Specialist Speech and Language Therapist

Essex Partnership University NHS Foundation Trust; Colwyn Bay; On-site; GBP 32,000 - 42,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

27 days holiday

Pension plan

Staff discounts

Season ticket loans

Job share

Job summary

Essex Partnership University NHS Foundation Trust is seeking a Speech and Language Therapist to join the Dementia Intensive Support Team in the South-East Essex region. The role focuses on rapid access dysphagia services to prevent hospital admissions and deterioration of health due to swallowing difficulties.

You will work autonomously within a multi-disciplinary team in community and primary care settings, delivering patient-centred care and contributing to education for families and care

Responsibilities

• Deliver person-centred, goals-focused assessment and intervention to adults with dementia in care homes and patients' own homes.
• Independently assess, diagnose, and develop care plans for residents with eating, drinking and swallowing needs due to dementia and frailty, including at end of life.
• Collaborate with primary care, community health services and multidisciplinary teams for coordinated follow-up care.
• Provide ad hoc training and education to care home/staff to support their roles.
• Liaise with SLT colleagues from multiple services as required.
• Prioritise and manage your own clinical caseload autonomously.

Job description

Job Overview

We are seeking a motivated and experienced Speech and Language Therapist to join our innovative Dementia Intensive Support Team (DIST).

DIST is a multidisciplinary team supporting people living with a diagnosis of dementia in their own homes and in care homes in the South-East Essex region.

The successful candidate will provide a rapid access dysphagia service to avoid hospital admissions or deterioration of health and nutritional status due to eating, drinking and swallowing difficulties.

We support families/carers with the challenges of caring for a loved one with dementia, providing education of the nature of eating, drinking and swallowing difficulties due to dementia, and advice on how to enable people to eat and drink as well as they can.

The post-holder will work effectively and efficiently as an autonomous speech and language practitioner within a multi-professional team environment in community and primary care settings, ensuring safe, efficient and effective delivery of patient-focussed care in line with identified evidence-based practice, local and national standards.

We offer a friendly and supportive team, regular supervision, excellent training and development opportunities and flexible working arrangements.

Main duties of the job

• The post holder will be based at Harland Centre , Westcliff on sea but will be required to provide services across South East Essex.
• The successful candidate will deliver person centred, goals-focused assessment and intervention to an adult with dementia caseload, both within the Care Homes and in patients' own homes.
• To independently assess, differentially diagnose, develop and implement specialist care plans for care home residents with eating, drinking and swallowing needs due to dementia and frailty, as well as at the end of life.
• To work with primary care, community health services and the wider multidisciplinary team to ensure a coordinated and holistic care plan for patients with necessary support and follow up from this care plan.
• To provide ad hoc training and education to care home/care agency staff, to support them in their role.
• To liaise with SLT colleague(s) from the Adult Community SLT service, acute SLT services, MAS SLT service and the ALD SLT service as required.
• To be responsible and accountable for the independent prioritisation and management of own clinical caseload.

Working for our organisation

Valuing you. Recognising your dedication. At EPUT, we look after you.

• Receive supervision and support to help you fulfil your potential.
• Join an inclusive EPUT community and connect with others through engagement events and equality or champion networks.
• If you need help, we provide mental health and wellbeing services, occupational health advice and counselling.

Benefits

• 27 days holiday, plus bank holidays, rising to 33 days after 10 years’ service.
• Excellent pension of up to 14.5% of your pensionable pay.
• Staff discounts include Blue Light Card, NHS discount offers, and staff benefits.
• Season ticket loans are interest-free to cover the cost of travelling to and from work via tram, rail, or bus.

Work that wraps around your needs

• Job share: Applications for job shares are welcomed.

Please be aware that, due to current allocation constraints, Certificates of Sponsorship (CoS) are being prioritised for registered roles at this time.

As a newly appointed employee, you are responsible for incurring the cost of your initial DBS check relevant to your post; the amount will be deducted from your first salary with the Trust.

Our Trust is an Equal Opportunities Employer. We particularly welcome applications from people with experience of using mental health services. We also hold the Disability two tick symbol and have made the pledge to commit to employing more people with learning disabilities, we encourage people with a disability to apply.

The Trust has the right to expire vacancies prior to the closing date if they so wish. The Trust makes every attempt to contact all applicants and we strongly advise that you check the email account which is registered with NHS Jobs regularly, we would advise however due to the high number of applications we receive that if you have not heard from us within three weeks of the closing date your application has been unsuccessful on this occasion.

We are committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, young people and vulnerable adults, and expect all staff to undertake this commitment. Applicants will be subject to robust safer recruitment processes.

Important Notice: Recently the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) (Amendment) (Coronavirus) Regulations 2021 (the Regulations) which amended on 22 July 2021 and come into force on 11 November 2021 that anyone directly employed to work in a Care Home or who are required as part of their role to be deployed to a CQC registered care home are required to have had both their COVID vaccinations, unless they are exempt. This is therefore a requirement of this role and will form part of our pre-employment checks.

Please note -

staff who are formally at risk within the organisation will be given priority in securing alternative employment. Should it come to light that a post being advertised by the Trust is considered ‘suitable alternative employment’ to an individual who is at risk, the recruiting manager will be advised and the post will be withdrawn from NHS Jobs.

Use of Artificial Intelligence (AI)

Applications for this role should be written by the applicant. If artificial intelligence (AI) programmes are used then the application may be rejected due to this document being an important part of the assessment process. This does not prevent applicants seeking appropriate support with applications should they need to for the purposes of any declared disability.