Specialist Speech and Language Therapist

NHS Jobs; Plymouth; On-site; GBP 36,000 - 48,000; Full time

Job summary

NHS Jobs in Plymouth is seeking a Specialist Speech and Language Therapist to provide differential diagnosis and specialist therapy for clients with communication and swallowing disorders, focusing on stroke and neurology inpatients.

You will work in a specialist SLT team, manage your caseload, develop care plans, reflect on assessment findings, ensure safe feeding practices, and pursue ongoing CPD to enhance skills.

Responsibilities

• Provide specialist differential diagnosis, clinical advice and care plans/therapy to clients with communication and/or swallowing disorders.
• Manage and prioritise own specialist caseload independently, main clinical area stroke and neurology inpatients.
• Contribute to specialist clinical teams by discussing input to ensure a well-co-ordinated care plan.
• Demonstrate ability to reflect on auditory, visual and kinaesthetic aspects of clients' communication and identify appropriate strategies to facilitate and enhance communicative effectiveness.
• Use highly developed auditory discrimination skills and the ability to transcribe speech phonetically.
• Undertake a range of formal and informal assessments, including risk analysis of swallowing, understanding and use of voice, grammar, vocabulary, speech sounds, fluency, social use of language, carer/patient interaction, and non-verbal communication and to make judgements re normal and abnormal functioning.
• Monitor, recognise, assess and evaluate subtle changes in patients conditions and adapt clinical decisions and treatment programmes accordingly.
• Be responsible for ensuring patients safety with regard to eating and drinking by assessing, monitoring and updating, and communicating details of safe practice to the patient, medical and ward staff, and carers, ensuring that recommendations are clearly documented in medical notes and in any other care plans.
• Continue to develop deeper and more specialist professional expertise and clinical skills across a range of neurological and acquired speech, language and communication difficulties by working with highly specialist staff, attending Clinical Excellence Networks, specialist courses, self-directed study and maintenance of CPD portfolio.
• Recognise own professional and clinical boundaries and seek advice, support and training within a supervision framework.

Job description

Specialist Speech and Language Therapist

• Clinical To provide specialist differential diagnosis, clinical advice and care plans/therapy to clients with communication and/or swallowing disorders, implementing programmes as a specialist member of the SLT Team 2.
• To manage and prioritise own specialist caseload independently. The main clinical area for this post will be stroke and neurology inpatients.
• To contribute to specialist clinical teams by discussing own and others input around clients needs ensuring a well-co-ordinated care plan
• To demonstrate the ability to reflect on auditory, visual and kinaesthetic aspects of the clients communication and to identify appropriate strategies to facilitate and enhance communicative effectiveness
• To use highly developed auditory discrimination skills and ability to transcribe speech phonetically
• To undertake a range of formal and informal assessments, including risk analysis of swallowing, understanding and use of voice, grammar, vocabulary, speech sounds, fluency, social use of language, carer/patient interaction, and non-verbal communication and to make judgements re normal and abnormal functioning.
• To monitor, recognise, assess and evaluate subtle changes in patients conditions and adapt clinical decisions and treatment programmes accordingly based on extended clinical experience.
• To be responsible for ensuring patients safety with regard to eating and drinking by assessing, monitoring and updating, and communicating details of safe practice to the patient, medical and ward staff, and carers, ensuring that recommendations are clearly documented in medical notes and in any other care plans, notes or documents as directed by the Lead SLT for Stroke
• To continue to develop deeper and more specialist professional expertise and clinical skills across a range of neurological and acquired speech, language and communication difficulties (SLCD) by working with highly specialist staff, attending Clinical Excellence Networks, specialist courses, self-directed study and maintenance of personal CPD portfolio
• To recognise own professional and clinical boundaries and competencies and seek advice, support and training, when necessary, with in a clinical supervision and appraisal framework.

For further details please see attached JD&PS.