Speech & Language Therapist - North Mersey Stroke Service

Job overview

An exciting opportunity has arisen for an enthusiastic, Band 5 Speech and Language Therapist to join the North Mersey Stroke Speech and Language Therapy Team at Liverpool University Hospital.

The successful candidate will have the opportunity to work in our hyper acute, acute and stroke rehabilitation unit as well as opportunities to experience working within our Early Supported Discharge Team.

North Mersey Stroke Services host a centralised HASU as well as our new dedicated Stroke Emergency Assessment Centre. . It is a really exciting time to work within our service with excellent opportunities for service and professional development.

You will gain experience in working with acquired communication and swallowing difficulties embedded within our stroke specialist MDT.

You will receive regular peer supervision/clinical supervision and opportunities for training.

Band 5 SLTs support with training of band 3 and 4 assistant practitioners as well as the wider multidisciplinary team/ support staff. You will be encouraged to support service development through participation in projects.

Main duties of the job

have acquired communication and swallowing disorders across our stroke pathway

provide an optimum quality service for patients and their families.

The post will be predominantly based at out Aintree site but you may be expected to work across all of our stroke pathway.

Working for our organisation

Liverpool University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust comprises Aintree University Hospital, Broadgreen Hospital & Royal Liverpool University Hospital.

We are part of NHS University Hospitals of Liverpool Group, formed on 1 Nov 2024 from the coming together of LUHFT and Liverpool Women’s NHS Foundation Trust. The Group was born from a shared aim to improve the care we provide our patients.

UHLG is one of the largest employers in the region, with over 16,800 colleagues dedicated to caring for our communities - from birth and beyond.

For the 630,000 people across Merseyside, we are their local NHS. We provide general and emergency hospital care, alongside highly specialised regional services for more than two million people in the North West.

Liverpool Women’s Hospital specialises in the health of women and babies, delivering over 7,200 babies in the UK’s largest single site maternity hospital each year. The Royal Liverpool University Hospital is the largest hospital in the country to provide inpatients with 100% single bedrooms and focuses on complex planned care and specialist services.

For roles at Liverpool Women’s, visit their careers page.

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

See full Job Description and Personal Specification attached.

Clinical

Undertake assessment of communication impaired patients

Formulate and implement treatment plans based on assessment findings with supervision and support available from senior

Review the treatment programme ensuring it is meeting the needs of the patient

Work closely with other members of the multidisciplinary team -attending meetings/case conferences

Ensure effective communication with patients, carers and other Health Care Professionals regarding all aspects of the patients care via direct liaison or written information tailored to individual needs and taking account of patients’ impaired comprehension and/or expression.

Help other Health Care Professionals communicate with patients who have impaired language skills.

Work closely with Community staff to facilitate a seamless rehabilitation service across the city.

To participate in planning and carrying out group therapy for patients with communication difficulties.

Education & Training

Be responsible for maintaining own competency to practice through CPD activities and maintain a portfolio that reflects personal development.

Attend relevant postgraduate training courses. Disseminate course information.

Person specification

Qualifications

• BSc
• Registration with HPC
• Member of RCSLT

• Post graduate qualification

Experience

• Of adult acquired disorders during training

• Experience of group work
• Team working

Knowledge

• Sound theoretical knowledge of communication disorders

Skills

• Basic IT skills
• Well developed communication skills
• Clinical decision making skills
• Excellent interpersonal skills, including observation, listening and empathy skills

• Basic dysphagia skills
• Organisational skills from previous work experience

Other

• Demonstrates motivation and enthusiasm
• Committed to personal development
• Awareness of own limitations and training needs
• Flexible for working in different environments

• Demonstrates empathy with patients, carers and relatives.
• Can modify own behaviour / communicative style to suit the person and situation.

Please ensure you check the email account (including junk/spam boxes) from which you apply regularly as we will use this to contact you regarding your application.

Posts advertised to ‘internal staff’ are open to employees of hospitals within University Hospitals of Liverpool Group and you should confirm your employment within your application form.

Only those applicants who demonstrate clearly how they meet our person specification will be shortlisted for interview.

We reserve the right to close any vacancies from further applications when we have received a minimum number of applications from which to make a shortlist. Please ensure you apply without delay if you wish to be considered for this role.

Candidates applying for the role of Healthcare Assistant on the staff bank should note that due to the nature of the role, workers must be aged 18 or above when commencing in post. Applicants are therefore welcome from those aged over 18 or within 3 months’ of their 18^th birthday.

Not all roles are suitable for every flexible working opportunity all of the time. Flexible working options may include reduced hours, compressed hours, fixed shifts, time back in lieu and home working.

The Trust is committed to promoting equality and diversity; we value the contribution of individual talent, skills, knowledge and experience and aim for a workforce demography representative of the local community. We encourage applicants from the following groups that are currently under-represented in our workforce black, Asian and minority ethnic, lesbian, gay, bisexual and Transgender (LGBTQ+), disabled, male and age 16-24.

Bank posts require upfront payment. DBS applications submitted from 2nd December will be subject to the new DBS fee of £26.50 (standard) and £54.50 (Enhanced).

From April 2017, Skilled visa applicants and their adult dependant(s) will be required to provide a criminal record certificate from each country they have lived in consecutively for 12 months or more in the past ten years.

Applicants requiring sponsorship may wish to determine the likelihood of obtaining sponsorship for this position by assessing themselves against the criteria on the gov.uk website - https://www.gov.uk/check-uk-visa.

This organisation has a zero-tolerance approach to the abuse of children, young people and vulnerable adults. All staff must ensure they adhere to the organisations safeguarding children and adults’ policy and comply with the Local Safeguarding Children and Adult Board procedures.

Staff should be mindful of their responsibility to safeguard children and adults in any activity performed on behalf of the organisation in line with the requirements of statutory guidance and legislation.

All employees (and volunteers)are expected maintain their safeguarding knowledge and skills by completing mandatory safeguarding training which includes understanding and recognising the signs of abuse and neglect and taking appropriate action.

As an organisation, we have adopted the Merseyside Domestic abuse workplace scheme which supports our staff who are experiencing Domestic Abuse /any forms of sexual violence.

If you have any personal requirements that will enable you to participate in our recruitment process please contact a member of the Recruitment Services by phone on 0151 706 4666 at the earliest opportunity to ensure that measures can be put in place to enable your application for this post.

Please note: new entrants to the NHS will commence on the first pay point of the relevant band.