SLT Lead, Haringey Urgent and General Rehabilitation Community

Whittington Health NHS Trust; Greater London; On-site; GBP 40,000 - 55,000; Full time

Job summary

A London-based healthcare provider seeks a Community Clinical Specialist in Speech and Language Therapy. The role focuses on providing community rehabilitation for adults, primarily older individuals with communication and swallowing difficulties. Responsibilities include leading clinical assessments, supervising SLTs, and ensuring high standards of care. Candidates must have a relevant degree, an HCPC licence, and experience in patient care. This position is vital for optimizing service delivery and patient outcomes in the Haringey area.

Qualifications

• Must have a HCPC licence and be a registered member of RCSLT.
• Experience with assessment tools for communication and swallowing skills.
• Strong background in delivering presentations and training.

Responsibilities

• Provide community rehabilitation service for adults in Haringey.
• Lead the assessment and rehabilitation of complex communication needs.
• Ensure high clinical standards and provide supervision to SLTs.

Skills

Excellent communication skills

Ability to assess and diagnose

Advanced presentation skills

Ability to influence others

Education

BSc. Speech Path or Equivalent

HCPC licence to practise

Postgraduate study at MSc level

Job description

Job overview

The Speech and Language Therapy Community Clinical Specialist post is based in the Haringey Community Rehabilitation Service, which is an amalgamated community multidisciplinary rehabilitation team in Haringey.

Since April 2011, Whittington Health has been working as an Integrated Care Organisation (ICSU) which offers healthcare across acute and community in Haringey and Islington.

This postholder is the Clinical Lead for Haringey Urgent and General Rehabilitation Community SLT services across Haringey. This is an adult service, primarily supporting older people and those with Long Term Conditions. The postholder will provide expert clinical input to patients referred with communication and swallowing difficulties to the Haringey Adult Rehabilitation Team (HART) Urgent and General Rehabilitation Teams, as well as offering clinical supervision to other SLTs within these teams.

Main duties of the job

To provide a community rehabilitation service to adults living in Haringey. Treatment will take place at home, residential or nursing homes, resource centres and health centres, which may be made on foot, by public transport, bicycle, motorcycle or car.

To fulfil the role of Clinical Lead for Haringey Urgent and General Rehabilitation Speech and Language Therapy in the Community, acting as an expert advisor for Haringey Community Urgent and General Rehabilitation Teams, in the assessment and rehabilitation of adults in the community with highly complex communication and swallowing difficulties.

To ensure that all SLT staff across the 2 community teams maintain high clinical and professional standards of practice, including ensuring they achieve and maintain appropriate levels of education and continuing professional development. The postholder will offer regular clinical supervision with SLTs working within Haringey Urgent and General Rehabilitation Teams. There will be liaison with the Clinical Lead SLT in Community Stroke and Neuro, the Team Leads in Haringey Stroke and Neuro Teams and the Haringey and Islington Clinical Lead Stroke and Neuro.

To assist the Service Manager with the organisation and management of the Haringey Urgent and General Rehabilitation Service, in particular strategic development.

please refer to JD and PS for further details.

Working for our organisation

The postholder will be working closely with the Clinical Lead for Haringey and Islington Stroke and Neuro Community SLT and the Band 7 SLT in Haringey Stroke and Neuro, to ensure optimum patient care and service delivery across the patient pathway, as well as contributing to the development of the MDT pathway within Haringey Community Urgent and General Rehabilitation Teams.

The postholder will be able to ensure excellent prioritisation skills to ensure clinical and managerial requirements of this post are fulfilled in a timely manner, and any shortfalls are highlighted to managers.

Teaching and educating SLTs and other MDT professionals is a key aspect of this post, including providing lectures within various teams within Whittington and other agencies, and will provide regular placements for Speech and Language Therapy students and agree the final assessment with the students.

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

Please refer to JD and PS attached for further details regarding job description and main responsibilities.

Person specification

Education / Qualifications

Essential criteria

• BSc. Speech Path or Equivalent (including Dip. CST)
• HCPC licence to practise, and Registered member of RCSLT
• Successful completion of highly specialist post graduate study relevant to field at MSc level or equivalent in the areas of dysphagia, communication disorders counselling, management
• Successful completion of highly specialist / expert short courses relevant to field at MSc level or equivalent (Advanced dysphagia eg, Groher / Crary, Huckabee, Videofluoroscopy,Tracheostomy, Language Course eg PALPA)
• Wide range of qualitative / quantitative research methodologies
• Student supervision and training

Desirable criteria

• Advanced Counselling

Skills & Abilities

Essential criteria

• Excellent communication skills, excellent written skills
• Ability to assess, diagnose, treat, manage patients with communication and swallowing problems with related ethical / end of life issues
• Ability to influence others
• Critically evaluate published research within a designated part of service area
• Advanced skills in delivering presentations and training , including complex adaptations to presentation / training style for a range of audiences

Knowledge & Experience

Essential criteria

• Of a highly specialist range of assessment tools and procedures to evaluate communication, speech & language skills relevant to the field of adult acquired disorders
• Of a highly specialist range of assessment and procedures to evaluate swallowing skills relevant to the field of adult acquired dysphagia
• Of the key characteristics leading to a highly specialist differential diagnosis of adults with dysphagia
• Of the key characteristics leading to a highly specialist differential diagnosis of adult acquired communication disorders
• Of a highly specialist range of therapeutic interventions relevant to adult acquired dysphagia demonstrating the evidence base for these approaches
• Of a highly specialist range of therapeutic interventions relevant to adults with acquired communication disorders demonstrating the evidence base for these approaches
• The application of highly specialist knowledge of local cultural, linguistic & demographic factors to the management of an adult caseload
• Detailed knowledge of multi-disciplinary team approaches
• Range of research approaches and their appropriateness to range of clinical areas
• Of the key elements of writing a research protocol
• How to support an evidence based practice culture in a designated part of the service area
• Detailed understanding of clinical governance principles
• Development and implementation of short-medium term clinical and management projects
• Advanced approaches to support clients & carers with challenging behaviour, mental health needs or in high levels of distress
• Detailed knowledge of national legislation and government policies for the area of adult acquired neurology and ethics including the metal capacity act
• Of staff management, including elements of the following : Setting and monitoring staff performance targets Appraisal systems Interviewing Mentoring, advising, supporting and clinically supervising less experienced SLTs and support staff

Other

Essential criteria

• Flexibility
• Ability to reflect on practice
• Highly developed word processing skills
• Demonstrate ICARE values

Safeguarding Children and Adults

To comply with the Trust’s Safeguarding Children and Adults policies, procedures and protocols. All individual members of staff (paid or unpaid) have a duty to safeguard and promote the welfare of children, young people and vulnerable adults This will require you to :

• Ensure you are familiar with and comply with the London Child Protection Procedures and protocols for promoting and safeguarding the welfare of children and young people.
• Ensure you are familiar and comply with the London Multi Agency Safeguarding Vulnerable Adults Pan London Procedures.
• Ensure you are familiar and comply with local protocols and systems for information sharing.
• Know the appropriate contact numbers and required reporting lines.
• Participate in required training and supervision.
• Comply with required professional boundaries and codes of conduct

Whittington Health is committed to safeguarding all children and vulnerable adults and expects all staff and volunteers to share this commitment.