Senior Occupational Therapist- Older Person's Mental Health TeamNHS

Gateshead, NE8 4YL Fixed-Term £39,959 to £48,117

Posted 8 September 2026 Closing date 22 September 2026

Dunston Rail Station (1.1 miles, direct) Gateshead (Tyne and Wear Metro Station) (1.2 miles, direct) Marquisway - Kingsway South (1.5 miles, direct)

Job summary

We have an exciting full time opportunity (37.5 hours per week) for an Occupational Therapist to join Gateshead's Community Older Person Mental Health Team. We welcome applications from experienced Occupational Therapists or those who wish to progress into a Band 6 role.

We are looking for a motivated and flexible Occupational Therapist to join our team. The post is fortunate to sitwithin a well-established and supportive Community Mental Health MDT and benefits from excellent support from the OT department. Here in Gateshead we encourage and support continuing professional development and have robust supervision processes.

The post holders will work in collaboration with the occupational therapy team lead and mental health colleagues to deliver and shape services. There will be opportunities to develop a wide range of clinical and non-clinical skills. You will work closely with team members and share responsibility for developing band 5 staff and unregistered staff and students. A UK Driving License and access to a vehicle for work purposes will be required for this post for community working. You will be based at one of the Gateshead Health Locations as directed by your line manager.

We welcome enquires so please don't hesitate to get in touch if you would like to know more about this exciting role.

Main duties of the job

To act as an experienced autonomous practitioner, providing specialised occupational therapy assessment and treatment for client's accessing the Older Persons Community Mental Health Service.
To independently manage a caseload, using evidence-based practice and patient centered principles to assess, plan, implement and evaluate interventions.
To manage and supervise junior staff and students and support with training and development of staff within the mental health team.
To work as a key member of the MDT.
The post holder will assist in the delivery of the occupational therapy service across community and acute care settings, a range of health and social care locations and the patient's own home.
To be involved in a variety of service improvement initiatives and support delivery of OT business plan as directed by Team/Service Lead.

Job description

To work primarily within the Community Older Persons Mental Health Occupational Therapy team. This will involve lone working.
To be professionally and legally responsible and accountable for all aspects of your own work including the risk assessment and management of patients in your care.
Responsible to the Band 7 Older Persons Mental Health Team Lead.
To work as part of the multi-disciplinary team to deliver a holistic patient-centered approach to care. To work inter-professionally with MDT members as well as multi-agency working across health, social services and voluntary services to ensure an integrated and comprehensive service is provided to our service users, families and carers.
To plan, co-ordinate and deliver treatments which optimise an individuals function with activities of daily living and improve quality outcomes.
To provide leadership for more junior staff. To develop your leadership skills in a supportive environment.
To support the Band 7 Team Lead Occupational Therapist in planning, coordinating, and delivering the service provided to patients and to assist in the development, planning and progression of service provision.
To deputise for the Band 7 Team Lead Occupational Therapist in their absence as required.
To supervise other qualified and non-qualified staff within the team
To supervise Occupational Therapy students on clinical placements.
To participate in CPD and develop skills and knowledge through participation in in-service training.
Maintaining Records as an autonomous practitioner.

About us

Based in the North East of England we provide a range of hospital and community health services from our leading facilities, including the Queen Elizabeth Hospital, Blaydon urgent care centre and Bensham Hospital, all within Gateshead.

Established in 2005, we were one of the first foundation trusts in the country and since then have consistently achieved the highest levels of care for patients.

We now employ around 4,800 staff and currently provide 444 hospital beds across the Gateshead region.

Our values should be the 'golden thread' which runs through everything we do - they are the core of who we are. Our five values can easily be remembered by the simple acronymICORE; Innovation, Care, Openness, Respect, Engagement.

We have a number of staff networks including the BAME network, D-Ability network, LGBTQ+ Network and the Women's Network, to challenge us and help us to constantly improve. Our armed forces network is one of our emerging networks.

The health and wellbeing of our staff is one of our highest priorities, and we offer a range of support and initiatives as part of our 'Balance' programme balancegateshead.com to cater for our diverse workforce, so that your individual needs can be supported, allowing you a happy and healthy working experience with us.

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