Specialist Speech and Language Therapist

East of England Community Health and Care NHS Trust

Hartford

On-site

GBP 42,000 - 52,000

Full time

3 days ago

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Job summary

East of England Community Health and Care NHS Trust is seeking a Specialist Speech and Language Therapist to manage a complex paediatric caseload and deliver evidence-based assessment and intervention. You will work with families, schools, carers and MDT partners, offering guidance, training and support to address communication and swallowing needs.

You will contribute to service development, supervision of colleagues, and quality improvement, including assessment and differential diagnosis of

Qualifications

Qualified SLT with HCPC registration.
Demonstrated experience managing a varied/complex paediatric caseload.
Strong clinical reasoning and autonomous decision-making.
Ability to provide guidance, supervision or training to others.
Excellent communication and partnership-working across the MDT.

Responsibilities

To independently manage a specialist caseload of pre-school and school age children who have speech, language and communication difficulties.
To undertake a range of assessments, both standardised and non-standardised, considering medical, social and educational factors.
To plan, deliver and evaluate specialist intervention following professional guidelines and service standards.
To identify long and short-term goals working toward discharge.
To maintain case notes and written reports in line with service standards.
To collaborate with all involved in children's care for coordinated intervention.
To supervise and provide guidance to colleagues and supervise SLT assistants.

Skills

Clinical reasoning

Autonomous decision-making

MDT collaboration

Effective communication

Education

HCPC registration

Paediatric practice experience

Tools

Assessment tools

Job description

You've built your foundations, now you're ready for the next challenge. If you're an experienced SLT looking to take on more autonomy, develop specialist skills & play a key role in shaping high-quality care, we'd love you to join our team.

We're a supportive, collaborative & busy community service where your ideas are welcomed and your professional growth really matters.

As a Specialist SLT, you'll manage a more complex caseload, using your clinical judgement to deliver evidence-based assessment and intervention to children, including those with additional needs. You'll work closely with families, schools, carers and MDT partners, offering guidance, training and support to ensure communication and/or swallowing needs are understood and managed effectively. You'll also play a valued role in service development, supervision of colleagues, and contribute to quality improvement. You will take an active role in the assessment and differential diagnosis of ASD.

We'll support your ambitions with specialist CPD, regular supervision, and opportunities to deepen your expertise in areas that excite you.

If you're ready for a role where your voice is valued & your expertise makes a real impact, we'd love to hear from you. Your next step starts here.

The successful candidates will be based either in the Huntingdon area or the North Cambridge locality. The post holder will independently manage a specialist caseload in the locality and the surrounding area. The client group is children who have a range of difficulties in understanding and/or using speech and language. You will work independently with access to more senior colleagues as needed. You will provide supervision and guidance to colleagues.

Rated 'Outstanding' by the Care Quality Commission, we are proud to provide high quality innovative services across most of the east of England that enable people to receive care closer to home and live healthier lives.

There's one reason why our services are outstanding - and that's our amazing staff who, for the seventh year running, rated us incredibly highly in the national staff survey.

Please be aware that East of England Community Health and Care NHS Trust will never ask applicants to pay fees at any stage of the recruitment process, including job applications, sponsorship arrangements, or employment offers. All recruitment communications and job applications should only be made through our official careers website and published contact details.

If you receive a suspicious job offer or recruitment-related communication, do not make any payments, share personal information, or provide identity documents. We encourage you to report the matter to your local police or relevant law enforcement agency. Any concerns relating to potential recruitment fraud should also be reported to our Local Counter Fraud Specialist (LCFS) as soon as possible.

Key Responsibilities

To independently manage a specialist caseload of pre-school and school age children who have speech, language and communication difficulties.
To undertake a range of assessments, both standardised and non-standardised, taking account of medical, social and educational factors, which combined with specialist theoretical knowledge will lead to differential diagnosis
To plan, deliver and evaluate specialist intervention following professional guidelines and agreed service standards
To be able to plan appropriate long term and short term goals working towards discharge
To undertake administrative duties connected with the caseload including maintenance of case notes and provision of written reports, following service standards
To ensure that all work is carried out in close collaboration with all those involved in children's care so that the approach to intervention and support is co-ordinated and comprehensive
To identify when there is a need for a second opinion, referring to senior colleagues or SLT specialists as appropriate
To make onward referral as appropriate
To identify any variations to service delivery or demands and inform the Locality Co-ordinator and Area & Clinical Lead of the likely impact on the service

Policy & Service Development

To participate in development of policy, clinical guidelines, clinical governance and service development through discussion and involvement in projects as appropriate, including innovative practice, in collaboration with senior colleagues
Responsibility for specific, clearly defined projects as delegated by theLocality Co-ordinator.
To be familiar with local and national standards and to work in line with these
To ensure that parents/carers are aware of the standards they should expect from the speech and language therapy service.

Communication

To ensure effective communication of complex condition-related information to parents/carers regarding the assessment process, assessment findings and planned intervention, including engagement of parents/carers in intervention
To ensure children are involved in goal setting and decision making around their own care as appropriate to their age, developmental level and language skills
To ensure parents/carers are involved in decision making around their child's care including discharge from the service
To liaise effectively and work in partnership with other professionals (particularly teachers and teaching assistants), including the development of shared goals for intervention
To write reports on children, in line with service standards, including contributions to statutory assessment
To offer advice to others concerning support for individual children
To actively contribute to case conferences/ review meetings for children on the caseload
To recognise how and when information may be shared within the bounds of confidentiality and the Data Protection Act
To attend SLT team meetings, actively contributing as appropriate
Contribute to EEC's internal communication strategies ensuring effective two-way communication and engagement within the organisation
Contribute to EEC's external communication strategies working with the Head of Communications to raise awareness and promote the reputation of EEC's services

Patient and Public Engagement

To contribute to ensuring that EEC responsibilities to engage and consult with patients and the public are met in line with statutory requirements

Training

To participate in training other professionals/ parents as appropriate
To identify training needs in the multi-disciplinary team needed to support the care of children on the caseload
To attend all Trust mandatory training

People Management

To access and accept clinical supervision from senior or specialist colleagues in line with service policy
To supervise and clinically support SLT assistants/teaching assistants/volunteers as appropriate
To mentor newly qualified SLTs providing support and contributing to induction with guidance from more senior colleagues
To provide clinical placements for SLT students including contributing to the assessment of exam placements
Maintaining own professional development and requirement to take part in appraisal and KSF process

Research & Development Activity

To maintain and update skills and knowledge in relevant areas
To develop and monitor own clinical expertise in specialist area through planned CPD
To participate in service audit and projects as agreed with the Area & Clinical Lead
To actively reflect on practice with peers and more senior colleagues to promote professional development and evidence based decision making
To be advised on developments in current practice by more senior colleagues

Clinical and Practice Governance

Observe and maintain strict confidentiality with regards to any patient/family/staff/records and information in line with the requirements of the Data Protection Act.
Any data that is taken/shared as part of a phone call or transported, faxed or transferred electronically must be undertaken with regard to the Trust Information Governance and Information Security policies.
The post holder must adhere to the Trust risk assessment and risk management processes
The post holder must adhere to infection control policies and procedures
It is a condition of your employment that you are currently registered with HCPC and it is your responsibility to maintain your professional registration.
Undertake mandatory training and any other training relevant to the role as required by East of England Community Health and Care NHS Trust.
The post holder must participate in clinical and other audits as required
Provide patients and their families /carers with information on standards they should expect from the team
Participate in clinical supervision on a regular basis
The post holder is required to participate in relevant emergency preparedness process for their team.

Qualifications