Mersey Care NHS Foundation Trust

Perinatal Occupational Therapist

The closing date is 22 October 2025

Job summary

We are looking to recruit a Occupational Therapist within the Specialist Perinatal Mental Health Service.

This is an exciting opportunity for an enthusiastic and passionate occupational therapist to join our perinatal mental health team.

The successful candidate will work with women during pregnancy and postnatally, providing occupational therapy input to promote women's mental health and wellbeing, functioning and support their transition to motherhood.

The successful candidate will adopt an holistic approach to their practice, considering the needs of all individuals involved.

The role involves working as part of an MDT consisting of doctors, nurses, psychologists, OT, family support workers and administrative staff.

You will work in the community alongside other community services and in patient's homes to support women and families who need specialist care.

Whilst this role will primarily focus on delivering Perinatal OT interventions in the Sefton district, we cover Liverpool also, there may be at times the need to cross cover

Main duties of the job

Independently manage own caseload, prioritising referrals

Select and complete bespoke standardised and non-standardised OT assessments, applying an understanding of complex mental health needs and the impact this can have on occupational performance within a parenting role, as well as the mother-infant relationship Collaboratively set goals to guide OT interventions

Plan and facilitate a range of 1:1 therapeutic interventions using a graded approach to achieve individualised therapeutic goals

Contribute towards the planning, facilitation and evaluation of groups

Develop working networks with relevant community agencies, where appropriate collaborating to complete joint working

Represent an OT clinical perspective within the MDT and other professional meetings

Be aware of and respond appropriately to the safeguarding needs of adults and children

Contribute to the continued development and evaluation of the OT service within the perinatal team

About us

Mersey Care is one of the largest trusts providing physical health and mental health services in the North West, serving more than 1.4 million people across our region and are also commissioned for services that cover the North West, North Wales and the Midlands.

We offer specialist inpatient and community services that support physical and mental health and specialist inpatient mental health, learning disability, addiction and brain injury services. Mersey Care is one of only three trusts in the UK that offer high secure mental health facilities.

At the heart of all we do is our commitment to 'perfect care' - care that is safe, effective, positively experienced, timely, equitable and efficient. We support our staff to do the best job they can and work alongside service users, their families, and carers to design and develop future services together. We're currently delivering a programme of organisational and service transformation to significantly improve the quality of the services we provide and safely reduce cost as we do so.

Flexible working requests will be considered for all roles.

Details

Date posted

17 September 2025

Pay scheme

Agenda for change

Band

Band 6

Salary

£38,682 to £46,580 a year pro rata

Contract

Permanent

Working pattern

Part-time

Reference number

350-CC7477753

Job locations

The Investment Centre and Liverpool Women's Hosptial

375 Stanley Road L20, and Crown Street, L8 7SS

Liverpool and Sefton

L20 3EF


Job description

Job responsibilities

To work with clients to identify OT goals as part of the overall care plan, using specialist mental health and OT assessment tools.

To plan and implement client centred individual and/or group interventions, using graded activity to achieve therapeutic goals.

To monitor, evaluate and modify treatment in order to measure progress and ensure effectiveness of intervention.

To apply a high level of understanding of the effect of disability and provide training and advice on lifestyle changes and adaptations to the clients social and physical environment.

To assess the occupational needs of a defined client group and establish and evaluate appropriate treatment programmes.

To provide clinical advice, expertise and leadership within your team.

To co-ordinate the care of a defined group of service users carrying out their assessment and planning, implementing and evaluating their care under the guidelines of CPA without supervision. To act as care coordinator (when required) normally for the more complex cases e.g. those service users subject to CPA.

To monitor and offer professional advice and leadership to all team members with regards to their caseloads and working practices.

To ensure that the service users care plan is developed to meet the assessed need of the individual. To monitor, via performance management, the care plans developed for service users by all sector members to ensure that they are appropriate and of a high standard.

To liaise with family members, carers and significant others as necessary when completing the assessment and developing a care plan.

To be a point of contact for service users and carers that have concerns regarding their care, making every effort to resolve their concerns sensitively and promptly, referring to and informing the Team Manager as necessary.

To develop a risk management plan for service users under your care, taking note of the contributions from other members of the team.

Ensure that all significant people are aware of the risk management plan and are actioning it appropriately.

To monitor and work with all team members to ensure that service user risk is managed appropriately and that risk management plans are of a high quality.

To participate in the duty/on call rota within the CMHT where such arrangements exist, including appropriate adult.

To lead the systematic monitoring and evaluation of service users under the care of the sector you have responsibility for.

