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Central and North West London NHS Foundation Trust

Home First Clinical assessor (OT/PT)

The closing date is 26 March 2026

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Job summary

Westminster Community Independence Service is seeking a motivated and experienced Band 6 Occupational Therapist or Physiotherapist to join our team for a seven-month career-break cover within the Home First and Urgent Community Response Pathway.

This is an excellent opportunity for a therapist who has successfully completed core Band 5 rotations and is ready to take the next step in their career. We are looking for someone who is passionate about delivering high-quality care, proactive, engaged, and committed to supporting people in their own homes at moments of greatest need.

You will deliver holistic, patient-centred therapy to individuals in their own homes across the following pathways:

Home First

Urgent Community Response (UCR)

Hospital at Home

While prior community experience is welcome, it is not essential. However, applicants must demonstrate:

Alignment with CNWL Trust value

An understanding of the realities of working in people's homes

Confidence working independently and as part of a wider multidisciplinary team

Willingness to work flexibly, including weekends, public holidays, and extended hours

Ability to undertake face-to-face visits and lone working

The successful candidate will work primarily within the Home First pathway, facilitating safe and effective hospital discharges. You will also provide therapy input across the UCR and Hospital at Home pathways as service needs arise.

This post is based in Westminster, but you may be required to visit patients across the London Boroughs of Hammersmith & Fulham, and Kensington & Chelsea depending on service demand.

We operate a seven-day service, and Home First working hours run from 8 am to 8 pm. Expectations will be to participate in shift work and out-of-hours rotas as part of the role.

The face to face interviews will be held on 16th April 2026.

Main duties of the job

To be professionally and legally accountable for all aspects of own work, including the management of own patient caseload. To ensure a high level of care, and support more junior staff to do likewise.
Promote a holistic, supportive, and patient cantered service that facilitates an intervention approach to promote change, acceptance and promotes self-management aiming to optimises functional improvement
Work with Home First: supporting with triage, patient care pathway, and sharing knowledge related to the discharge to assess and admission avoidance strategies
Work with patients, carers and families, and other statutory health related services
Work autonomously and within the MDT team delivering individualised treatment interventions and management programmes
Be flexible in the approach to delivering treatment and advice, have skills to deliver a variety of treatment interventions
Have advanced communication skills that would include motivational and emotional support skills

About us

Central and North West London NHS Trust expects all staff to act in a way which shows you understand our core values and are willing to put them into practice with service users, their friends, family, carers, and also other staff members.

As a member of the clinical team, we expect you to showCOMPASSION, contribute to a caring and kind environment and recognise that what you do and say helps can make the lives of others better.

We expect you toRESPECT everyone and acknowledge and welcome people's differences rather than ignore them or see them as problematic.

We expect you to EMPOWER others and continually try to provide information, resources and support to help others make their own decisions and meet their own needs.

We expect you to work in PARTNERSHIP and behave in a way that shows that you recognise that commissioners and users of our services are the people who generate and pay for our work.

Date posted

12 March 2026

Pay scheme

Agenda for change

Band

Band 6

Salary

£46,419 to £55,046 a year per annum incl. HCAS (pro rata if Part time)

