Senior Stroke Occupational Therapist

Senior Occupational Therapist (Stroke service )

Specified Purpose Contract

Occupational Therapy

Beaumont Hospital, Dublin 9 

Occupational Therapy Manager

Appointment will be made on Senior  Occupational Therapist scale

(€65,197 - €76,767) at a point in line with Government pay policy. 

Full-time 35 hours

12:00 noon on 9th November 2026

The post holder will lead and deliver an integrated expert service to meet the occupational therapy needs of patients within the stroke setting. He/she will work in collaboration with the occupational therapy manager and other neuroscience occupational therapists in planning, co-ordinating, delivering and evaluating the stroke and neuroscience services. The clinical caseload could include a mixture of in-patients and Early Supported Stroke Discharge patients. There may be instances whereby the successful candidate will assist with other clinical caseloads within the neuroscience setting i.e. Neurosurgery and Neurology during periods of expected/unexpected leave.

The senior occupational therapist is accountable to the occupational therapy manager, Beaumont Hospital.

1. Represent the occupational therapy profession and promote the profile of occupational therapy within in-patient stroke service areas and throughout the organisation, nationally and internationally2. Demonstrate sound clinical reasoning based on experience and clinical expertise in the in-patient stroke setting.

3. Respect the values, beliefs and needs of patients and staff and include patients in decision-making processes as appropriate

4. Support and delegate appropriately to occupational therapy staff working within the in-patient stroke service.

5. Interpret standards of practice, as well as professional codes of conduct, professional and organisational policies ensuring they are incorporated into occupational therapy practice within the in-patient stroke service.6. Recognise when it is appropriate to refer decisions to a higher level of authority and include colleagues in the decision making process7. Promote initiatives in the in-patient stroke service that will ensure a high standard of professional practice development in line with improved patient care8. Demonstrate understanding and respect for the roles of all members of the MDT9. Keep up-to-date with developments within the in-patient stroke service in own organisation, professional body, nationally and internationally and apply to practice as appropriate10. Manage own work-life balance and support others (e.g. occupational therapists, occupational therapy assistants) with same11. Contribute professional expertise to wider organisational initiatives/ committees/steering groups at local, national and international level12. Provide specialist support to the in-patient stroke service staff

1. Demonstrate advanced clinical reasoning and problem solving skills in completing occupational therapy assessments and interventions with patients referred from the in-patient stroke service.

2. Use advanced prioritisation and planning skills to ensure patients are placed on the appropriate pathway and the timely completion of onward referrals to other services

3. Demonstrate an advanced proficiency in ability to screen and prioritise patients according to clinical needs using clinical reasoning skills and providing support to all occupational therapy staff working in the in-patient stroke service.4. Prioritise and maximise effectiveness of intervention using available resources to ensure in-patient stroke service demands are optimally met e.g. appropriate delegation to occupational therapy colleagues and occupational therapy assistant

5. Ensure collaboration with other relevant MDT colleagues for complex patient presentation to ensure holistic approach to patient care6. Balance clinical demands with other responsibilities (e.g. research, administration, service development, teaching, CPD, staff supervision) through effective time management and organisational skills

1. Communicate oral and written information in a clear, concise and well-structured manner appropriate to the content and the target audience2. Build and maintain effective relationships with colleagues at clinical and management levels within the in-patient stroke service.

3. Facilitate and maintain open communication within own service and department4. Promote and foster effective cross discipline communications and evaluation processes with MDT colleagues, advocating shared discharge planning for optimal patient care

5. Deal constructively with obstacles and conflict to ensure patient focused decision-making within the MDT

6. Build relations and links with community colleagues, working together to promote and enhance appropriate patient pathways for a seamless service

7. Ensure that communication with patients and families /carers is appropriate and timely and develop written resource packs for patients/carers as indicated8. Present lectures, service evaluation, audit and research projects at local, national and international level9. Negotiate clearly and effectively with relevant stakeholders

1. Demonstrate an excellent level of clinical knowledge and skills of stroke service presentations and risk factors and provide senior support in decision-making for other occupational therapy staff

2. Working with MDT colleagues, demonstrate advanced clinical skills in the in-patient stroke service, assisting with advanced diagnostic, prognostic and patient management within the service

3. Demonstrate advanced knowledge of care pathways appropriate to patients attending the in-patient stroke service and proactively work with senior MDT colleagues to design and implement processes to improve flow for patients

4. Take a key role in discharge planning

5. Recognise appropriate services and supports (OT, MDT and other) to optimise patient outcomes and identify the need for appropriate onward consultation or referral

6. Design and implement processes and procedures to ensure the highest standards of practice are met in the in-patient occupational therapy stroke service by establishing governance systems

7. Report emerging risk issues to the occupational therapy manager and other relevant senior staff within the in-patient stroke service

8. Work collaboratively with the MDT to identify, plan and implement interdisciplinary practices

9. Foster and lead a culture and practice of evaluating service outcomes and other data collection and implementing quality improvement initiatives as appropriate

10. Develop and implement strategic service and business plans, quality initiatives, audits etc. based on up to date evidence based practice and report on outcomes in collaboration with the occupational therapy manager and other stakeholders

11. Oversee, evaluate and advise the occupational therapy manager on optimal resource utilisation for effective service delivery and optimal patient and service outcomes

1. Understand the principles of the operational management of the in-patient stroke service and be responsible for the day-to-day management of this clinical speciality area

