Highly Specialist Speech and Language Therapist

Pennine Care NHS FT; Bury; On-site; GBP 38,000 - 45,000; Full time

Job summary

A healthcare provider in the UK is looking for a Highly Specialist Speech and Language Therapist to deliver specialized services to individuals with learning disabilities. The role involves working in a multidisciplinary team to assess and manage complex cases effectively. Candidates should have relevant qualifications and experience, as well as strong interpersonal and clinical skills. This is an opportunity to contribute significantly to the care and improvement of people's lives in the community.

Qualifications

• Relevant clinical experience at post graduate level.
• Experience in developing specialised packages of care.
• Experience of managing Dysphagia needs.

Responsibilities

• Deliver a highly specialist Speech and Language Therapy service to service users.
• Provide clinical leadership to care planning and service delivery.
• Develop individualised care plans based on assessment.

Skills

Excellent interpersonal skills

Negotiation and problem solving skills

Good analytical skills

Ability to work flexibly

Prioritisation skills

Education

Recognised Speech and Language Therapy

Degree Qualification or Equivalent

Health Professions Council State Registration

Registered member of Royal College of Speech and Language Therapists

Job description

Highly Specialist Speech and Language Therapist

Our Learning Disabilities Care Hub delivers care in the heart of the local communities we serve, working in partnership with primary care, local authorities and other social and health care and voluntary sector providers. The Learning Disabilities Care Hub consists of community learning disability teams for adults, children and young people as well as two residential services. Our service users are at the heart of everything we do, and we pride ourselves on ensuring the best possible experience as well as delivering safe, high-quality care.

The post holder will be based at Radcliffe Place, in Bury. The postholder will work closely with clinicians, commissioners, VCSE, learning disability teams, and service users, families and carers.

Main duties of the job

We are looking to appoint a Highly Specialist Speech and Language Therapist who is passionate about improving the lives of people with a learning disability, their families and carers working in the award winning admissions avoidance service, Radcliffe Place. The postholder will develop and provide a highly specialist Speech and Language Therapy service to service users who have complex communication and dysphagia needs within the context of a multidisciplinary team. This will involve working with vulnerable and extremely challenging individuals. Assessment and interventions will be delivered using person and relationship centered approaches within the unit and at times, across the learning disability care hub supporting other locality community learning disability teams.

About us

We are proud to provide high quality mental health and learning disability services, both inpatient and in the community across five boroughs of Greater Manchester - Bury, Oldham, Rochdale, Stockport and Tameside and Glossop.

Our vision is for a happier and more hopeful life for everyone in our communities and our staff work hard to deliver the very best care for the people who use our services. We're really proud of our#PennineCarePeople and do everything we can to make sure we're a great place to work.

Our NHS Staff Survey show that Pennine Care is the most improved mental health and learning disability trust in the country for being seen as a good place to work.

All individuals regardless of race, age, disability, ethnicity, nationality, gender, gender reassignment, sexual orientation, religion or belief, marriage and civil partnership are encouraged to apply for this post. We would also encourage applications from individuals with a lived experience of mental illness, either individually or as a carer.

Job responsibilities

Please see full JD and PS for details.

Main Duties and Responsibilities To be responsible for the delivery of a highly specialist Speech and Language Therapy service to service users with a learning disability. This includes dealing with complex case management issues and generating appropriate strategies to manage these. Provide a high level of clinical and professional expertise in order to ensure the delivery of safe and effective multi-disciplinary pathways of care, in partnership with other members of the multi-disciplinary leadership teams. To be autonomous and responsible for the assessment, formulation and management of a specialist clinical caseload of service users with a learning disability who may have additional complex needs as a result of diagnoses such as autism, downs syndrome, cerebral palsy and dementia. To make complex clinical decisions following assessment and develop highly specialist individualised care plans based on the evidence base and to develop appropriate strategies to facilitate communicative effectiveness. To work as an integral part of the Learning Disability Crisis Response Service and multi-disciplinary teams across the care hub by providing clinical leadership to care planning and service delivery. To work in partnership with service users, carers, and families, agreeing decision making relevant to the client management and in this way ensure that service users are involved in the planning and prioritisation of their care plans at a level they understand wherever possible.

To act as a source of specialist information to other members of the team to ensure service users communication needs are recognised and met in line with the Accessible Information Standard. To demonstrate knowledge of and adhere to RCSLT Professional and Clinical and National and Local Clinical Guidelines, evidence-based practice and standards for advice and clinical interventions. To work within defined legal, service and national protocols/policies and professional codes of conduct. To work collaboratively with a range of staff from other localities and referrers, to assess needs and formulate action plans along care pathways

To monitor, review and update all treatment plans and programmes of care totake account of progress, deterioration or other changes in the service users condition, circumstances or communication. To manage a complex specialist caseload and prioritise cases, balancing own workload. To provide specialist clinical advice to others including carers and professionals regarding the management and care of service users with communication difficulties. To reflect on the auditory, visual and kinaesthetic aspects of service users communication and to identify appropriate strategies to facilitate and enhance communicative effectiveness. To consider the environmental, social and behavioural aspects of service users communication in identifying appropriate strategies to enhance communication. To demonstrate skills in motivating service users and/or carers to engage in the therapeutic processTo employ counselling skills with patients, carers/service users with highly complex needs, seeking support where appropriate. To maintain sensitivity to the emotional needs of the service users and carers in particular when imparting potentially distressing information regarding the nature and implications of their difficulties.

