Adult SLT band 5 post

Job Overview

2.0 WTE Adult SLT Band 5 Rotational Posts

This post would be suitable for both current Band 5’s and NQPs

The Ealing Community Partners, Adult Speech and Language Therapy Team, have reviewed our skill set and now require enthusiastic Band 5 Therapists, to be part of our friendly and supportive team.

We are a friendly and experienced, specialist community team of Band 8a, B7’s, B6, B5 roles and SLT Assistant’s, with a strong commitment to CPD. We offer excellent clinical and professional support and supervision, and access to relevant courses, internally and externally, to support you in developing your knowledge and skills.

The rotational posts will be located within the Community SLT service and the Inpatient SLT service at Clayponds Hospital. Clayponds Hospital is a 70 bedded rehabilitation hospital. There are 3 pathways of care that include: admission avoidance; elderly rehabilitation & Neuro/Stroke level 3 rehabilitation unit. To find out more about this provision, please visit: Rosemary ward.

Main duties of the job

You will have access to line management and clinical supervision via the Team leads to develop your NQP and dysphagia competencies; and will work closely with SLT Assistants and the wider SLT team, including the Band 8a Clinical Services Manager and the Band 7 Team Leads.

The successful candidates will ideally have, some knowledge, skill and experience of working with both dysphagia and communication patients as a result of Neurological disorders including stroke, progressive degenerative disorders, care of the elderly and dementia.

The successful candidates will be an active member of the multi-professional team and work to ensure its continued development. Emotional resilience; good communication, liaison and time-management skills are required to manage the caseload effectively, in addition to being forward thinking and enthusiastic.

Working for our organisation

We can offer you

• An excellent support and supervision structure, including a Trust, SLT Lead
• Excellent professional development and ongoing training opportunities both internal and external
• An interesting, manageable, caseload and waiting list
• Access to Talking Mats training
• Access to a department budget for resources and equipment including a specific, Communications Aids Budget
• An opportunity to participate in innovative new work models
• Fast, effective, IT and technology
• Excellent MDT working opportunities
• Good links to the Acute environment and access to timely VF
• Work from a purpose built location with free staff parking
• The opportunity to negotiate your work hours
• Due to careful planning we aim to keep travelling times, when required, to a minimum.

The Ealing Adult SLT Team form part of the Central and North West London NHS Foundation Trust portfolio of services and we work closely with our colleagues within West London NHS Trust.

• Speech and language therapy for adults :: West London NHS Trust

The successful applicant may have contact with patients or service users. As an NHS Trust we strongly encourage and support vaccination as this remains the best way to protect yourself, your family, your colleagues and of course patients and service users when working on our healthcare settings.

Detailed Job Description And Main Responsibilities

MAIN DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES:

CLINICAL

To use specialist clinical skills to manage a caseload of adults with communication and/or swallowing difficulties for patients as inpatients; out-patients, via telehealth if appropriate or in their own homes.

To provide specialist assessment of communication and swallowing problems, formulate a hypothesis using a high level of clinical reasoning, and develop and implement appropriate interventions/rehabilitation to be delivered in a variety of settings.

To provide appropriate specialist intervention and evaluate outcomes.

To write comprehensive reports that are accessible to a range of professionals reflecting specialist knowledge.

To develop clear care plans, advice and information, based on best practice and to use specialist knowledge to inform clinical judgments for care management.

To ensure that patients and/or carers are involved in the planning and prioritisation of their care plans and wherever possible facilitate patients with communication and/or cognitive difficulties to participate in the process to ensure meaningful outcomes.

To provide advice and training to other professionals, carers and relatives regarding the safe management and care of patients with communication and/or swallowing difficulties to maximise the patient’s skills and reduce clinical risk.

To work collaboratively and liaise with a wide range of other professionals across a variety of locations and agencies.

To adapt practice to meet individual patients’ circumstances, including due regard for cultural and linguistic backgrounds.

To reflect on auditory, visual and kinaesthetic aspects of patient’s communication and to identify appropriate strategies to facilitate and enhance communicative effectiveness.

To demonstrate clinical effectiveness by use of evidence-based practice and outcome measures, and maintain knowledge of current literature and developments within the specialist clinical field of adult neurology (including stroke, progressive neurological conditions, and dementia).

To demonstrate some knowledge and use of high and low technology communication aids with a range of patients.

To manage risk when dealing with people who live at home and who have swallowing difficulties, to promote choice by providing information about the risks and to contribute to moral and ethical decision making about oral and/or alternative feeding choices.

Person specification

Education/ Qualifications

Essential criteria

• Recognised Speech and Language Therapy Degree Qualification or equivalent
• Health Professions Council – Licence to Practice

Desirable criteria

• Registered Member of Royal College of Speech and Language Therapist

Knowledge Skills/ Abilities

Essential criteria

• Good presentation skills, both written and verbal
• Knowledge of a broad range of assessment tools relevant to adult acquired communication and swallowing disorders
• Knowledge of a range of appropriate therapeutic interventions relevant to communication and dysphagia in specialist patient group and an ability to compare and contrast relative benefits
• Knowledge of the principles of clinical governance /audit / record keeping
• Good organisational skills

Desirable criteria

• Caseload management skills, including the ability to prioritise caseload and work independently
• Demonstrates ability to be a good team member and assume leadership responsibilities
• Knowledge of high and low technology communication aids and their use with adult neurological patients
• In-depth knowledge of national policies and procedures relevant to specialist patient group
• Knowledge of up-to-date advances in clinical management relevant to specialist patient group and application to own clinical practice

Experience

Essential criteria

• Involvement in multi-disciplinary working

Desirable criteria

• Experience at an undergraduate or post-graduate level working with adults with acquired and progressive neurological disorders.
• Experience should include working with adults with acquired disorders of communication in community settings
• Experience working with interpreters

Other

Essential criteria

• Computer literacy/IT skills and a willingness to update these

Desirable criteria

• Car driver