2. Act as an expert occupational therapy clinical resource for the neuroscience MDT, occupational therapy service and students

3. Promote the role of occupational therapy service in the in-patient stroke service in the organisation and at national and international level

4. Lead senior clinical decision-making processes within the in-patient stroke service

5. Identify and prioritise the requirements of the in-patient stroke service within a constantly changing environment

6. Develop guidelines for safe and effective practice in the in-patient occupational therapy stroke service

7. Refine and advance occupational therapy practice within in-patient stroke service and develop formal links with appropriate national and international networks

8. Represent the in-patient occupational therapy stroke service , nationally and internationally as required

9. Deputise for the occupational therapy manager in his/ her absence as required

10. Explore and champion new initiatives, practices and models of care, in line with best practice, to improve the patient experience and outcome

11. Seek to identify and avail of opportunities to assist with and contribute to strategic planning e.g. development of business cases12. Develop and implement new service initiatives in collaboration with appropriate stakeholders such as occupational therapy manager, MDT members etc.13. Assist the occupational therapy manager in the recruitment of staff14. Ensure that an efficient system of stock control is maintained

15. Act as a role model for occupational therapy staff and staff of other professions, in the areas of clinical competence, attitude and enthusiasm of occupational therapy, being available as a resource for staff

16. Collate and analyse workload statistics required for departmental purposes and for service reviews

1. Demonstrate advanced level knowledge of evidence in relation to the stroke service

2. Apply this advanced specialist knowledge to local practice, working with colleagues to implement the necessary steps to achieve the highest possible standard of care

3. Monitor and evaluate effectiveness of interventions within the service and modify accordingly where new evidence emerges or where evidence base is incomplete4. Monitor and report on the use of best practice clinical standards and guidelines in the occupational therapy in-patient stroke service and apply this specialist knowledge within the service

5. Demonstrate expert understanding of service demands and trends and design processes, in consultation with the occupational therapy manager, to ensure demands are appropriately met

6. Champion and lead the development of occupational therapy in stroke care, working with experts/partners nationally and internationally to advance practice

1. Understand the principles of research and research methodology which underpin an analytical approach to clinical practice2. Lead and facilitate research projects relevant to the in-patient stroke service at local or national level3. Collaborate with all relevant stakeholders in respect of relevant research projects4. Co-ordinate and promote departmental research in conjunction with the occupational therapy department and the departmental strategic plan5. Publish research, case studies and critical reviews in peer-reviewed publications6. Lead the dissemination of research findings locally and nationally within occupational therapy and the wider healthcare arena7. Explore innovative ways to contribute to research related to in-patient stroke service8. Research and report on emerging practices and new evaluation tools for the in-patient occupational therapy stroke service 9. Identify gaps in the evidence base and initiate/facilitate research to enhance evidence based practice locally, nationally and internationally

Act as a Clinical Resource

1. Act in an advanced clinical advisory role to own colleagues and MDT

2. Identify the need for appropriate onward consultation

3. Represent the profession/HSCPs at local, national and international level for the in-patient stroke service

4. Act as an advanced clinical advisor, nationally and internationally

1. Identify own personal and professional learning needs and seek support from occupational therapy manager as indicated

2. Facilitate staff in identifying their own development needs and addressing these needs through planned learning, clinical supervision and professional support as required

3. Deliver appropriate and effective feedback and be receptive to feedback

4. Evaluate the training and development needs of occupational therapy staff working in the in-patient stroke service , plan and implement training processes to meet these needs

5. Provide education, supervision, mentoring and support for occupational therapists in the in-patient stroke service.

6. Contribute to MDT education as appropriate

7. Plan, deliver and evaluate education, training and health promotion activities, incorporating inter-professional education models as appropriate

8. Identify and avail of formal and informal learning opportunities within occupational therapy and MDT contexts

9. Provide safe and effective under-graduate clinical placements

10. Provide expert advice and training to network, national and international colleagues in the field

11. Provide guest lecturing/education in the field of in-patient stroke service as required by the HEIs/others

12. Take the lead on occupational therapy input into post graduate clinical placements

13. Contribute to educational policy and education of pre and post qualifying practitioner

The above Duties list is not intended to be a comprehensive list of all duties involved and consequently, the post holder may be required to perform other duties as appropriate to the post which may be assigned to him/her, from time to time, and to contribute to the development of the post while in office.

Selection Criteria: Selection criteria outline the qualifications, skills, knowledge and/or experience that the successful candidate would need to demonstrate for successful discharge of the responsibilities of the post. Applications will be assessed on the basis of how well candidates satisfy these criteria.

a) Hold a qualification approved by the Occupational Therapists Registration Board at CORU

b) The Bachelor of Science (Honors) in Occupational Therapy from NUI Galway, the University of Dublin or University College Cork or

c) A Master of Science from the University of Limerick or

d) A Diploma from a College of Occupational Therapy or

e) A recognised qualification at least equivalent to (a) or (b) or (c) which has been validated by the Department of Health as broadly equivalent to the above qualifications

f) Have at least three years satisfactory post qualification working experience as an occupational therapist in the adult acute hospital setting.

g) Clinical experience working with any Acute Medicine, Care of the Elderly (COE) caseloads.

h) Have a proven record of clinical/academic achievement including development in the specialist area

Experience of working at senior grade

Informal Enquiries ONLY to:

Name: Paul BernardTitle: Occupational Therapy ManagerEmail address: paulbernard@beaumont.ieTelephone: 01 8092520