Contract

Fixed term

Duration

7 months

Working pattern

Full-time

Reference number

333-G-CIS-0214-A

Job locations

Westminster

Hathaway House, 7F Woodfield Road

London

W9 2BA

Job description

Job responsibilities

To be professionally and legally accountable for all aspects of own work, including the management of own patient caseload. To ensure a high level of care, and support more junior staff to do likewise.
Promote a holistic, supportive, and patient cantered service that facilitates an intervention approach to promote change, acceptance and promotes self-management aiming to optimises functional improvement
Work with Home First: supporting with triage, patient care pathway, and sharing knowledge related to the discharge to assess and admission avoidance strategies
Work with patients, carers and families, and other statutory health related services
Work autonomously and within the MDT team delivering individualised treatment interventions and management programmes
Be flexible in the approach to delivering treatment and advice, have skills to deliver a variety of treatment interventions
Have advanced communication skills that would include motivational and emotional support skills
To use advanced clinical reasoning skills and assessment techniques to analyse and provide an accurate diagnosis of their condition.
Manage a patient through the entirety of their care episode in relation to Home First assessment, symptom management, support and discharge.
Where appropriate to work collaboratively with primary and secondary health care services, third sector services and social prescribing, education and social services, to ensure the delivery of a seamless and high-quality service.
Have a broad skill set which can include advanced skills in delivering therapy intervention in order to provide a 2-hour urgent response for patients in a crisis.
Manage severe complex, house bound patients. The CIS Home First service offers a domiciliary service to severely affected individuals; this requires collaborative working with social services and other attending care agencies.
Be able to recognise the signs and symptoms of a deteriorating patient, having the skills to escalate accordingly.
Be an advocate for the patient.
Knowledge of where to sign-post patients for support, e.g. local or national support groups
To be responsible for a caseload and work without direct supervision, and provide peer support for members of the MDT
To ensure patient care and planned interventions are supported by available evidence base and experiential knowledge and are in accordance with Code of Professional conduct.
To keep up to date and monitor literature related to Discharge to Assess and Crisis Response.
To carryout risk assessment in line with Trust/National Protocol.

Job description

Job responsibilities

To be professionally and legally accountable for all aspects of own work, including the management of own patient caseload. To ensure a high level of care, and support more junior staff to do likewise.
Promote a holistic, supportive, and patient cantered service that facilitates an intervention approach to promote change, acceptance and promotes self-management aiming to optimises functional improvement
Work with Home First: supporting with triage, patient care pathway, and sharing knowledge related to the discharge to assess and admission avoidance strategies
Work with patients, carers and families, and other statutory health related services
Work autonomously and within the MDT team delivering individualised treatment interventions and management programmes
Be flexible in the approach to delivering treatment and advice, have skills to deliver a variety of treatment interventions
Have advanced communication skills that would include motivational and emotional support skills
To use advanced clinical reasoning skills and assessment techniques to analyse and provide an accurate diagnosis of their condition.
Manage a patient through the entirety of their care episode in relation to Home First assessment, symptom management, support and discharge.
Where appropriate to work collaboratively with primary and secondary health care services, third sector services and social prescribing, education and social services, to ensure the delivery of a seamless and high-quality service.
Have a broad skill set which can include advanced skills in delivering therapy intervention in order to provide a 2-hour urgent response for patients in a crisis.
Manage severe complex, house bound patients. The CIS Home First service offers a domiciliary service to severely affected individuals; this requires collaborative working with social services and other attending care agencies.
Be able to recognise the signs and symptoms of a deteriorating patient, having the skills to escalate accordingly.
Be an advocate for the patient.
Knowledge of where to sign-post patients for support, e.g. local or national support groups
To be responsible for a caseload and work without direct supervision, and provide peer support for members of the MDT
To ensure patient care and planned interventions are supported by available evidence base and experiential knowledge and are in accordance with Code of Professional conduct.
To keep up to date and monitor literature related to Discharge to Assess and Crisis Response.
To carryout risk assessment in line with Trust/National Protocol.

Person Specification

Qualifications

Essential

Diploma/degree in Physiotherapy OR diploma /degree in Occupational Therapy
Registration with HCPC
Membership of the Chartered Society of Physiotherapy OR Membership of the RCOT

Desirable

Attendance at recent postgraduate courses
Involvement in CSP Special Clinical Interest Groups OR RCOT Special Clinical Interest Groups
Evidence of CPD maintained in a portfolio

