Specialist Speech and Language Therapist | Mersey Care NHS Foundation Trust

An exciting opportunity has arisen to recruit2Band6 SpecialistSpeech and Language Therapist to our established Speech and Language Therapy Team which provides a service across Greater Manchester to service users with a learning disability and/or autism who present with forensic risk or risk of hospital admissionor placement breakdown.(1.0wtepermanent and 1.0wtefixed term 12 months)

Bothpostswill be as part of the Greater Manchester Specialist Support Team(SST)based in Eccles.This serviceprovidesadditionalsupport to those who are at risk of contact with theCriminalJusticeSystem orHospitaladmission. The SSTis a multidisciplinary team consisting of Speech and LangueTherapy, OccupationalTherapy, Psychology,Nursing and Support Workers.You will be expected to work in all areas of Greater Manchester and liaise with the local Learning Disability, Mental Health and Autism servicesand Criminal Justice agenciesto develop proactive and preventative risk mitigation support.

Working hours are primarily Monday-Friday 9-5pm. Flexible working will be considered for all roles.

You will have theopportunityto work within a team of skilledofexperiencedSpeech and LanguageTherapists who have developeda core andspecialisedrole within the wider team.You will have the opportunity todevelop your own skillsby workingalongside existing therapists who havedeveloped highlyspecialist skills in assessmentand treatmentof socialcompetency and social communication.

You will use neurodiversity affirming practises and work within a strengths-based model

You will contribute to multiagency formulation and care planning for individuals, e.g., risk assessments and capacity formulation to manage and reduce risk and improve quality of life for individuals referred into the service.

The service is supportiveof trainingopportunitiesto ensure that we continue to be aware of new developments which can beadaptedand developed to support our service usersthere mayalsobe opportunities for the successful applicant to become involved in research.

You willreceivedregular clinical supervision from the Lead Speech and Language Therapist in the Specialist Support team and will also have access to wider peer supervision opportunities with other speech therapy teams withinMerseycareas well as strong links with the Clinical Excellence Networks.

Mersey Care is one of the largest trusts providing physical health and mental health services in the North West, serving more than 1.4 million people across our region and are also commissioned for services that cover the North West, North Wales and the Midlands.

We offer specialist inpatient and community services that support physical and mental health and specialist inpatient mental health, learning disability, addiction and brain injury services. Mersey Care is one of only three trusts in the UK that offer high secure mental health facilities.

We’re currently delivering a programme of organisational and service transformation to significantly improve the quality of the services we provide and safely reduce cost as we do so.

Flexible working requests will be considered for all roles.

1. To carry a Speech and Language Therapy clinical caseload of adults with a learning disability and/or autistic adults who have come into contact with or are at risk of contact with the criminal justice system.
2. To provide person-centred specialist assessment and intervention for this client group, including assessment and formulation of the interface between an individual’s communication profile and presenting risk.
3. To use neurodiversity affirming practises and work within a strengths-based model when carrying out assessment and intervention. For example, understanding autism as part of someone’s identity and supporting the development of self-advocacy, emotional literacy and perspective taking skills.
4. To use evidence-based practice to evaluate outcomes for individuals with complex communication needs.
5. To contribute to multiagency formulation and care planning for individuals, e.g. contributing to PBS plans, risk assessments and capacity formulation to manage and reduce risk and improve quality of life for individuals referred into the service.
6. To formulate reports to explain the person’s communication needs, therapeutic intervention and support strategies for a range of audiences including families, carers and other professionals and service users.
7. To provide advice, training and consultation to others to support thier understanding of communication need and how to support these, including how to optimise the communication environment.
8. To maintain clinical care records in accordance with professional and Trust standards.
9. To employ excellent communication skills with clients where there are significant barriers to communication and/or engagement. This may include individuals with associated disabilities e.g. physical disability, deafness, mental illness.
10. To work flexibility and creatively to collate information from a range of sources to inform assessment and decision making, particularly in situations where there are barriers to completing direct assessment.
11. To use, teach and advise upon use of Alternative and Augmentative Communication and Total Communication strategies as appropriate for the client group.
12. To use, teach and advise upon the development of accessible care planning and other bespoke accessible information as appropriate for the client group.
13. To work closely with Speech and Language Therapy colleagues from other clinical settings/teams including contributing to peer support networks.

1. Demonstrate engaging leadership skills to be able to initiate, monitor and implement change, leading by example and motivating others.
2. In line with local guidelines, review and reflect on own practice and performance through effective use of professional and operational supervision and appraisal.
3. To provide effective guidance, supervision and appraisals for junior staff as required both internally and externally.
4. To be a positive ambassador for the Speech and Language Therapy profession.
5. To attend, facilitate and chair multidisciplinary meetings when required, producing reports and giving feedback on individual cases.
6. To use verbal and non-verbal communication skills established through training and experience to impart sensitive information and manage difficult conversations.
7. To participate in the operational planning, and implementation of policy and service development within your team, leading on delegated projects.
8. To be a registered member of R.C.S.L.T. and H.P.C. adhering to the clinical guidelines and standards of practice. To evaluate and contribute to professional reviews of clinical standards and guidelines.
9. To contribute to the delivery of ‘Valuing People’ and ‘Valuing People Now’ objectives for clients with a learning disability.

1. To provide comprehensive risk assessment of offending and / or other complex behaviours and provide risk management strategies and recommendations within a multi -agency context.
2. Contribute to the development of a formulation of offending behaviour and/or risk within comprehensive risk assessment frameworks e.g. FARAS.
3. To uphold and advocate for least restrictive practice principles and uphold clinical responsibility within appropriate legal frameworks.
4. To participate in and/or lead service user reviews ensuring that service user’s needs are met and that the team has all the relevant information on which to base their clinical decisions.
5. To liaise with family members, carers and significant others as necessary when completing the assessment and developing care plans. To be a point of contact for service users and carers that have concerns regarding their care, making every effort to resolve their concerns sensitively and promptly, referring to and informing to senior management as required.
6. To collaboratively develop crisis contingency plans; ensuring service user’s communication needs are described within these.
7. To use skills gained through training and experience to de-escalate situations where service users may become physically or verbally aggressive.
8. To utilise core interpersonal skills to quickly and effectively build positive relationships with external agencies whilst managing expectations, recognising need for both compassion and negotiation.

Qualifications:

• Professional Speech and Language Therapy Degree. (BA/BSc or BMedSci)
• Up to date HCPC Professional Registration (to be maintained)
• Evidence of attendance at relevant short courses in specialist field.

• Post graduate training and experience in autism, learning disabilities and/or mental health.

Knowledge and skills

• Significant experience working with adults with a learning disability, autistic adults and/or adults with mental health needs.
• Experience of working within a multi-disciplinary team and multi-agency working.
• Knowledge and experience of SLT assessment and intervention relevant to the client group.
• Ability and willingness to travel across the Cheshire and Merseyside region.

• Experience and/or awareness of working with forensic settings.
• Knowledge of the criminal justice system

Please see attached generic job description and person specification for additional information.

This advert closes on Sunday 20 Oct 2024