Highly Specialist Speech and Language Therapist
Band 7
Main area: Speech and Language Therapy
Grade: Band 7
Contract: Permanent
Hours: 37.5 hours per week
Job ref: 277-6814872-CPH-A
Site: Memorial Hospital
Town: London
Salary: £51,883 - £58,544 pa inc
Salary period: Yearly
Closing: 23/03/2025 23:59
Job overview
Due to an internal promotion, we are seeking a highly motivated, enthusiastic and flexible Band 7 to join our Community Neuro-Rehabilitation team in the London borough of Greenwich. This post will involve working across 3 caseloads:
* Community SLT (non-neuro)
We offer extensive support both from the SLT team and the wider multidisciplinary team. There is a well-developed supervision structure in place. Our service actively encourages ongoing professional development and you will be given the opportunity to attend a variety of internal and external training. You will have the opportunity to be involved in appraisal, development, and supervision of junior staff and students. You will also have the opportunity to take the lead on relevant service development projects.
Main duties of the job
The post holder will provide a highly specialist speech and language therapy service to adults with communication and swallowing difficulties. You will work as part of a multi-disciplinary team which includes Physiotherapists, Occupational Therapists, Neuropsychologists, Specialist Nursing, and Rehabilitation Assistants to manage those with neurological and non-neurological conditions including Stroke, Parkinson’s Disease, Motor Neurone Disease, Dementia, and COPD.
The team provides a service to the person in the place most suited to their current need (their place of residence, day centre, place of work, clinic). We also offer groups which are held in a clinic setting. You will need to be able to travel around the Borough of Greenwich independently.
You will be required to offer formal and informal support/supervision to junior members of the team (both in SLT and the wider MDT), be actively involved in service development projects, and in delivering training.
Working for our organisation
Oxleas offers a wide range of NHS healthcare services to people in community and secure environment settings. Our services include community health care such as district nursing and speech and language therapy, care for people with learning disabilities, and mental health care such as psychiatry, nursing, and therapies. Our multidisciplinary teams look after people of all ages and we work in close partnership with other parts of the NHS, local councils, and the voluntary sector. Our 4,300 members of staff work in many different settings including hospitals, clinics, prisons, secure hospitals, children’s centres, schools, and people’s homes.
We have over 125 sites in a variety of locations in the South of England. In London, we operate within the Boroughs of Bexley, Bromley, Greenwich, and into Kent. We manage hospital sites including Queen Mary’s Hospital, Sidcup, and Memorial Hospital, Woolwich, as well as the Bracton Centre, our medium secure unit for people with mental health needs. We are proud of the care we provide and our people.
Our purpose is to improve lives by providing the best possible care to our patients and their families. This is strengthened by our new values:
* We Listen
* We Care
Detailed job description and main responsibilities
* To provide a highly specialist speech and language assessment and therapy service to adults with communication and swallowing difficulties due to acquired neurological and non-neurological disorders.
* To work with the multi-disciplinary team and other health and social care practitioners to provide a safe and effective service.
* To provide clinical leadership in partnership with the Clinical Lead Speech & Language Therapist in the day-to-day delivery of Speech & Language therapy as an autonomous practitioner, ensuring the highest possible standards of practice.
* To support the Clinical Lead Speech & Language Therapist in establishing and monitoring a robust clinical governance framework for the service.
* To maintain competency and proficiency in the instrumental assessment of dysphagia (ie. video fluoroscopy and developments in the field).
* To take an active role in developing in-service training programmes and the supervision and training of junior staff.
* To be regularly responsible for the supervision and written assessment of speech and language therapy students on placement within the trust, Band 5/6 staff, and rehabilitation assistants as required.
* To attend statutory training annually or as per Trust policy.
* To ensure outcome measures are in place and further develop these in partnership with others to ensure a high-quality service is delivered.
* To ensure that quality standards relating to speech and language therapy are continually monitored and improved.
* To identify possible areas of development for the speech and language therapy service and work with the Principal SLT in developing the service.
* To keep abreast of evidence-based and best practice and ensure an environment where all staff are encouraged to do this.
* To ensure good working knowledge of national and local standards and monitor quality through participating in clinical audit and evaluation work as required, and support others to do so.
* To contribute to SLT and Neuro-rehabilitation team policies and procedures.
* To be able to travel around the Borough of Greenwich independently.
Person specification
Education/Qualifications
* Professional Speech and Language Therapy Qualification
* Member of RCSLT
* HCPC Registered
* Completion of specialist short courses relevant to the caseload
* Leadership Qualification
* Qualification in Lee Silverman Voice Treatment (LSVT)
Experience
* Sufficient experience relevant to meet role requirements as outlined in job description working with adults with complex acquired neuro/non-neuro communication and swallowing difficulties
* Experience working in a multidisciplinary team
* Experience working in a community setting
* Experience developing and delivering training packages
Skills, Knowledge and Abilities
* Competent to work independently with complex dysphagia caseload
* Knowledge of a range of appropriate assessment tools and therapeutic interventions relevant to the client group (communication and swallow)
* Knowledge of evidence base for effective treatment for adults with communication and/or swallowing disorders
* Knowledge of supported communication and AAC systems
* Awareness of impact of communication/swallow impairments on service users/carers
* Excellent analytical and reflection skills – clinical reasoning
* Experience of developing and using relevant outcome measures
* Excellent awareness of current research into relevant areas
* Ability to provide clinical leadership to a team of therapists
* Knowledge of national policies and procedures (relevant to the specialist client group)
* Knowledge of the principles of clinical governance and its application within therapy
* Understanding of the roles of other professionals (relevant to the client group)
* Excellent oral and written communication and interpersonal skills
* Evidence of engagement in self-reflection and continuous personal development
* Experience leading clinical audits
* Experience managing poor performance of others
* Videofluoroscopy / FEES competency
Effort and Environment
* Ability to work with service users with complex social, mental and physical health issues in a variety of community locations including service user’s own homes
* To be able to cope with potentially stressful, upsetting, or emotional situations in an empathetic manner
* To convey unwelcome or unpleasant news to clients in an empathetic and sensitive manner
* To work in an environment where the work patterns may be disrupted by frequent demands from patients, clinical staff, students, and administrative support staff
* To work within infection control and health and safety guidelines
* Experience of lone working
We are committed to creating an inclusive workplace that welcomes and supports individuals of all abilities. If you meet the minimum criteria for this role and you have a disability, you can be guaranteed an interview under the Disability Confident Scheme - Please ensure you select this on your application form.
If you require any adjustments to participate fully in the interview process, please let us know by adding the relevant details when scheduling your preferred interview date and time.
We encourage applicants to contact the hiring manager before their interview, if they have any questions about the role or the process. This is a great way to get clarity and prepare effectively for the interview.
Please note that the use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) is prohibited during the interview process. We also discourage overuse of AI during the application process.
Employer certification / accreditation badges
You must have appropriate UK professional registration.
This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (Exceptions) Order 1975 (Amendment) (England and Wales) Order 2020 and it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service.
Name: Dani Welsh
Job title: Clinical Lead Speech and Language Therapist
Email address: danielle.welsh@nhs.net
Telephone number: 020 8836 8631
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