West Hertfordshire Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust
Band 7 – Occupational Therapist, Orthopaedics and Surgery
The closing date is 04 August 2026
Are you enthusiastic and passionate about working with people in a fast-paced, acute care setting? Are you looking to develop your leadership and clinical skills in Orthopaedics and Surgery?
Then we might have the job for you! We are looking for an enthusiastic, experienced Occupational Therapist to join our inpatient Orthopaedic and Surgical therapy team at Watford General Hospital.
This post is offered part-time for 23.5 hrs a week and we welcome discussion of these hours being over 3 or 4 days but do require the post holder to work on a Monday.
The Occupational Therapy team have core working hours of 8:00 am‑16:00 pm and is part of a 7‑day working rota (frequency of 1:6 weekends) with rest days in the following week.
This post is based on acute hospital wards and NHS experience in Orthopaedics and Surgery is essential.
Main duties of the job
You will be leading the team alongside another Band 7, providing OT clinical expertise in Orthopaedics and Surgery.
The clinical areas this post includes:
- Trauma & Orthopaedics – working with the MDT to facilitate an “enablement approach” to rehabilitation and supported discharge of trauma orthopaedic patients, including NOF, head injuries and spinal cord injuries.
- Surgical – working across surgical wards in the acute hospital to provide assessment and intervention to patients following acute surgery, including new amputees.
- Discharge planning – key to this post, you will need to be able to make timely decisions regarding transfer to community services and managing referrals to specialist units.
- Quality‑focused patient care – you should have a caring, committed and quality‑focused approach to the provision of patient care.
- Leadership – you will need to be a dynamic team leader with excellent communication skills, lead appraisals, development of junior staff and service development projects/audits within the department.
- Personal development – you will be supported by the Therapy Team Leads with opportunities for additional training based on your personal development plan.
About us
With a new hospital planned for Watford, work underway to update theatres at St Albans City Hospital and plans for a neighbourhood healthcare centre in Hemel Hempstead, this is an exciting time to join us. We are building on the success of our award‑winning virtual hospital and re‑imagining models of care, working closely with partners and making the most of advances in digital healthcare.
Staff wellbeing and development are a priority, as is the role of innovation in improving clinical care, outcomes and patient experience. Our vision is Excellent patient care, together and our values are to be empowered, compassionate, professional and inclusive. We offer a variety of flexible working options as we recognise the importance of a good work life balance. www.westhertshospitals.nhs.uk/flexibleworking
Job responsibilities
Please refer to the attached job description and person specification for a full list of duties and details about the role.
Education and qualifications
- Member of Professional Body or equivalent recognised by Health Care Professionals Council.
- Occupational Therapy degree qualification or equivalent and NHS experience.
- Documented evidence of continued professional development of expanded and highly specialised knowledge and skills.
- Attendance at a Clinical Educators Course.
- Attained or working towards a Post Graduate Degree/qualification.
- Evidence of leadership courses/training.
- Membership of a professional Special Interest Group or National or Regional Network – e.g. BACPAR.
Knowledge
- Understanding of organisational structure of the NHS and Social Care.
- Demonstrate an ability to provide professional/clinical leadership.
- Understanding of standards – Health Care Professions Council/COT/BAOT/Local/National.
- Understanding of policies and procedures (local e.g. Health and Safety).
- Specialist knowledge of acute post‑surgical Occupational Therapy management and pathways, including amputees, trauma and acute Orthopaedics.
- Demonstrate evidence of service development/QI projects/audits.
- Demonstrate understanding of clinical governance and its implications for the service.
Experience
- Ability to teach and present to qualified/non‑qualified staff and other disciplines, in groups or individually, using a variety of media.
- Ability to lead clinical education of less experienced staff, students, or assistants.
- Documented evidence of continued professional development of expanded and highly specialised knowledge and skills in surgical & Orthopaedics OT.
- Senior level experience working with patients following major surgery, amputees and trauma patients.
- Broad range of rotational experience including neuro and elderly care.
- Attendance at postgraduate courses in relevant fields (specific to the post).
- Experience of leading competency training/IST.
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.
West Hertfordshire Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust
£51,657 to £58,785 a year inc HCA pro rata
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