To form productive relationships with others who may be under stress and / or have challenging communication difficulties and challenging behaviour. To demonstrate the ability to manage service users with challenging behaviours including the application of appropriate management strategies. To provide an advocacy role in helping service users and carers express their needs. To demonstrate empathy with service users, carers, families and colleagues, ensuring that effective communication is achieved, particularly where barriers to understanding exist. To adapt practice to meet individual service users circumstances, including giving due regard for cultural and linguistic differences To communicate complex condition related information from assessment, including diagnosis to service users, carers, families and members of the multidisciplinary team/ other professionals. To demonstrate negotiation skills in the management of conflict and generating possible solutions across a range of situations, seeking support where appropriate. To deal with initial complaints sensitively, avoiding escalation where possible following Trust policy. To maintain professionalism and sensitivity in highly charged emotional situationse.g. disclosure of abuse children or vulnerable adults, or working with service users with degenerative conditions. To refer service users to other services as appropriate. To use specialist knowledge to inform service/policy developments and to assume delegated tasks as requested by line manager, including participation in working groups, policy development groups etc. To produce reports and care plans reflecting specialist knowledge. To independently attend case conferences and review meetings. To adhere to professional standards for advice and clinical interventions. To contribute integrated team building and policy development. Represent Speech and Language Therapy within the care hub. To contribute to the development of local clinical guidelines. To advise line manager on issues of service delivery including shortfalls and service pressures to facilitate planning and enhance service provision. To develop care protocols/packages relating to specialist area in liaison with line manager to improve client care. To be aware of and implement relevant legislation, service and team plans, policies and procedures. To use computer software to develop individualised communication aids for service users. To inform the Unit Manager of risk issues and participate in writing risk assessments as necessary

To be accountable for own professional action when carrying out routine tasks and tasks delegated by Unit Manager. To recognise own professional boundaries, seeking advice as appropriate and through regular supervision. To demonstrate well developed skills in time management and personal organisation. To demonstrate the ability to reflect on practice with peers and mentors, identify own strengths and development needs and provide evidence of sound clinical judgement. To participate in an annual appraisal of clinical and professional skills through the Individual Performance Framework, and review progress to meet objectives at pre-determined intervals. To attend relevant training and development in order to maintain and develop skills and knowledge required of a specialist therapist and maintain up to date HPC registration. To have a working knowledge of the principles of Clinical Governance and their application to professional practice. To attend Staff and Team meetings and participate in the services system of clinical supervision. To collect and provide research data as required. To take responsibility within own team to keep abreast of research and developments in area of clinical expertise, ensuring evidence-based practice. To participate in and develop innovations in areas of clinical risk management, quality standards setting and clinical effectiveness. To participate in small studies/audit/evaluation projects in own clinical area in consultation with Unit Manager. To participate in the care hubs research and clinical governance/audit projects in consultation with Unit Manager

To attend postgraduate and specialist short courses and advanced training in clinical specialist area. To participate in the planning and delivery of client focused training in specialist clinical area - adapting to a range of audiences e.g. people with learning disabilities, SLT colleagues, assistants, other Allied Health Professionals, medical, education, students, Social Services and voluntary sector personnel. To support students from other professional groups as appropriate within own area. e.g. Learning Disability, Nursing and Social Work students based in Locality team in consultation with the Unit Manager. To be responsible for the mentoring and supervision of junior members of staff within the integrated team to ensure the delivery of an effective, efficient and quality Speech and Language Therapy service. Contribute to the induction and mentoring of members of the integrated team and contribute to the identification of training needs within the team.To provide specialised training and evaluation of undergraduate students on clinical placement. To explain the role of Speech and Language Therapists to visitors, students and volunteers

Person Specification

Education / Qualifications

• Recognised Speech and Language Therapy
• Degree Qualification or Equivalent
• Health Professions Council State Registration - Licence to Practice
• Evidence of successful completion of specialist short courses or other post graduate training plus further experience to Masters level
• Registered member of Royal College of Speech and Language Therapists
• Makaton/ signalong / BSL signing

Experience

• Relevant clinical experience at post graduate level
• Experience in developing specialised packages of care
• Experience of working within a relevant specialist area
• Experience of working collaboratively with parents, carers and professionals
• Experience of training others
• Experience of managing the Dysphagia needs of clients with Learning Disabilities
• Experience of providing supervision to junior members of staff

Knowledge

• Well established knowledge of relevant national and local policies, procedures and clinical guidelines (relevant to the client group)
• Well established knowledge of a range of appropriate therapeutic interventions (relevant to the client group)
• Understanding of clinical governance and its application to practice
• Understanding of roles of the other professionals (relevant to the client group)
• Knowledge of standards of clinical record keeping
• Good working knowledge of multidisciplinary working
• Awareness of the health inequalities agenda for people with learning disabilities

Skills and Abilities

• Excellent interpersonal skills, including observation, listening and empathy
• Negotiation and problem solving skills
• Good analytical and reflective skills
• Good presentation skills both verbal and written
• Good planning and organisational skills
• Prioritisation skills and caseload management skills
• Excellent auditory discrimination skills and ability to transcribe speech phonetically
• Able to work as part of a Team
• Ability to work flexibly Ability to demonstrate cultural awareness in service delivery and clinical practice

Disclosure and Barring Service Check

This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (Exceptions Order) 1975 and as such it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service (formerly known as CRB) to check for any previous criminal convictions.