Band 7 Highly Specialist Speech and Language Therapist Neuro Rehab - NHS

Job overview

We have an exciting opportunity for a highly specialist Speech and Language Therapist to join the Stroke and Neuro Therapy team. This split post involves working both with our Neurorehabilitation Team at The Bradley Unit in Woking, and with the Stroke and Neuro Team at St Peters Hospital.

The Bradley Unit is a level 2b regional neuro rehabilitation unit. You will work closely within the therapy and MDT supporting patients in working towards their goals and providing high quality care and rehab from admission to discharge. This portion of the role would represent 0.6 WTE of the advertised post.

At the St Peter's Hospital site you will join the SLT Stroke and Neuro team where you will work alongside current Band 7s. This portion of the role represents 0.4 WTE of the post.

The successful candidate will have experience working with complex dysphagia and communication disorders within stroke rehabilitation and neurology as well as competencies to use FEES and VFS. The role will include working with patients who have tracheostomy.

We are looking for someone who will contribute, facilitate, design and lead service developments, innovations and audit within the neurorehabilitation service. You should have expertise in management of complex cases, clinical reasoning and communication skills, and be assertive and confident whilst working in a busy multi-disciplinary environment.

For further information please contact Tim Forward, Clinical Lead at Bradley Unit at [email protected]

Main duties of the job

Be jointly responsible for the day to day running of the SLT service on the Bradley Unit and Acute Stroke and in-pt Rehab unit.

To provide clinical expertise and support to the team within Acute Stroke and Neuro Rehab ensuring high level of clinical skills in the team.

To be a clinical expert resource to other teams as required.

Be responsible for the management of a complex clinical caseload.

Be involved in developing the service in line with national & local strategic plan.

To jointly line manage Band 6 SLT’s within the team as well as Band 3 Therapy assistants.

To support the wider therapy MDT in the absence of their direct line managers

Provide onward referral & liaison to ESD, rehabilitation services & community services.

Demonstrate expertise in clinical reasoning, management of complex cases and communication skills and be assertive and confident to challenge whilst working in a busy multi-disciplinary environment.

• The Trust is moving towards 7 day working and this post will potentially be expected to participate in providing services across 7 days, including extended hours and weekend working

Working for our organisation

Ashford and St. Peters Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust serves a population of more than 410,000 people living in North-West Surrey, parts of Hounslow and beyond.

Over 3,700 highly trained doctors, nurses, midwives, therapists, healthcare scientists and other support staff make up our workforce, providing a wide range of services across our two hospital sites, Ashford, Surrey and St Peter's, Chertsey, Surrey.

We also run many specialist clinics in the community and local community hospitals and other healthcare facilities.

Our vision is to be one of the best healthcare Trusts in the country. There has never been a better time to join us in the NHS at ASPH. We are committed to providing continuous professional development and flexibility to shape our workforce around our patient care.

We are expanding our theatres at Ashford Hospital and moving towards this becoming our dedicated elective centre. We want to create a state-of-the-art centre for excellence for planned surgical procedures.

We can offer you the full range of NHS benefits/discounts and in addition:

• Excellent pension scheme and annual leave entitlement
• On-site Nurseries
• On-site staff cafes
• On-site parking
• Support in career development
• Salary Sacrifice schemes including wage stream, lease cars, Cycle to Work schemes and home electronics

Adverts may close early, so applicants are encouraged to submit an application as soon as possible.

For more information about a career at ASPH please visit: www.asph-careers.org

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

Overview of Responsibilities :

1. To supervise the work of other speech and language therapists, students, speech and language therapy assistants and volunteers
2. To provide leadership within the appropriate specialist area

1. To maintain Health Profession Council Standards of Proficiency, to practise within the legal and ethical boundaries of the profession and to be aware of current legislation applicable to the work of speech and language therapists
2. To work within defined departmental and national protocols / policies and professional code of conduct
3. To use knowledge of speech and language therapy to assess and manage people with communication and swallowing disorders
4. To select or modify approaches to meet the needs of the individual

1. To monitor stock levels in own service area and request new equipment
2. To be responsible for the security of client and confidential records, and the security, care and maintenance of equipment ensuring standards of infection control and safety are maintained. This includes equipment loaned to clients and equipment taken off site

KEY RESULT AREAS /PRIONCIPAL RESPONSIBILITIES

1. To participate in and undertake to learn from the supervision and development opportunities provided by the Trust and the speech and language therapy department
2. To work with a high level of autonomy in making decisions in relation to own practice and on a wider basis in relation to service delivery in meeting patients’ / clients’ needs
3. To respect, and so far as is possible, uphold the rights dignity and autonomy of clients, including their role in the diagnostic and therapeutic process
4. To exercise a professional duty of care
5. To know the limits of practice and when to seek advice
6. To manage an agreed caseload of clients with a high level of clinical complexity, often within a specialist context or knowledge area
7. To plan, prioritize and co-ordinate a workload of potentially conflicting roles and activities with a service wide perspective in order to attain a range of professional goals
8. To maintain fitness to practice
9. To undertake self directed learning and CPD
10. To reflect on own practice and to lead in facilitating others in clinical supervision

1. To provide a leading role across the Trusts and partner agencies and organisations through raising public awareness of the needs of people with communication and / or swallowing difficulties following admission to hospital, and in promoting access to the help and services they require
2. To provide a leading role in health promotion and health prevention, including early identification of difficulties or at risk factors in given populations, so as to enable or facilitate appropriate access to speech and language therapy and other services

