Specialist Occupational Therapist – Older Peoples Service

NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde (NHSGGC) is one of the largest healthcare systems in the United Kingdom, employing approximately 40,000 staff across a wide range of clinical and non-clinical professions and roles. We deliver acute hospital, primary, community and mental health services to a population of over 1.15 million people, and to a wider population of 2.2 million when regional and national services are included.

The role:

We are seeking a Band 6 Occupational Therapist to join a team of Physiotherapists, Occupational Therapists and Healthcare support workers to deliver patient centred care.

This role will be leading the way in facilitating AHP input within acute receiving area 7 days a week. There will be a focus on frail patients with co-morbidities to ensure early assessment, treatment and discharge planning. Input and assessment will support hospital flow and timely discharges. Working with an MDT approach to ensure the best care possible is provided to each patient.

Key responsibilities will be, the formal and informal support and supervision of rotational Physiotherapy staff, HCSW’s and students along with participation in personal and service development. You will have the opportunity to work alongside and learn from our experienced specialist AHP teams within the north sector.

We are looking for someone who is enthusiastic about working in a fast-paced acute receiving environment, who is a team player with good communication skills. Experience and interest in audit and quality improvement would be desirable as continuous improvement and change is the expectation within the team.

Duration, Location, and Working Pattern:

This is a permanent, full-time post of 37 hours per week, within Glasgow Royal Infirmary.

The shift pattern is Monday to Sunday.

Key responsibilities:

Clinical

1. To be legally accountable for all aspects of own professional work, including direct and indirect patient care within scope of practice.
2. Act independently to assess and analyse individual patients holistically, to determine their need for Occupational Therapy intervention within a specific clinical specialty.
3. Act independently in prioritising patient needs, to ensure individual patients on own caseload receive intervention timeously and appropriately.
4. Using available evidence base, act independently to plan, implement, evaluate, treat and progress patient care, to maximise functional independence and rehabilitation potential within a specific clinical specialty.
5. To provide a comprehensive assessment of equipment needs. The Occupational Therapist assumes responsibility for identifying and prescribing correct equipment relating to an understanding of patient need, diagnosis, prognosis, and needs to consider clinical contra-indications and clinical risk.
6. Manage own caseload of patients effectively and efficiently with access to guidance from AHP Team Lead, Professional Lead & Specialist Occupational Therapists where appropriate.

Knowledge, training, qualifications and/or experience required to do the job:

• Honours / Diploma / Degree in Occupational Therapy and will be a registered Occupational Therapist with HCPC.
• The post holder will have worked within the profession and be able to demonstrate a sound understanding of Occupational Therapy, through CPD postgraduate training, evidence of additional knowledge and experience
• Analytical and clinical reasoning skills
• Organisational skills
• Experience within Older People’s Service
• Experience of and evidence of commitment to multidisciplinary team working
• Excellent communication skills
• Ability to work independently and autonomously
• Supervisory skills - expectation to undertake appropriate supervision training
• IT skills

What we offer:

We offer a wide range of supportive policies designed to enhance your employee journey, including a comprehensive Employee Assistance Programme, Cycle to Work Scheme, bursary scheme and extensive learning and development opportunities.

As an NHS Scotland employee, you will be entitled to:

• A minimum of 27 days annual leave, increasing with length of service, plus public holidays
• Membership of the NHS Pension Scheme, including life insurance benefits
• Development opportunities including study bursaries, e-learning and classroom-based courses
• Enhanced pay for working public holidays
• NHS discounts on a wide range of goods and services
• Confidential employee support and assistance, including counselling and psychological therapies

Interested?

If you would like to find out more, we would love to hear from you.

For an informal discussion, please contact:

Erin walker, Advanced Practice Physiotherapist - Erin.Walker@nhs.scot - 0141 956 0601

Details on how to contact the Recruitment Service and the Recruitment Process: Information for candidates

This post may close early to the volume of response. Please submit your application form as soon as possible. Due to the volume of applications that we receive, we will not be able to provide shortlisting feedback.  

From 1 April 2026, the Agenda for Change full-time working week will reduce from 37 hours to 36 hours. Part-time working hours will be reduced on a pro-rata basis. A corresponding increase in the hourly rate will apply, ensuring that overall pay remains unchanged.

NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde (NHSGGC) recognises the importance of work-life balance and is committed to offering a range of flexible working options where service needs allow. For roles where less than full-time hours can be accommodated, and where the tenure is listed as “various”, we encourage applications from individuals seeking flexible working arrangements. Flexible working will be included as a topic for discussion during the recruitment process.

NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde encourages applications from all sections of the community. We are committed to promoting equality, diversity and inclusion and are proud of the diverse workforce we employ.

By signing the Armed Forces Covenant, NHSGGC has pledged its commitment to being a Forces Friendly Employer. We welcome applications from across the Armed Forces Community and recognise military skills, experience and qualifications throughout the recruitment and selection process.

Candidates must provide original and authentic responses to all questions within the application form. The use of artificial intelligence (AI), automated tools or other third-party assistance to generate, draft or significantly modify responses is strongly discouraged. By submitting your application, you confirm that all answers are your own work, reflect your personal knowledge, skills and experience, and have not been solely produced or altered by AI or similar technologies. Failure to comply with this requirement may result in your application being withdrawn from the recruitment process.

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