To have an in-depth knowledge of the Mental Health Act. To support service users and their carers when the Mental Health Act is being used to admit the service user to hospital.

To support staff involved in the application of the Mental Health Act, ensuring that they are aware of and fulfilling their duties.

To monitor the provision of a range of therapeutic activities for service users by supervision of sector members caseloads and via audit.

To use skills gained through training and experience to de-escalate situations where service users become physically or verbally aggressive.

Use your judgement, gained from experience, to establish if a service user requires assessment by a medic or possibly hospital admission.

To use skills gained through experience to deal with service users who become angry, hostile or distressed.

To ensure all sector members get appropriate support following violent incidents and liaise with the Team Manager to ensure any identified actions arising from such incidents are implemented.

To participate in and/or lead service user reviews ensuring that service user needs are met and that the team has all the relevant information on which to base their clinical decisions.

To develop care plans that enable service users to reach and maintain their optimum level of health and independence to help them to remain in the community in their chosen setting or return to this on discharge.

To react pro-actively in cases of service user crisis and put in place immediate plans to resolve the situation.

Job description

Job responsibilities

To work with clients to identify OT goals as part of the overall care plan, using specialist mental health and OT assessment tools.

To plan and implement client centred individual and/or group interventions, using graded activity to achieve therapeutic goals.

To monitor, evaluate and modify treatment in order to measure progress and ensure effectiveness of intervention.

To apply a high level of understanding of the effect of disability and provide training and advice on lifestyle changes and adaptations to the clients social and physical environment.

To assess the occupational needs of a defined client group and establish and evaluate appropriate treatment programmes.

To provide clinical advice, expertise and leadership within your team.

To co-ordinate the care of a defined group of service users carrying out their assessment and planning, implementing and evaluating their care under the guidelines of CPA without supervision. To act as care coordinator (when required) normally for the more complex cases e.g. those service users subject to CPA.

To monitor and offer professional advice and leadership to all team members with regards to their caseloads and working practices.

To ensure that the service users care plan is developed to meet the assessed need of the individual. To monitor, via performance management, the care plans developed for service users by all sector members to ensure that they are appropriate and of a high standard.

To liaise with family members, carers and significant others as necessary when completing the assessment and developing a care plan.

To be a point of contact for service users and carers that have concerns regarding their care, making every effort to resolve their concerns sensitively and promptly, referring to and informing the Team Manager as necessary.

To develop a risk management plan for service users under your care, taking note of the contributions from other members of the team.

Ensure that all significant people are aware of the risk management plan and are actioning it appropriately.

To monitor and work with all team members to ensure that service user risk is managed appropriately and that risk management plans are of a high quality.

To participate in the duty/on call rota within the CMHT where such arrangements exist, including appropriate adult.

To lead the systematic monitoring and evaluation of service users under the care of the sector you have responsibility for.

To have an in-depth knowledge of the Mental Health Act. To support service users and their carers when the Mental Health Act is being used to admit the service user to hospital.

To support staff involved in the application of the Mental Health Act, ensuring that they are aware of and fulfilling their duties.

To monitor the provision of a range of therapeutic activities for service users by supervision of sector members caseloads and via audit.

To use skills gained through training and experience to de-escalate situations where service users become physically or verbally aggressive.

Use your judgement, gained from experience, to establish if a service user requires assessment by a medic or possibly hospital admission.

To use skills gained through experience to deal with service users who become angry, hostile or distressed.

To ensure all sector members get appropriate support following violent incidents and liaise with the Team Manager to ensure any identified actions arising from such incidents are implemented.

To participate in and/or lead service user reviews ensuring that service user needs are met and that the team has all the relevant information on which to base their clinical decisions.

To develop care plans that enable service users to reach and maintain their optimum level of health and independence to help them to remain in the community in their chosen setting or return to this on discharge.

To react pro-actively in cases of service user crisis and put in place immediate plans to resolve the situation.

