Community Access Team Therapist

Go back East of England Community Health and Care NHS Trust

The closing date is 28 June 2026

East of England Community Health and Care NHS Trust are looking for a Registered Physiotherapist or Occupational Therapist to join the Community Access Team based at Norfolk and Norwich Hospital. The Community Access Team support the Admission Avoidance pathways in the Emergency Department, Frailty Unit, fracture clinic and short stay wards. Community Access Team also leads the Discharge to Assess pathway 2 supporting the transfer of patients from acute wards to the Intermediate Care Units.

The service runs seven days a week, 8am to 8pm, and consists of Physiotherapists, Occupational Therapists, Senior Nurses and Assistant Practitioners. The Admission Avoidance team operates against Emergency Department waiting targets and the successful candidate must have excellent written and verbal communication, as well as strong clinical reasoning skills. The ability to complete quick and decisive assessments is essential.

We see and assess patients with a wide variety of conditions, including long term disabilities, orthopaedic and neurological conditions.

We have opportunities for Continuing Professional Development, in the form of study days.

Please note that parking is not available at Norfolk and Norwich Hospital.

Duties include:

assessing patients within the Emergency Department and Frailty Unit, assessing for reablement and admission avoidance care packages, issuing appropriate equipment, delegating tasks to support staff as appropriate and completing referrals for community services, assessing patients on wards for safe and timely transfers to our Intermediate Care Units.

East of England Community Health and Care NHS Trust was formed through the merger of Norfolk Community Health and Care NHS Trust and Cambridgeshire Community Services NHS Trust on 1st of April 2026, creating one of the largest providers of community healthcare services in England.

We provide a wide range of community, specialist and children's services, supporting patients and their families to receive high-quality care closer to home. Our staff work across a diverse range of settings, including community hospitals, clinics, patients' homes and administrative support services.

At East of England Community Health and Care NHS Trust
, our people are at the heart of everything we do. We are committed to creating an inclusive, supportive and compassionate working environment where staff feel valued, respected and empowered to develop their careers. We actively encourage innovation, continuous improvement and collaborative working to ensure we deliver the best possible outcomes for the communities we serve.

• Undertake comprehensive therapy assessments of patients including those with a complex presentation, using investigative, analytical, and clinical reasoning skills, and formulate a graded treatment plan.
• Formulate and execute individualised therapy treatment plans of patients including those with complex presentation, in collaboration with the integrated team, other agencies and the patient, utilising a wide range of treatment skills.
• Provide assessment of functional ability and safety of patients to identify care, equipment, adaptation, and therapy needs.
• Assess & plan treatment including teaching patients to utilise techniques & equipment to maximise their functional ability.
• Be aware of Assistive Technology and make referrals for this as required.
• Assess patients holistic needs, communicating complex and sensitive information to patients and carers as to their assessment, diagnosis, prognosis, and treatment plan.
• Communicate effectively with patients and carers to maximise rehabilitation and treatment potential, and to aid motivation and understanding throughout the treatment process.
• Where there are barriers to understanding, such as hearing impairment, mental capacity impairment and other difficulties in comprehension, explanations require adjustments in order to gain understanding, consent and concordance.
• Be required to use tact and persuasive skills in order…