Medical Rehabilitation jobs

Senior Occupational Therapist in Older Person Rehabilitation

Temporary 1 year Contract, Full Time Hours.

Purpose of the Post:

• This role is for a 1 WTE (35 hours) Senior OT in Older Person Rehabilitation, primarily in the Mercy Regional Rehabilitation Facility in Blarney, Co Cork. The duration of this contract is one year.
• Your place of work could also be across other clinical areas within the MUH campus as service needs/possible Senior OT rotations demand.

Principal Duties and Responsibilities

Professional / Clinical:

• Responsible for the maintenance of standards of OT practice of self and junior staff appointed to Older Person Rehabilitation service.
• Responsible for managing own caseload and for assessment, planning, implementation and evaluation of treatment programmes for service users according to service standards.
• Participate in the integrated discharge planning process in line with the HSE Code of Practice.
• Responsible for the day-to-day running of Older Person Rehabilitation services by supervising staff, prioritising and allocating work and promoting positive staff morale and team working in conjunction with the Clinical Specialist Occupational Therapist and Occupational Therapist Manager.
• In conjunction with the Occupational Therapist Manager, lead service planning by anticipating the changing needs of the service and service users.
• Participate in teams and foster and maintain professional working relationships with other team members.
• Ensure the quality of documentation of all assessments, treatment plans, progress notes, reports and discharge summaries are in accordance with local service, professional and legislative standards.
• Communicate verbally and/or in writing results of assessments, treatment / intervention programmes and recommendations to the team and relevant others in accordance with service policy.
• Attend clinics, review meetings, team meetings, case conferences, ward rounds etc. as designated by the Occupational Therapist Manager.
• Ensure that OT staff in the Older Person Rehabilitation service arrange and carry out duties in a timely manner, within settings appropriate to service user needs, and in line with local policy/guidelines.
• Responsible for adhering to existing standards and protocols and for leading out on the development and maintenance of standards / strategies for quality improvement and outcome measurement.
• Seek advice and assistance with any assigned duties in line with principles of evidence-based practice and clinical governance.
• Ensure that professional standards are maintained in relation to confidentiality / data protection, ethics and legislation.
• Operate within the scope of Occupational Therapy practice as per CORU requirements and in accordance with local guidelines.

Education and Training:

• Participate in mandatory training programmes.
• Participate in continuing professional development including in-service training, attending and presenting at conferences / courses relevant to practice, contributing to research etc. as agreed by the Occupational Therapist Manager.
• Engage in professional clinical Occupational Therapist peer supervision with the other Senior Occupational Therapists.
• Engage in peer support with Senior Occupational Therapist colleagues.
• Participate in performance review and supervision with the Clinical Specialist OT and OT Manager.
• Manage, participate and play a key role in the practice education of student therapists.
• Take part in teaching / training / supervision of other Occupational Therapy and non-Occupational Therapy staff/students and attend practice educator courses as appropriate.
• Ensure newly qualified OTs have adequate induction and clinical supervision and assist in implementing annual staff development and performance review.

Administrative:

• Responsible for the co-ordination and delivery of service in the Older Person Rehabilitation service.
• Review and allocate resources within the designated area, in collaboration with the Occupational Therapist Manager and relevant others.
• Promote good working practice and uniformity of standards of best practice.
• Promote quality by reviewing and evaluating the Occupational Therapy service regularly, identifying changing needs and opportunities to improve services, in collaboration with the Occupational Therapist Manager and relevant others.
• Develop and implement service/business plans, quality initiatives, audits etc. and report on outcomes in collaboration with the Occupational Therapist Manager.
• Collect and evaluate data about the service user group and demonstrate the achievement of the objectives of the service.
• Oversee the upkeep of accurate records in line with best clinical governance, organisational requirements and the Freedom of Information Act, GDPR, and render reports and other information / statistics as required.
• Represent the department/team at meetings and conferences as appropriate.
• Liaise with the Occupational Therapist Manager regarding the needs, interests and views of Occupational Therapy staff.
• Promote good team working, and a culture that values diversity.
• Participate in the management of Occupational Therapy stock and equipment in conjunction with the Occupational Therapist Manager.
• Engage in IT developments as they apply to service user and service administration.
• Keep up to date with developments within the organisation and the Irish Health Service.

Eligibility Criteria - Candidates must have at the latest date of application have the following.

Statutory Registration, Professional Qualifications, Experiences, etc. Candidates for appointment must:

• Be registered or be eligible for registration on the Occupational Therapist Register maintained by the Occupational Therapists Registration Board at CORU. https://www.coru.ie/
• Have three years full time (or an aggregate of three years) relevant post qualification clinical experience.
• Have the requisite knowledge and ability (including a high standard of suitability and professional ability) for the proper discharge of the duties of the office.
• Provide proof of Statutory Registration on the Occupational Therapists Register maintained by the Occupational Therapists Registration Board at CORU before a contract of employment can be issued.

Annual Registration:

• On appointment practitioners must maintain annual registration on the Occupational Therapists Register maintained by the Occupational Therapists Registration Board at CORU.
• Practitioners must confirm annual registration with CORU to the HSE by way of the annual Patient Safety Assurance Certificate (PSAC).

Post Specific Requirements, Additional Qualifications and/or Experience:

• A minimum of 3 years satisfactory post qualification experience in working in an acute care or rehabilitation hospital.
• Experience working with adults, in an acute or rehab hospital setting, in the specialty of Older Adult care.
• Experience working with adults in an acute hospital setting in some or all of the following specialties: general medicine, general surgery, care of the older person, stroke and orthopaedics.
• Experience prioritising and triaging acute patients and in the assessment and provision of their rehabilitation requirements.
• Experience assessing and prescribing specialised seating systems and 24-hour posture management systems.
• Experience working as part of a multidisciplinary team to provide rehabilitation input.
• Candidate must provide evidence of postgraduate attendance at continuing professional development (CPD) courses related to occupational therapy in rehabilitation an acute care hospital setting (preferably related to older adult rehabilitation).

Please note that the roster may move to a 5 over 7 roster, which will also include 8 to 8 shift pattern, subject to operational requitements.

Full Job Spec is available on request.

Closing Date is 1pm on Monday, 5 October 2026.

MUH reserves the right to create a panel for this post from which permanent, fixed term and specified purpose vacancies of a full or part time duration may be filled.

Mercy University Hospital (MUH)

MUH is a growing voluntary hospital in the heart of Cork City. We have over 1,800 staff providing complex diagnostic, medical and surgical care through our inpatient, day patient, outpatient and emergency services.

We are a teaching hospital, a centre of national and international excellence, and are renowned for our research and tertiary services.

Providing 24/7 acute surgical, acute medical and critical care, MUH now has multiple sites across the city and continues to expand. We recently opened our Blarney Rehabilitation Unit, a post-acute care specialist rehabilitation unit with 50 beds in Blarney, County Cork.

We support staff development with approx. 100 promotions annually. We prioritise work life balance with 28% of our team working part time hours. We offer nationally agreed enhanced Salary Scales, Pension Scheme, excellent holidays, canteen, and Study Leave and Assistance.

From Cardiac Care to Intensive Care, our varied specialist services offer real career choice to our team.

We live by our Core Values of Compassion, Excellence, Justice, Respect and Team Spirit.