting manager if you have any concerns about this so they can answer any questions you might have.

Rated ‘Outstanding’ by CQC, we deliver high-quality care that improves the health of our communities. We are looking for people who share our values: Compassionate, Aspirational, Responsive and Excellent.

We are proud to be an inclusive, welcoming organisation and encourage applications from people of all backgrounds. We use protected characteristic information for monitoring only and it is not seen by recruiting managers, except where applicants choose to be considered under our disability guaranteed interview scheme.

We know life outside work matters. As a flexible working-friendly organisation, we welcome conversations about arrangements that help you thrive while supporting excellent care for our patients.

Explore KCHFT career pathways