Clinical Lead Speech & language Therapist

Blackpool Teaching Hospitals; Lytham St Annes; On-site; GBP 49,000 - 57,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Flexible working

Job summary

Blackpool Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust in Blackpool is seeking an experienced Clinical Lead Speech and Language Therapist to lead the Integrated Community Stroke and Neurorehabilitation Service, supporting adults with stroke and neurological conditions in community settings.

You will provide specialist assessment and rehabilitation for complex communication and swallowing difficulties, with professional leadership and support for the SLT workforce across community and acute pathways.

Qualifications

• Recognised SLT degree with HCPC registration.
• Post-graduate training in dysphagia is desirable.
• Evidence of professional leadership and service development.

Responsibilities

• Provide visible clinical leadership for SLT within the community stroke service.
• Lead specialist assessment and rehabilitation for adults with complex communication and swallowing impairments.
• Supervise and support junior staff and rehabilitation assistants.
• Collaborate with multidisciplinary teams across community and acute pathways.
• Promote evidence-based practice and quality improvement.

Skills

Speech and Language Therapy

Clinical leadership

Stroke care

Neurorehabilitation

Education

SLT degree

HCPC registration

Dysphagia training

Leadership course

Job description

Latest jobs at Blackpool Teaching Hospitals

Clinical Lead Speech & language Therapist

NHS AfC: Band 7

Main area Speech & Language Therapy Grade NHS AfC: Band 7 Contract Permanent Hours

• Full time
• Part time
• Flexible working
• Compressed hours

37.5 hours per week Job ref 382-NBC99-26

Site Ansdell Medical Centre Town Lytham St Annes Salary £49,387 - £56,515 per annum Salary period Yearly Closing 23/09/2026 23:59

Blackpool Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust is situated on the west coast of Lancashire, with services covering the local authority areas of Blackpool, Fylde and Wyre. The Trust is part of the Lancashire and South Cumbria Integrated Care System (ICS) supporting a population of around 1.6 million people.

We have three main hospitals providing acute services to around 330,000 local residents. The organisation also provides specialist tertiary care for cardiac and haematology services, delivers community health services to over 445,000 residents including those in North Lancashire and hosts the National Artificial Eye Service across England. Plus, we provide urgent and emergency care services to an estimated 18 million people who visit the seaside resort each year. We employ over 7000 people from 68 different countries.

We welcome and encourage application from anyone with protected characteristics, as well as supporting reservists and Veterans who are looking for a rewarding and challenging career within the NHS.

Blackpool Teaching Hospitals encourages flexible working in all our roles to support staff in maintaining healthy home-life balance. Working patterns such as: part time working, self-rostering, compressed hours, annualised hours, term time, reverse term time and flexitime working can be explored.

Job overview

Are you an experienced and motivated Speech and Language Therapist ready for a Band 7 clinical leadership role? We have an exciting opportunity to join our Integrated Community Stroke and Neurorehabilitation Service in Blackpool, supporting adults with stroke, acquired brain injury and other neurological conditions in community settings.

As Clinical Lead Speech and Language Therapist, you will provide specialist assessment, treatment and rehabilitation for people with complex communication and swallowing difficulties, alongside professional leadership and support for the SLT workforce. Working with colleagues across acute and community pathways, you will help shape rehabilitation, promote evidence-based practice and support people to maximise independence, participation and quality of life. You will be part of a dedicated multidisciplinary team including case managers, clinical psychologists, occupational therapists, physiotherapists, rehabilitation assistants, a dietitian, an Advanced Clinical Practitioner and another Clinical Lead SLT.

This is an excellent opportunity for a clinician with strong stroke and neurorehabilitation experience who is passionate about service improvement, collaborative working and outstanding community care. Applications for full-time and part-time hours will be considered.

Main duties of the job

As Clinical Lead Speech and Language Therapist, you will provide visible clinical leadership for Speech and Language Therapy within our Integrated Community Stroke and Neurorehabilitation Service, supporting the delivery of safe, effective and person-centred care for adults following an acquired brain injury, neurological diagnosis or stroke. You will bring specialist expertise in the assessment and management of complex communication and swallowing difficulties, while working closely with multidisciplinary colleagues across community and acute pathways. The role also includes supervision and support of junior staff and rehabilitation assistants, contributing to service development, quality improvement and evidence-based practice across the team.

Working for our organisation

The Trust's mission is "Together We Care" which encompasses the strategic vision for operating as a high performing organisation within an Integrated Care System (ICS), which provides quality, safe and effective care. This will be achieved in a financially sustainable way through our values-driven, skilled and motivated workforce:

People-centred- Serving people is the focus of everything we do;

Positive- having a "can do" response whatever the situation;

Excellence- continually striving to provide the best care possible.

Our Values are drivers for the behaviours that all our staff strive to demonstrate.

The values and behaviours have been and continue to be embedded and communicated across the organisation via a number of initiatives - including our recruitment processes, corporate induction, team briefings, meetings, appraisals and our annual awards ceremony.

