About this role
Job summary
Join our dynamic hand therapy service as a Clinical Specialist Hand Therapist, where you will deliver expert, patient-centred care across a diverse and complex caseload. This Band 7 role offers the opportunity to work as an autonomous practitioner, using advanced clinical reasoning, assessment, and splinting skills to support patients through their rehabilitation journey. You will play a key role in multidisciplinary clinics, collaborating with senior clinicians to optimise outcomes and shape high-quality care pathways.
Alongside clinical practice, you will contribute to service development, education, and research, helping to drive innovation and continuous improvement within the service. This is an exciting opportunity to influence practice beyond your own caseload, develop enhanced practitioner competencies, and support the growth of future workforce capability. If you are passionate about delivering excellent care and leading service improvement in a supportive, forward-thinking environment, we would welcome your application.
Main duties of the job
As a Clinical Specialist Hand Therapist, you will deliver high-quality care within a dynamic multidisciplinary team, managing a varied caseload across outpatient and specialist hand therapy clinics. You will assess, diagnose and support individuals with complex hand conditions, helping them achieve the best possible outcomes following injury, surgery or long-term conditions.
You will work closely with surgical and therapy colleagues to co-ordinate patient care, contribute to clinical decision-making and ensure timely, effective treatment pathways. The role includes supporting the day-to-day running of the service, maintaining safe and efficient clinic delivery, and contributing to service improvements and innovation.
Alongside your clinical work, you will support the development of others through teaching, supervision and shared learning, while contributing to audit, quality improvement and research activity. You will also help strengthen collaborative working across services and networks, promoting best practice and continuous improvement within hand therapy.
About us
At Somerset NHS Foundation Trust, we're committed to supporting our employees with a range of benefits designed to enhance your professional and personal life. We offer:
Flexible working options to help you balance work and lifeNHS pension scheme for long-term financial securityGenerous annual leave allowance to recharge and relaxA strong focus on career development to help you grow and achieve your potentialAdditionally, you'll gain access to our Blue Light Card, unlocking exclusive discounts on shopping, dining, and leisure activities, as well as NHS-specific perks to support you both inside and outside of work.
We are proud to foster a diverse, skilled, and inclusive workforce, and we encourage applications from all backgrounds.
Why Somerset? Somerset offers the perfect blend of idyllic countryside, outstanding areas of natural beauty, and breathtaking coastlines, with vibrant cities like Bristol, Bath, and Exeter just a short drive away - and only two hours to London.
The region is home to excellent educational facilities, and with affordable housing compared to other parts of the country, it's a great place to build both your career and your future.
Somerset truly has it all - the peaceful countryside and cosmopolitan city life, with something for everyone to enjoy.
Job description Job responsibilities Please see attached full job description & person specification for more details about this exciting role
Person Specification
Qualifications Essential
Please see attached Job Description and Person Specification
Disclosure and Barring Service Check This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (Exceptions Order) 1975 and as such it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service (formerly known as CRB) to check for any previous criminal convictions.
Certificate of Sponsorship Applications from job seekers who require current Skilled worker sponsorship to work in the UK are welcome and will be considered alongside all other applications. For further information visit the UK Visas and Immigration website (Opens in a new tab).
From 6 April 2017, skilled worker applicants, applying for entry clearance into the UK, have had to present a criminal record certificate from each country they have resided continuously or cumulatively for 12 months or more in the past 10 years. Adult dependants (over 18 years old) are also subject to this requirement. Guidance can be found here Criminal records checks for overseas applicants (Opens in a new tab).
UK Registration
Applicants must have current UK professional registration. For further information please see NHS Careers website (opens in a new window).
Employer details Employer name Somerset NHS Foundation Trust
Address Yeovil District Hospital
Higher Kingston
Yeovil
Somerset
BA21 4AT
United Kingdom
Employer's website https://www.somersetft.nhs.uk/ (Opens in a new tab)