Job overview

A great opportunity has arisen for an experienced Band 5 or 6 Occupational Therapist, Physiotherapist, Nurse or Paramedic to join the Rapid Assessment & Frailty Team (RAFT) working within the emergency care settings at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital, King’s Lynn.

This  full time post is integral to supporting the delivery & development of the RAFT service, in providing urgent & unplanned discharge planning & admission avoidance assessments. You will work alongside an integrated multi-disciplinary team, using a fusion-skilled hybrid approach, focussing on high quality frailty care, promoting comprehensive assessments & supporting hospital teams in admission avoidance over a 7 day service.

A willingness to work flexibly, undertake tasks traditionally allocated to specific disciplines & a sense of humour are all key to the role. You will be supported by experienced team leads  employed by the two stakeholder organisations, giving insight into true integrated partnerships and the benefits this brings. You will also be working alongside colleagues from primary and secondary care, statutory & voluntary services in supporting patients to remain within their community's.

If you are looking for a development opportunity and work well in a time pressured environment, have great interpersonal skills & are able to think innovatively, then we need you.

It is essential that applicants have UK NHS experience & preferably to have worked as a professional within an Acute setting.

Main duties of the job

The key features of the role are to provide:

Comprehensive specialist assessment, diagnosis and discharge planning for patients within the speciality with emphasis on those with highly complex multi co-morbidities and/or chronic presentation.

A prompt and effective assessment within agreed standards to ensure the appropriate, safe, timely & effective discharge of patients to home or other suitable environment.

To assist in the planning, co-ordination & evaluation of clinical input from the team for all clinical areas covered by the team.

When required,  will seek guidance from a senior team member for more highly complex situations.  Provision of specialist assessment, diagnosis & discharge planning for patients within their own caseload ensuring to further consolidate knowledge & skills gained.  This work is carried out in hospital with referrals being made to external agencies as appropriate.  The post holder will maintain records as an autonomous practitioner & assist & support in the service development within the specialities.

You will be supervised on a regular basis by more senior members of the Rapid Assessment Team.  The supervision, either formal or informal, takes the form of evaluating and developing practice.  Advice, training & support are available as required.

There may be an opportunity for the successful candidates to form part of our Acute Hospital B6 Therapy Rotation system if they are of the Physiotherapy or Occupational Therapy disciplines.

Working for our organisation

There’s never been a more exciting time to join Team QEH.  We’re working on a once in a generation opportunity to build a new state-of-the-art hospital to open in 2030 and we are also carrying out on one of the biggest pieces of digital transformation work we’ve ever undertaken.

Our new electronic patient record (EPR) will replace paper-based patient records from 2026 and will lead to better, safer, joined-up care at The Queen Elizabeth Hospital and beyond.

At the QEH we provide a comprehensive range of specialist, acute, obstetrics and community-based services to around 331,000 people across West and North Norfolk, North Cambs and South Lincs.

We are an ambitious organisation that upholds our values of kindness, wellness and fairness. We strive for continuous quality improvement, recently demonstrated in our 2024 CQC maternity inspection rating our services as ‘Good’, and we are proud to be a place to learn and grow through recognised learning and apprenticeships.

We recognise and reward our 4,000 staff and volunteers, priding ourselves on a community atmosphere and positive team spirit.  We have approx. 530 beds across 33 wards and have newly built education and training facilities, a range of modern award-winning centres alongside a talented team of people ready to give you a warm welcome.  We love working here and think you will too.

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

Please see the full Job Description  & Job Specification for the main details and responsibilities of the post.

Person specification

Qualifications/training & professional development

Essential criteria

• Degree in Nursing, Physiotherapy, Occupational Therapy, Paramedic Practice or Paramedic Science
• Registered General Nursing Registration, Health & Care Professions Council registration

Desirable criteria

• Demonstration of a variety of post-graduate courses to increase levels of skill and knowledge
• Practice Educator course and ability to supervise under-graduate students from your profession

Experience

Essential criteria

• Covered a variety of specialities as a post-graduate Nurse, Therapist or Paramedic
• Experience of working with older people
• Experience of multi-professional working

Desirable criteria

• Experience of working in the emergency care environment
• Experience of community care
• Broad range of NHS experience

Skills, abilities & knowledge

Essential criteria

• Excellent clinical reasoning skills
• Ability to use a wide range of assessment skills
• Sound working knowledge of diagnoses and interpretation of disorders
• Ability to make sound clinical judgements & decisions in response to complex or crisis situations.
• Ability to use initiative & to work as an autonomous practitioner

Desirable criteria

• Experience of Mental Capacity Assessments & appropriate usage
• Experience of staff supervision and appraisal
• Computer skills using: Word, Excel, PowerPoint Positive approach to data collection and clinical audit Aptitude

Aptitude

Essential criteria

• Have a flexible/adaptable approach to work & the needs of the Acute Hospital Service including evening, weekend and bank holiday working
• Excellent communication and interpersonal skills with an ability to handle difficult conversations. Ability to empathise, use tact and diplomacy when required

Desirable criteria

• To have actively gained an understanding of the Rapid Assessment & Frailty Team and service provision at The Queen Elizabeth Hospital
• Honest, polite, punctual, professional in appearance and manner at all times
• Good multi-disciplinary team worker with evidence of leadership qualities

Applications are welcome from anyone who meets the criteria specified in the person specification regardless of age, gender, disability, race ,ethnicity, religion, belief, sexual orientation or other personal circumstances. Only those applicants who demonstrate in the application form how they meet the criteria in the person specification will be shortlisted for interview. We not only recruit employees based on their qualifications and experience - we recruit individuals who possess and can demonstrate the behaviours which underpin our core values.