About this role

Make a Difference with CNWL Health & Justice

CNWL is a Top Employer Award Winner, delivering high-quality healthcare to diverse communities across London and beyond. We are looking for a motivated and compassionate Occupational Therapistto join our supportive Health & Justice team across theSurrey Prisons Cluster.

This is a unique opportunity to make a real difference to the lives of people in secure settings, helping to improve health outcomes, promote wellbeing and reduce health inequalities. Working within our prison healthcare service, you will be part of a forward-thinking multidisciplinary team providing high-quality care across a 7-day service.

Guided by our motto, “Caring, Not Judging,” we work alongside the criminal justice system and partner agencies to deliver responsive, person-centred primary care and mental health services that support recovery, rehabilitation and social inclusion.

Join an award-winning team where your skills, compassion and expertise can have a lasting impact.

Find out what it's like to work with us: Hear from our Health & Justice staff

The Occupational Therapist (OT) will oversee the development and implementation of occupational therapy within the mental health services within their location(s) of work. They will be supported by a Band 7 OT who will be overseeing the growth of OT services in our Surrey prisons.

They will manage a caseload of patients in prison with complex, severe and enduring mental health needs, providing interventions which support and promote improved health. The caseload will be OT specific work, utilising an effective referral process. They will also provide input into the Neurodiverse pathway of care.

The post holder will work in conjunction with the multi-disciplined team to promote the understanding of the OT perspective and its application to working with this client group.

The post holder will work alongside senior staff in the MDT to support the development of services. They will also support directorate wide development of OT as part of a supportive and friendly Health and Justice OT network.

The post holder will provide an Occupational Therapy perspective whilst engaging and contributing to professional meetings such as CPA, multi-agency case reviews, risk management meetings, and any other meetings related to the care and treatment of the prisoners in our care.

The post holder will also act as an educator to students on practice placement, as part of the AHP fair share agreement.

Why Join Our Team?

At CNWL, we are committed to supporting your wellbeing, developmentand career progression.You'll benefit from regular supervision, personalised development plans, specialist training opportunities, preceptorship programmes and revalidation support, helping you achieve your professional goals.

We value and celebrate our staff through initiatives such as our Hidden Gem Awards and annual staff recognition events. You'll also have access to a wide range of health and wellbeing services, ensuring you feel supported both at work and beyond.

Through MyTrustBenefits, you and your family can access over 1,400 discounts on shopping, travel, entertainment and dining, alongside free online learning resources to support your personal and professional development.

Staff based at our Surrey sites enjoy additional benefits, including free onsite parking and complimentary access to leisure facilities, making it easier to stay active, prioritise wellbeing and save money.

Join an award-winning organisation where you'll feel valued, supported and empowered to make a real difference every day.

Clinical

Toprovide specialist OT clinical knowledge in the assessment, treatment& evaluation of people within prison. Applyingan understanding of the effects of multiple, enduring& complex mental health needs on occupational performance.
To carry out mental health & risk assessment, for a caseload of service users & offer regular monitoring of mental state.
To work autonomously providing clinical professional judgement in clinical cases & referring to team members when necessary.
To contributeinthe development of specialist individual & group programmes, supporting service users in achieving valued goals & satisfactory occupational performance outcome. Providing advice & support on lifestyle changes &d adaptations where necessary.
To select & usevalidated, evidence based standardised assessment tools (Occupational Therapy assessment, screening tools, sensory profiles etc) routinely &, exhibit, advanced clinical reasoning skills.
Tomonitor& evaluate the effectiveness of occupational therapy interventions & the agreed mental health interventions against clear aims.
Tofacilitatesmooth transitions for service users between prisons & different service settings (i.e. prison to community). Establishing links & working in collaboration with partner agenciesin order tocontribute & manage aspects of an individual’s care plan.
To support service users & colleagues in ensuring care plans are developed in partnership with service users & that they reflect ‘personal recovery’ goals. These should be strengths-based & oriented towards reinforcing a positive identity and developing valued social roles.
To providecare which is culturally appropriate& sensitive, demonstratestrauma awareness & recognises the needs of the individual with regards to accessibility
To proactively undertake & ensure rigorous risk assessment & risk management strategies are applied. To ensure maximum ‘risk tolerance’facilitatesthe individual’s recovery, in line with risk policies & local guidelines.
To be aware of & sensitive tosafeguarding needs at all times, & knowledgeable both about potential indicators of abuse or neglect & about what to do if they had concerns about a personswelfare.
Tofacilitatethe development of, & to work within, clinical pathways & protocols withparticular referenceto the CNWL Occupational Therapy care pathways & the Health and Justice OT pathway.
To be aware of medication issues in line with the CNWL OT Medication Management guidelines
To provide specialist OT input into the Neurodiverse pathway, working alongside CNWL colleagues & HMPPS Neurodiverse Service Manager for each site.