Person Specification

Qualifications

Essential

  • Relevant professional OT qualification
  • Current HPC registration

Desirable

  • Fieldwork Educators certificate
  • Post graduate accredited study e.g. PSI, CBT, MSc in relevant health studies

Knowledge/Experience

Essential

  • Previous experience in relevant health settings
  • Supervision of staff
  • Effective team working within a multi-agency framework
  • Experience ofservice development
  • Experience using both group and individual treatment skills
  • Demonstrate experience of problem solving approaches
  • Audit and research practices relevant to clinical area
  • Assisting with effective budgetary management
  • Evidence based and experience of reflective practice
  • Recovery Model of Care
  • Model of Human Occupation
  • Safe Guarding Children
  • Mental Health Act 1983
  • Mental Capacity Act
  • Effective Care Coordination
  • Relevant national policies and guidance
  • Up to date clinical knowledge relevant to the care environment
  • Audit and research methods
  • Vulnerable adults guidelines
  • Able to discuss/explain specialist OT role
  • Awareness of own strengths and limitations

Desirable

  • Post graduate clinical experience, within mental health services
  • Wider range ofstatutory and non-statutory services
  • Risk management training

Skills

Essential

  • Ability to utilise assessment skills and tools effectively
  • Ability to communicate in a variety of settings
  • Ability to formulate relevant reports
  • Delegation and coordination
  • Ability to prioritise and work to deadlines
  • Mentorship skills
  • Accurate Record keeping
  • Flexible approach/ creative thinking
  • Able to move and handle clients
  • IT skills

Desirable

  • Effective leadership qualities
  • Presentation skills
  • Ability to network and influence decision making
  • Team Building skills2

Values

Essential

  • Continuous Improvement
  • Accountability
  • Respectfulness
  • Enthusiasm
  • Support
  • High professional standards
  • Responsive to service users
  • Engaging leadership style
  • Strong customer service belief
  • Transparency and honesty
  • Discreet
  • Change oriented
Person Specification

Qualifications

Essential

  • Relevant professional OT qualification
  • Current HPC registration

Desirable

  • Fieldwork Educators certificate
  • Post graduate accredited study e.g. PSI, CBT, MSc in relevant health studies

Knowledge/Experience

Essential

  • Previous experience in relevant health settings
  • Supervision of staff
  • Effective team working within a multi-agency framework
  • Experience ofservice development
  • Experience using both group and individual treatment skills
  • Demonstrate experience of problem solving approaches
  • Audit and research practices relevant to clinical area
  • Assisting with effective budgetary management
  • Evidence based and experience of reflective practice
  • Recovery Model of Care
  • Model of Human Occupation
  • Safe Guarding Children
  • Mental Health Act 1983
  • Mental Capacity Act
  • Effective Care Coordination
  • Relevant national policies and guidance
  • Up to date clinical knowledge relevant to the care environment
  • Audit and research methods
  • Vulnerable adults guidelines
  • Able to discuss/explain specialist OT role
  • Awareness of own strengths and limitations

Desirable

  • Post graduate clinical experience, within mental health services
  • Wider range ofstatutory and non-statutory services
  • Risk management training

Skills

Essential

  • Ability to utilise assessment skills and tools effectively
  • Ability to communicate in a variety of settings
  • Ability to formulate relevant reports
  • Delegation and coordination
  • Ability to prioritise and work to deadlines
  • Mentorship skills
  • Accurate Record keeping
  • Flexible approach/ creative thinking
  • Able to move and handle clients
  • IT skills

Desirable

  • Effective leadership qualities
  • Presentation skills
  • Ability to network and influence decision making
  • Team Building skills2

Values

Essential

  • Continuous Improvement
  • Accountability
  • Respectfulness
  • Enthusiasm
  • Support
  • High professional standards
  • Responsive to service users
  • Engaging leadership style
  • Strong customer service belief
  • Transparency and honesty
  • Discreet
  • Change oriented

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.

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

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.

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

Mersey Care NHS Foundation Trust

Address

The Investment Centre and Liverpool Women's Hosptial

375 Stanley Road L20, and Crown Street, L8 7SS

Liverpool and Sefton

L20 3EF


Employer's website

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


Employer details

Employer name

Mersey Care NHS Foundation Trust

Address

The Investment Centre and Liverpool Women's Hosptial

375 Stanley Road L20, and Crown Street, L8 7SS

Liverpool and Sefton

L20 3EF


Employer's website

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


Employer contact details

For questions about the job, contact:

Team Manager

Samantha Evans

samantha.evans@merseycare.nhs.uk

01517024012

Details

Date posted

17 September 2025

Pay scheme

Agenda for change

Band

Band 6

Salary

£38,682 to £46,580 a year pro rata

Contract

Permanent

Working pattern

Part-time

Reference number

350-CC7477753

Job locations

The Investment Centre and Liverpool Women's Hosptial

375 Stanley Road L20, and Crown Street, L8 7SS

Liverpool and Sefton

L20 3EF


Supporting documents

Privacy notice

Mersey Care NHS Foundation Trust's privacy notice (opens in a new tab)