Knowledge & Experience

Essential

Must be able to provide evidence (through appraisals, competencies and reflection from post graduate study) to demonstrate development of specialist knowledge
Experience of community work
Experience with patients with dementia and confusion
Experience with patients with physical frailty and disability
Knowledge of validated assessment tools and outcome measures
Experience of student and therapy assistant supervision
Specialist knowledge of broad range of conditions Experience of working as part of a therapy team and/or multidisciplinary team

Desirable

Extensive post qualified experience in profession, to include acute experience
Experience in clinical service development.
Experience in audit or measuring clinical effectiveness.
Worked in Urgent Community Response or Discharge to asses service

Skills

Essential

Excellent interpersonal facilitation, negotiating and communication (written and verbal) skills
Good team player - able to support others in making their contribution.
Remain updated with professional and evidence-based practice and new research
To be competent in performing complex assessments and treatments with patients with a variety of conditions
Experience of participation in running internal/external courses and supervisory skills.
Understanding of clinical governance and its implications for services, including experience of quality issues and audit data protection, equal opportunities and health and safety
Understand the legal responsibilities of the profession
Ability to manage a team
Ability to work under pressure
IT Skills

Person Specification

Qualifications

Essential

Diploma/degree in Physiotherapy OR diploma /degree in Occupational Therapy
Registration with HCPC
Membership of the Chartered Society of Physiotherapy OR Membership of the RCOT

Desirable

Attendance at recent postgraduate courses
Involvement in CSP Special Clinical Interest Groups OR RCOT Special Clinical Interest Groups
Evidence of CPD maintained in a portfolio

Knowledge & Experience

Essential

Must be able to provide evidence (through appraisals, competencies and reflection from post graduate study) to demonstrate development of specialist knowledge
Experience of community work
Experience with patients with dementia and confusion
Experience with patients with physical frailty and disability
Knowledge of validated assessment tools and outcome measures
Experience of student and therapy assistant supervision
Specialist knowledge of broad range of conditions Experience of working as part of a therapy team and/or multidisciplinary team

Desirable

Extensive post qualified experience in profession, to include acute experience
Experience in clinical service development.
Experience in audit or measuring clinical effectiveness.
Worked in Urgent Community Response or Discharge to asses service

Skills

Essential

Excellent interpersonal facilitation, negotiating and communication (written and verbal) skills
Good team player - able to support others in making their contribution.
Remain updated with professional and evidence-based practice and new research
To be competent in performing complex assessments and treatments with patients with a variety of conditions
Experience of participation in running internal/external courses and supervisory skills.
Understanding of clinical governance and its implications for services, including experience of quality issues and audit data protection, equal opportunities and health and safety
Understand the legal responsibilities of the profession
Ability to manage a team
Ability to work under pressure
IT Skills

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.

Certificate of Sponsorship

Applications from job seekers who require current Skilled worker sponsorship to work in the UK are welcome and will be considered alongside all other applications. For further information visit the UK Visas and Immigration website (Opens in a new tab).

From 6 April 2017, skilled worker applicants, applying for entry clearance into the UK, have had to present a criminal record certificate from each country they have resided continuously or cumulatively for 12 months or more in the past 10 years. Adult dependants (over 18 years old) are also subject to this requirement. Guidance can be found here Criminal records checks for overseas applicants (Opens in a new tab).

UK Registration

Applicants must have current UK professional registration. For further information please see NHS Careers website (opens in a new window).

Additional information

Disclosure and Barring Service Check

Certificate of Sponsorship

UK Registration

Applicants must have current UK professional registration. For further information please see NHS Careers website (opens in a new window).

Employer details

Employer name

Central and North West London NHS Foundation Trust

Address

Westminster

Hathaway House, 7F Woodfield Road

London

W9 2BA

Employer's website

https://www.cnwl.nhs.uk/work (Opens in a new tab)

Employer details

Employer name

Central and North West London NHS Foundation Trust

Address

Westminster

Hathaway House, 7F Woodfield Road

London

W9 2BA

Employer's website

https://www.cnwl.nhs.uk/work (Opens in a new tab)