NHS

Occupational Therapy Assistant

East London NHS Foundation Trust

Hackney Marshes, East LondonView on map(opens Google Maps in a new tab)

Salary

£34,186 to £37,389

Contract

Not specified

Hours

Full time

Closing date

Not specified

Job description

ELFT has long been recognised as a centre of excellence for mental and health care, innovation and improvement. So it is a very exciting time for you to come and work for us. Our mission is to make a positive difference to people's lives by improving quality of life for all we serve. Our values are: We Care, We Respect, We are Inclusive – so we are looking for people who live and breathe these qualities when supporting service users and carers, and in their relationships with colleagues in the Trust and our partner organisations.

This post is an opportunity for a Band 4 Occupational Therapy Assistant to work in the Medium Secure Forensic Service. This role involves being part of the Recovery-focused Occupational Therapy Team carrying out specialist group and individual work within the inpatient unit working across acute, rehab and specialist wards.

The ideal candidate will have experience of working in mental health and / or a forensic setting. Please contact Sean Harte on 020 85102417 for further details.

To support the OT service in providing specialist OT treatment in inpatient and community settings

  • To implement the OT treatment plans through the provision of specialist individual and group treatment programmes
  • To positively contribute to the development of the forensic mental health occupational therapy service
  • To collaborate with the MDT team in its provision of assessment and treatment of service users

Working for our organisation

This post is an opportunity for a Band 4 Occupational Therapy Assistant to work in the Medium Secure Forensic Service. This role involves being part of the Recovery-focused Occupational Therapy Team carrying out specialist group and individual work within the inpatient unit working across acute, rehab and specialist wards.

Under the supervision of an Occupational Therapist, to implement agreed occupational therapy treatment plans by carrying out practical individual and group activities with service users.

To collaborate with senior OT staff to review and modify specialist treatment programmes when necessary.

To assist senior OT staff in the assessment and treatment of service users in a specialist mental health service.

  • To work and liaise appropriately with the multi-disciplinary team, including attendance at service user-related meetings as directed.
  • Effectively maintain records and report observations of service users’ progress and performance verbally and in writing.
  • To ensure that all clinical contact carried out incorporates risk assessment and appropriate management of risk.
  • To participate in the development of evidence based delivery of therapeutic interventions, as directed by qualified staff members.
  • To work flexibly in the delivery of treatment.
  • To contribute to the Recovery college programme of activities.

Quality Improvement is a key part of our work to improve our services and refine how we do things. We have a global reputation for our quality improvement work and we don’t stand still! So we offer a fantastic opportunity for our staff to learn, lead and contribute towards improving our services.

We launched our Five Year Strategy in April 2018, which identified four main strategic outcomes to improve: population health outcomes, experience of care, staff experience and improve value. This complements the NHS Long Term Strategy and sets out our direction of travel.

We provide a wide range of community health and mental health inpatient services to children, young people, adults of working age, and older adults in The City of London, Hackney, Newham, Tower Hamlets, Bedfordshire and Luton. We provide Forensic services to the whole of North East London. We provide services in urban and rural settings, sometimes in our inpatient units, but mostly in the community close to where people live. Integrated care is key in making the best use of resources and providing effective care.

East London NHS Foundation Trust has achieved its third consecutive ‘Outstanding’ rating from the Care Quality Commission; the first Community and Mental Health Trust to achieve this rating for a third time. We were named in the HSJ’s Top 10 best places to work in healthcare and were voted Provider Trust of the Year in 2018.

We strive to ensure that staff feel valued by the Trust and as they are truly pivotal in delivering better outcomes for our patients and service users. Our aspiration is to help to make ELFT the best place to work. This Trust is clinician-led and provides the highest possible level of clinical expertise throughout its services. We pride ourselves on our service user involvement. A service user will be on your assessment centre and interview panel if you are invited to meet us.

We especially welcome people with lived experience of health difficulties, with insight and understanding of different backgrounds, cultures and lifestyles in our population as we believe that this will equip staff to deliver a high standard of care to our service users and patients.

ELFT Is committed to being a diverse organisation and our workforce is reflective of the population and communities we serve. We believe that having colleagues with a range of backgrounds and life experiences enriches and adds value to the outcomes we have set out to achieve. Having partnered and endorsed by organisations who are representative and experts in various areas of equality and diversity, we can ensure we are meeting the pre-set standards all the way from recruitment stage throughout the career journey of our employees by being accessible, having fair inclusive practices and a host of staff networks to support, nurture and celebrate our valued staff in the workplace.

Other reasons to apply

As a flexible working friendly organisation, we want to be sure that you can work in a way that is best for us and for our patients, and for you. Speak to us about how we might be able to accommodate a flexible working arrangement whether that’s job share, part time or another flexible pattern.

As part of the relocation scheme we presently have, the Trust could support you with offering up to £8,000 for removal and associated expenses. This is subject to change and terms and conditions apply.

AI in applications

If you use AI or other tools to assist in writing your job application, make sure you add your own personal touch especially in the supporting information section. AI can make writing easier, but it doesn’t fully understand the position you’re applying for and might generate false or misleading information. Applications written only by AI often sound generic and may not show your real skills, knowledge, or experience. It’s important to write your supporting statement in your own words. East London NHS Foundation Trust does not recommend relying only on AI, as it could negatively impact on your chance of success in the application process.

We carefully check applications to make sure no one has an unfair advantage, and we verify all references. At the interview, you’ll be asked about your experience, so be honest and ensure everything in your application is accurate. Please remember that using AI during the interview is not allowed.

If you like the sound of ELFT, don’t waste a moment. We sometimes close adverts early if there is a high response, so apply now!

As part of our recruitment process we may be required to share information you provide on the application form with NHS Counter Fraud Authority (NHSCFA) and/or other organisations for the purpose of the prevention, detection, investigation and prosecution of fraud or any other unlawful activity affecting the NHS. We also use third party providers to check and verify your qualifications who may be contacting you on our behalf to verify the same..

If you do not hear from us within four weeks of the closing date, please consider that you have not been shortlisted on this occasion. You must provide professional email addresses for all referees as we will contact them as soon as an offer has been made. Please note we do not request references prior to interviews. All applications made through NHS Jobs account will be processed by TRAC System. Please note that some emails may go to your spam/junk mailbox so make sure you check this regularly.

Find us online at www.elft.nhs.uk | Find us on Facebook | Follow us on @NHSELFT

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Provenance

Source

Adzuna

First seen

23 September 2026

Last checked

23 September 2026

Salary, closing date and description are taken from the employer's advert. The original advert always takes precedence.

About the employer

ELN
East London NHS Foundation Trust

NHS organisation

This listing was structured from Adzuna. Vacancy details and the application process remain the responsibility of the original source.

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