Speech and Language Therapist

We love what we do and we think you will, too!

At Gloucestershire Health and Care NHS Foundation Trust (GHC), we provide joined-up mental health, physical health and learning disability services to people of all ages across Gloucestershire. We run community hospitals and provide care and support in people’s own homes and in a range of other locations across the county.

We are on a mission to enable people to live the best life they can and we have a vision to work together to provide outstanding care. We put people at the heart of our services, focusing on personalised care by asking ‘what matters to you’.

We’re passionate about making sure that everyone can contribute to achieving our mission and we are continually working to support healthy and happy high-quality teams in all areas of the Trust.

Our application process aims to understand each candidates knowledge, skills and experience. We have found that candidates that use AI to generate their answers can lack specificity and fail to address key criteria outlined in the job description.

It is really important to personalise your application to convey your individual skills, knowledge, and experiences effectively and for us to understand why you are applying for this role with GHC. We discourage over reliance on AI-generated applications as it will lessen your chances of success in securing an interview with us .

Job overview

Are you an established band 6 therapist or a band 5 therapist looking for their next step looking for a development role and opportunity to develop your skills working with a small caseload of children and adults with a learning disability?

A rare and exciting opportunity has arisen for a highly motivated and enthusiastic Speech and Language Therapist to join our Learning Disability Intensive Support Service (LDISS). We are a nationally recognised service, providing people with a Learning Disability that cannot be supported in mainstream services, the required support in the community with the aim at keeping people at home and avoiding unnecessary hospital admissions.

Main duties of the job

The post holder will be an invaluable member of the Learning Disability Intensive Support Service (LDISS) working with service users throughout Gloucestershire and working into our small inpatient service in Stroud. The purpose of this role is to:

• Provide a specialist speech and language therapy service to adults and children with learning disabilities referred to LDISS.
• To provide specialist speech & language therapy in our small learning disability inpatient service based at Berkeley House in Stroud, supporting both those residing in Berkeley House and offering outreach support into the community.
• Provide specialist communication assessment and implementation of evidence-based interventions to individuals who are referred to LDISS or Berkeley House.
• The ability to provide eating and drinking assessments and interventions to individual service users would be desirable but not essential.
• Optimise the service users’ ability to remain in the community and / or be cared for in the least restrictive environment.
• Facilitate appropriate discharge from hospital and respond to agencies requiring assessment of service users who are being considered for hospital admission.
• Be a mentor for SaLT students under the remit of the profession.
• Identify, assess eligibility for, provide and support in the implementation of alternative/augmentative communication aids, including visual resources and high/low tech devices.

Working for our organisation

We have in excess of 5000 staff working over 50 sites, providing a diverse range of services. We strive to support an organisational culture that is welcoming, builds and celebrates inclusivity and diversity and provides a sense of belonging and trust.

The annual NHS Staff Survey gives our people the opportunity to tell us about their experience working at the Trust. For the 2023 survey just over 2800 colleagues gave us their views (58.5%). It was great to see from the results that colleagues are saying that:

• 89.7% believe they are making a positive difference to patients/service users;
• 73.3% would recommend the organisation as a place to work;
• 82.4% agree that care of patients and service users is the organisations priority;
• 76.7% would be happy with the standard of care for a friend or relative

Our results put us as 5th nationally as a Community, Mental Health and Learning Disabilities NHS Employer of Choice and 1st equal amongst all NHS Provider Trusts in the South West. However, we know we have more to do and will continue to drive forward our commitment to making GHC a Great Place to Work.

• To assess, develop, and implement Specialist Speech and Language Therapy treatment and intervention; ensuring that service users are involved in the planning and prioritisation of their care plans wherever possible.
• To demonstrate a high level of clinical effectiveness, using evidence-based practice, adapting practice to meet individual service users’ circumstances; including due regard for cultural and linguistic differences, and by evaluating outcomes.
• To provide specialist advice to others regarding the management and care of service users with communication difficulties.
• To plan and prioritise workload, exercising autonomous professional responsibility for the assessment, treatment, and discharge of service users with communication difficulties.
• Contribute to observations and advise/offer a clinical impression/professional opinion on how communication difficulties may inform/explain/feed into behaviour that challenges.
• Assessing improvement in quality of life following SaLT input through the use of appropriate and informative outcome measures.
• Provide training for all staff / care providers and other outside agencies – including specific learning disability/Autism training.
• Develop and maintain clinical pathways for patients throughout a referral to LDISS in conjunction with CLDT colleagues and wider Trust resources.
• Implement and monitor a Positive Behaviour Support ethos across LDISS and role model best practice and disseminate knowledge to wider team/care providers.
• Design and complete audits and monitor compliance alongside agreed governance structures.
• With additional training, provide supervision of junior staff.
• Act as supervisory mentor for students (within framework of profession).
• Provide and receive complex and sensitive information from service users, carers or other professionals and agencies, on a daily basis.
• Collate, analyse, and present service user data to the weekly Multidisciplinary team meetings.
• In partnership with team manager organise and chair Multidisciplinary team meetings and Service user orientated meetings.
• Attend Trust internal meetings and have full participation in organising and presenting at Continuing Professional Development days.
• Maintain accurate written records and statistics to ensure that service user details and details of care given are recorded in notes and on the trust database(s) in line with trust policy.
• Liaise with and offer specialist assessment and advice to other agencies and professions. To participate in Multi-Agency meetings to offer advice and opinions to facilitate the ongoing treatment and care of service users.
• Develop, implement and evaluate care plans in conjunction with service users, carers and other professionals which reflect individual needs.
• The post holder will assume a responsibility of a shared case load.
• There is a requirement to use your own vehicle to travel throughout Gloucestershire to carry out appointments.
• Implement risk assessments and management plans on a daily basis.
• To be accountable for own professional action and recognise own professional boundaries through interpretation of clinical/professional policies.
• To work within defined departmental and national protocols/policies and professional code of conduct

The qualification, training & experience requirements for the role are underlined in the Job Description/Person Specification.

Person specification

Qualifications

• Appropriate qualification in Speech and Language Therapy

• Evidence of post graduate training in Children and Adults with learning disability

Experience

• Demonstrable experience in working with people with Learning disabilities

• Experience of working within a multi disciplinary team

When joining us, as well as becoming part of a team that makes a difference, we also offer:

• Free car parking at many of our sites
• 27 days leave plus bank holidays, increasing up to 33 days with long service
• A broad range of training and development opportunities, including apprenticeships up to Level 7 qualification.
• A multi-professional preceptorship programme for all Newly Qualified; Nurses, Nursing Associates, Internationally Educated Practitioners, Allied Health Professionals and Return to Practice Practitioners.
• Generous NHS pension and enhanced pay when if you work unsocial hours
• Flexible, family friendly and agile working opportunities
• Recognition and long service awards
• Fast Track physiotherapy
• Our Wellbeing line
• Access to discounts and salary sacrifice schemes; including Cycle to Work, Car scheme and discounts on travel, leisure and retailers.

Applicants are advised to apply early as if a large number of applications are received for this post, we reserve the right to close the vacancy prior to the advertised date. Good luck with your application.

For more information please see the attached 'Additional Information for Applicants' document.