Communication

To demonstrateexcellent communication skills with service users, forming positive therapeutic relationships, using warmth & empathy, enabling service user empowerment.
To develop &maintain effective professional communication structures with other professionals & agenciesin order toensure a comprehensive & consistent approach to client care.
To provide & receivehighly complex, sensitive, condition related or distressing/unwelcome information to service users and carers demonstrating empathy and reassurance.
To ensure careful & efficient forms of communication skills when assessing & managing risk procedures within & beyond the prison service,inline with confidentiality agreements.
Todemonstrate skills and resourcefulness in communication when barriers to understanding are present.
To promote the role of OT within services; representing an OT clinical perspective in all clinical meetings
Toparticipate in OT, multi-disciplinary, clinical and business meetings
To ensuretimelyresponse to emails & requests for information.
To work in close co-operation with OT colleagues within the Trust contributing to relevant OT business/training meetings, both locally &trust-wide.
To provide feedback, to OT & MDT colleagues, from specialist interest groups & committees.

Documentation

To ensure that up to date, accurate, concise& informative records are written &maintainedin the service user’s notes, on Prison & health care systems (CNOMIS and System One).
To attend & activelyparticipate in relevant meetings, conferences& events, relating to patientshealth & care programmes.
Tomaintain accuratesupervision records (junior staff & students) as defined in the Trust OT Guidelines, including the maintenance of a supervision record log.

Management And Leadership

To provide input into the recruitment of staff where appropriate.
To contribute to the writing of local protocolswith regard to specialist OT knowledge.
Toparticipatein OT & department specific training packages to promote awareness & understanding of health wellbeing within a prison population.

Personal and Professional Development

To keep abreast of changing clinical practice, new developments, evidence basedpractice & research
To contribute to activities, which continue to build on a culture of shared learning &evidence based practice
To undertake activities of Continuous Professional Development includingidentifyingown learning needs & recording learning outcomes in a portfolio.
To assume personal responsibility formaintaining a working knowledge of new statutory guidelines that influence clinical practice.
Tomaintaina professional knowledge base & act as a resource to othersregarding specialist areas of expertise i.e. occupational therapy, perinatal mental health conditions, parent infant interaction, child development, parenting skills assessment, health promotion, recovery& social inclusion.

Supervision and Appraisal

To review & reflect on own practice & performance; & that of others, through effective use of supervision, reflective practice, operational management supervision, CPD & appraisal
Toparticipate in the Trust’s supervision and appraisal systems in conjunction with service managers/Head Occupational Therapist, ensuring that relevant training needs are identified and met through timely access/delivery.
To ensure a robust framework for the provision of regular and qualitative supervision and appraisal for students, junior staff,volunteers& sessional workers asrequired.
To offer learning and development opportunities to other professionalswith regard to occupation within perinatal mental health, and other OT specialist skills
To be an educator for OT students on practice placement, in line with local guidelines, ensuring that practice placement educatorsfacilitate placements for the required number of weeks as per the AHP fair share agreement.
To contribute to effective peer supervision if relevant
To ensuretimely booking and attendance of mandatory and statutory training. Failure to do this may preclude further learning and development opportunities.
To contribute to multi-disciplinary training initiatives

Clinical Governance

To be knowledgeable about best practise for safeguarding, with support of supervision and the directorateSafegaurding lead and support forums
To apply national and Trust wide guidelines/standards of practice in line with Trust and the Royal College of Occupational Therapists’ standards and guidelines
To work as an autonomouspractitioner, assuming accountability for own clinical practice
Tomaintain and observe confidentiality of all information relating to service users as laid down in the confidentiality and Caldecott principles.
To ensure compliance with relevant guidelines and policies e.g. safety and risk, DOLS, care act, Mental Health Act etc.

Service Development and Delivery

To contribute, as part of the MDT to new initiatives and service development
To ensure comprehensive knowledge of the service’s KPIs, quality and performance initiatives; ensuring timely response and contribution of the OT Service provision.
To ensure comprehensive knowledge of the Trust Recovery agenda e.g. Recovery and Wellbeing College
To contribute to defined projects as directed by the Health and Justice Lead Occupational Therapist
To contribute to andparticipate, as a member of the multi-disciplinary team, to the operational design and delivery of quality improvement initiatives within the service
To autonomouslymaintain a working knowledge of new statutory guidelines, particularly those relating to perinatal mental health
To take an active role in seeking user,carer and stakeholders feedback to help shape and influence the further development of the services.

ResearchAnd Development

Toparticipatein local & Trust-wide OT service activities that promote & contribute to the building of knowledge & evidence base for the benefit of the professional body of occupational therapy.
To include making use of the support networks available throughout the Trust e.g. Special Interest Groups, forums and sub groups; & MDT team training sessions
To undertake,participatein & disseminateresearch & audit activities in line with local service priorities.
Toparticipatein & implement service activities related to clinical effectiveness via evaluation, audit, research &evidence based practice; ensuring active participation of the OT Team in such activities.
To take a lead, within the MDT, in promoting a culture that focuses on all service users’ occupational needs, recovery principles & social inclusion

Professional Ethics

To adhere to the HCPC & RCOT Code of Ethics & Professional Conduct,demonstrating professional competence and fitness to practice
Tomaintain knowledge of legislation that affects clinical practice within prison health care such as MHA Act,

Emotional Effort

To provide care for service users who maybe come distressed or present with challenging behaviour.
To use available resources & protected spaces to support own wellbeing.

Work Conditions

To have the ability to work within an environment that may expose individuals to verbal & physical abuse.

This advert closes on Tuesday 22 Sep 2026

Occupational Therapist - Surrey Prisons | Central and North West London NHS Foundation Trust

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About this role