Job overview

An opportunity has arisen for an Occupational Therapist to join the Leeds and York Partnership Foundation Trust. Initially to join a multi-disciplinary Community Mental health Team in the Older Peoples Service in the North of Leeds. The post is part time (30 hours per week) to cover maternity leave for 9 months. Following the end of this period an alternative post will be identified within the Trust.

The team offer specialist mental health care to adults over the age of 65. Our service operates Monday-Friday 9-5pm and clinicians manage their own caseload, diary and home visits based on clinical need and prioritisation. Newly qualified applicants are welcomed, post registration experience is not essential but you must be able to demonstrate an in depth understanding of the needs of Service Users with severe, enduring and complex mental health needs including mood disorders, psychosis and dementia. An understanding of the needs around dementia would be desirable but not essential as the successful candidate will receive training and supervision from a senior practitioner.

This is an ideal opportunity for someone to develop their clinical skills in a community setting as a core member of the team.

Main duties of the job

In this post you will have the opportunity to work within an MDT offering specialist assessment and mental health interventions. As an OT within the team, you will be expected to carry out OT assessments and interventions. You will actively develop and implement interventions that support meaningful occupation and community engagement. You will be expected to use evidence-based principles in occupational therapy, including assessment, treatment planning, individual interventions and evaluation. You will support on the evaluation and continued development of occupational therapy within the CMHT. You will also have a more generic role within the team in supporting service users within their own home with regards to their mental health, being involved in writing and implementing care plans and actions identified within the MDT. 

Service User involvement is at the centre of our approach and you will embrace this in your practice. You will be able to demonstrate a range of therapeutic interventions and be committed to the concept of recovery.

You will have access to a range of support including regular clinical supervision, bi-monthly OT Forums and access to a specialist Practice Development Occupational Therapist who will be able to provide support and guidance around service development. 

Working for our organisation

The Leeds and York Partnership NHS Foundation Trust (LYPFT) is the main provider of Mental Health and Learning Disability services in Leeds. We also provide specialist inpatient services in York and some highly specialised services across the country. As a teaching trust with strong links to local universities, we are a centre of excellence for teaching, research and development.

There are many benefits of working for LYPFT including fantastic employee wellbeing support, 27 - 33 days annual leave, flexible working and remote working arrangements, the NHS Pension Scheme, coaching, support and opportunities for career development and training and education support alongside a range of exclusive discounts and payment schemes including for cars, extra leave days and more NHS Discount Offers.

We also have an incredible bank department, offering variety of roles in nursing, allied health professions, healthcare support worker and administration clerical. Permanent employees are automatically added to bank.

Applicants should be aware that for any individual who requires a visa to work in the UK, the Trust provides sponsorship for registered healthcare practitioner roles only (not including Healthcare Support Workers). This is an essential requirement of the role, and the Trust is unable to offer you a role if you are unable to meet Trust requirements for sponsorship and Home Office requirements for a visa.