• Identification and assessment of health education and social care needs
• To use appropriate specialist and highly specialist assessment techniques for clients with a high level of clinical complexity for swallowing and communication difficulties
• To undertake, or to arrange, clinical investigations as appropriate for a specialist and highly complex caseload, to include the appropriate use of videofluoroscopy
• To analyse, evaluate and interpret the information collected.
• To make a differential diagnosis on the basis of evidence from the assessments

1. To use specialist research, reasoning and problem solving skills
2. To draw on appropriate specialist and highly specialist knowledge and skills in order to make professional judgements and clinical decisions for clients with specialist needs and high levels of clinical complexity
3. To develop specialist and highly specialist programmes of care for clients with specialist needs and high levels of clinical complexity based on best practice for intervention to be implemented by the therapist or others (individual, group, direct and indirect interventions)
4. To provide highly specialist clinical and professional advice to those receiving care and to others regarding the management and care of patients / clients with high levels of specialist needs and clinical complexity in their communication and / or swallowing difficulties
5. To conduct the appropriate specialist and highly specialist diagnostic or monitoring procedures, treatment, therapy or other actions safely and skilfully.
6. To maintain records and share information as appropriate for clients with specialist needs and a high level of clinical complexity often within a specialist context or knowledge area

1. To use specialist and highly specialist knowledge to monitor and review the ongoing effectiveness of planned activity and to modify it accordingly
2. To audit, reflect on and review own specialist and highly specialist practice

1. To know and keep up to date with national, local and client contextual knowledge and understanding as well as the relevant core and care group specific, specialist underpinning knowledge and skills related to the assessment, management and professional craft knowledge of specialist speech and language therapy practice
2. To identify personal / professional development needs evidenced by Personal Development Plan / Professional Portfolio developed within the SLT department appraisal framework
3. To demonstrate knowledge of, and adhere to RCSLT Professional and Clinical and National and Local Clinical Guidelines

1. To demonstrate highly developed and accurate auditory and perceptual skills in the assessment, diagnosis and treatment of patients / clients
2. To demonstrate skills in handling clients with disabilities
3. To demonstrate skills in the use of equipment and technology in highly specialist clinical care

LEARNING AND EDUCATION

1. To identify training and development needs required for highly specialist practice through critical self-reflection
2. To engage in continuous self-directed learning that promotes professional development and quality of practice
3. To attend specialist short courses and advanced training in clinical specialist area
4. To implement learning outcomes through appropriate and / or agreed changes within practice

1. To assume delegated responsibility for co-ordinating clinical placement opportunities within the specialty / team for speech and language therapy students to observe, discuss and have hands on experience of working with clients
2. To provide full student placements, including assessments of the placements as appropriate

1. To lead case discussions, peer review and action learning sets, drawing on highly specialist knowledge and experience
2. To lead, facilitate and support the development and practice of colleagues individually and in groups whilst respecting their existing levels of expertise, e.g. through mentoring, clinical supervision, providing second opinions, co-working, and evaluate the effectiveness of the chosen methods in meeting learning needs
3. To provide regular specialist training on a range of topics
4. To facilitate others in developing problem solving and negotiation skills

1. To provide a regular, leading role in identifying the specialist training needs of individuals or groups, in developing the appropriate content and style of information giving / skill development, in providing the training through the most appropriate means and in evaluating the impact

• To contribute to and, as a highly specialist speech and language therapist, to lead the continuous improvement of the speech and language therapy service by
• Critical reflection on service level practice and planning
• Initiating and undertaking research / clinical governance / audit projects within area of expertise
• To propose and implement agreed quality improvements within practice
• To develop and implement innovations to reduce risk, and improve quality and clinical effectiveness
• To participate in departmental research and clinical governance / audit projects
• To representing the team within multidisciplinary systems of clinical governance
• To collect and provide research data as required

• To be aware of, adhere to and implement service and team plans and policies across agencies and organisations
• To assume delegated tasks as requested by line manager including participation in working groups, policy development groups
• To contribute to interagency / multi disciplinary team building and policy development

• To communicate specialist, complex condition related information from assessment, as well as information, advice, instruction and professional opinion effectively and appropriately to a wide range of colleagues, specialist and non specialist, and to patients / clients, parents and carers
• To communicate complex, high risk care issues and concerns in speech and language therapy and wider contexts, including child protection, vulnerable adults and health prevention
• To attend meetings with a specialist, service wide client focus
• To deal with initial complaints sensitively

Person specification

Qualifications and Further Training

• • BSc Hons or recognised degree equivalent qualification in Speech & Language Therapy
• • Health Professions Council – Licence to Practice

• • RCSLT Tracheostomy Competencies
• • Membership of relevant Clinical Excellence Networks.
• • RCSLT VFES Competencies
• • RCSLT FEES Competencies

Experience

• • Significant experience working within an acute adult SLT setting and within Stroke & Neuro
• • Relevant highly specialist experience post registration
• • In depth experience within specialist area

skills

• • Use of specialist knowledge to inform sound clinical judgements / decision making for highly specialist case management
• • Ability to be a good team member and assume leadership responsibilities
• • In-depth knowledge of a range of recent developments in practice