Highly Specialist Speech and Language Therapist

Lancashire & South Cumbria NHS Foundation Trust; Chorley; On-site; GBP 40,000 - 52,000; Full time

Job summary

Lancashire & South Cumbria NHS Foundation Trust is seeking a qualified Speech and Language Therapist to cover a maternity leave within our mental health services. You will work as part of ward MDTs and our established SLT team, delivering assessments and interventions for adults with communication and swallowing needs.

The role offers opportunities for professional leadership, supervision, and development within a trusted NHS network, with flexible working considerations and a commitment to

Qualifications

• Qualified SLT with registration to practice in the UK.
• Excellent interpersonal and communication skills.
• Ability to work within multi-disciplinary mental health teams.

Responsibilities

• Assess, plan, and deliver evidence-based SLT interventions on mental health wards.
• Provide dysphagia and SLT services to adults with mental health needs.
• Identify audit/research opportunities and lead quality improvement projects.
• Deliver training to other professionals within the SLT field.
• Support ward objectives and ensure compliance with regulatory standards.
• Coordinate cover arrangements during leave and share best practice.

Skills

Interpersonal skills

Communication skills

Education

Qualified Speech and Language Therapist

Job description

We have a new and exciting opportunity for a qualified speech and language therapist to join our mental health services in order to cover a period of maternity leave. We are looking for an experienced and enthusiastic speech and language therapist to work as part of the wards multi-disciplinary teams and join our established trust wide mental health SLT team. We are looking for highly motivated and creative individuals with excellent interpersonal and communication skills.

We are part of a wider network of SLTs based throughout LSCFT who form a virtual team of experienced and supportive therapists. We have a sound professional leadership structure through which we offer: Clinical and professional supervision, specialist support by experienced senior staff, continuing professional development and membership of both a Trust wide professional forum and our Mental Health SLT clinical excellence network.

This role will give the successful applicant opportunities to work within specialist inpatient services to support adults with mental health conditions. We work with adults with communication and/ or swallowing difficulties, we use evidenced based pathways to support standardised best practice, covering the needs of this client group. We have positive regard for service users and aim to work in partnership with them to offer person centred, quality, and equitable care. The wards are based across several sites therefore access to transport will be needed.

• The post holder will work within the MDT and be responsible for the wards caseloads and offer assessment, treatment, planning, and delivery of evidence-based highly specialised speech and language intervention across mental health wards.
• To provide a dysphagia and speech, language and communication needs service.
• To identify audit/research/quality improvement opportunities, initiating, designing and implementing agreed projects as required.
• To lead/contribute to training and development programmes relating to the field of expertise, delivering to other professionals.
• To actively participate in the delivery of the ward objectives, and support implementation of the Care Quality Commission requirements and regulatory standards.
• To work within the wider SLT mental health speech and language therapies team to share best practice, co-ordinate projects, progress clinical developments and co-ordinate cover arrangements for wards during leave.

LSCFT values diversity and inclusion, recognising that talent from varied backgrounds creates a flexible, creative, and effective workforce. We actively challenge discrimination and welcome applications from all, regardless of age, disability (including those with experience of accessing or caring for someone who has accessed mental health or learning disability services), ethnicity, gender, religion, belief, or sexual orientation.

Our aim is to reflect the communities we serve, so we particularly encourage applications from under-represented groups. If you'd like to discuss your application, please ask.

We also welcome individuals with lived experience relevant to the role or service area, as your insight brings authenticity to our services.

LSCFT support flexible working, we believe that a positive work/life balance benefits NHS employees through improved health and wellbeing. We would consider working patterns such as term time, part time, compressed hours and flexi-time.

The wellbeing of our people is at the heart of everything we do. We offer a wide range of resources, tools and support to help you thrive both in and out of work.

Explore our full wellbeing offer here: Keeping our workforce well