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

• To provide highly specialist assessment, differential diagnosis, treatment and rehabilitation for adults with acquired communication and/or swallowing disorders within a community stroke and neurorehabilitation service, using current evidence-based practice to inform clinical decisions, prognosis and discharge planning.
• To contribute to mental capacity assessments and best-interest decision-making processes, enabling patients to maximise their independence, participation and ability to communicate their wishes wherever possible.
• To participate in multidisciplinary team meetings, best-interest meetings and family meetings, providing specialist advice and guidance on communication and swallowing needs.
• To ensure patients, families and carers are actively involved in goal setting, care planning and rehabilitation programmes wherever possible.
• To adapt assessment and intervention approaches to meet individual patient circumstances, including cognitive, cultural, linguistic and environmental factors.
• To provide specialist advice, support and education to colleagues, relatives and carers to promote effective management of communication and swallowing difficulties, including discharge planning and longer-term management.
• To liaise effectively with Speech and Language Therapy colleagues, multidisciplinary team members, acute services, primary care and external agencies to support coordinated, seamless care across the pathway.
• To work within service, professional and Trust policies relating to referral management, clinical pathways, documentation, consent, safeguarding and discharge processes.
• To manage a highly specialist clinical caseload independently, while delegating appropriately to junior Speech and Language Therapists and rehabilitation assistants, and maintaining accurate, timely and legally compliant clinical records.
• To work flexibly across community settings, including patients’ homes, clinics and other relevant locations across Blackpool and the wider service footprint as required.
• To work collaboratively with partner agencies and multidisciplinary or multi‑agency teams to ensure effective, joined-up service provision and smooth transitions of care.
• To maintain and apply up‑to‑date knowledge of professional standards, national guidance and current evidence relevant to stroke and neurorehabilitation, including Speech and Language Therapy best practice.
• To maintain high standards of infection prevention and control, safety and risk management, and to promote these across the team and wider community settings.
• To provide clinical supervision, leadership and day‑to‑day support to junior staff and rehabilitation assistants, contributing to staff development, service improvement and the ongoing delivery of high‑quality community stroke and neurorehabilitation care.

Person specification

Education & Qualifications

• Recognised Speech & Language Therapy Degree, BSc (Hons) or MSc (Hons) or equivalent.
• Registration with Health & Care Professions Council (HCPC)
• Additional recognised dysphagia training.
• Successful completion of a relevant leadership course

Experience & Knowledge

• Specialist knowledge in stroke and neurological conditions with a minimum of 5 years post graduate clinical experience
• Experience in working within a multidisciplinary team
• Post graduate experience of developing and delivering specialist formal and informal, training/ presentations for a wide range of professionals
• Knowledge of principles regarding clinical supervision and experience in providing this
• Demonstrable use of initiative in relevant service development/quality improvement projects.
• Experience in conducting and interpreting videofluoroscopy.
• Demonstrate a high level of clinical knowledge beyond specialist field.

Skills & Ability

• The ability to work within national and legal frameworks in autonomously managing a specialist SLT caseload.
• Ability to be an effective team member, assume clinical leadership for SLT within the service and delegate as necessary.
• Demonstrate developed approaches to collaborative and cross-boundary working practices
• Highly developed communication skills including negotiation and conflict resolution skills.
• Hold a full driving licence, access to own vehicle and ability to travel across the geographical area covered by the post.

Any invitation to interview will be sent to the email account stated on your application form.

If the role you have applied for requires a Disclosure and Barring Services (DBS) check we will administer this as part of your pre‑employment checks. Please note, you will be required to repay the cost on appointment. This will be collected via a salary deduction. You can choose whether to pay this over 1-3 months from your salary or as a one‑off payment on commencement in post. The level of check required depends on the role that you have been offered. Currently the charges are - Basic DBS check £25.50, Standard DBS check £25.50 and Enhanced DBS check £53.50.

You are encouraged where possible, to register for the DBS update service. This is an annual registration fee of £16. By registering for the update service you will not have the additional cost of repeated disclosures.

Should you withdraw your application, you may be required to reimburse the cost of the DBS check.

DBS checks remain free of charge for volunteer positions.

By submitting an application for this vacancy you are confirming your agreement to the above in the event you are successfully appointed.

The DBS Code of Practice can be accessedhere .

Please ensure that you read the Person Specification attached below as your application will be judged against this.

Please note that every effort will be made to keep the vacancy live until published closing date, though there may be instances where such interest is generated, that for administrative reasons the post may close earlier.

Please note that in line with national NHS guidelines this Trust operates a strict non‑smoking policy. Members of staff are not permitted to smoke on Trust premises or grounds at any time nor take breaks during working hours for the purposes of smoking.

The Trust does not offer interview expenses to shortlisted candidates unless indicated in the advert.

Employer certification / accreditation badges

You must have appropriate UK professional registration.

This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (Exceptions) Order 1975 (Amendment) (England and Wales) Order 2020 and it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service.

Name Naomi Hodgkinson Job title ISC? Service Manager Email address [e-mail] Telephone number 01253 953279 Additional information

Lucy Williamson

Clinical Lead Speech & Language Therapist

[e-mail]