Specialist Speech And Language Therapist

Mersey Care Nhs Foundation Trust; Southampton; On-site; GBP 40,000 - 48,000; Part time

Benefits offered by this job

Flexible working

Job summary

Mersey Care NHS Foundation Trust is seeking an enthusiastic Band 6 Speech and Language Therapist to join its Community SLT Team covering the Sefton area. The role is part-time for 12 months and requires HCPC registration and an Accredited SLT qualification.

You will assess and treat adults with communication and swallowing difficulties in clinics and patients' homes, with a focus on multidisciplinary collaboration and ongoing professional development.

Qualifications

• Accredited Speech and Language Therapy qualification (BSc) and HCPC registration.
• Strong communication, time management and organisational skills.
• Flexible approach to service change and workload.
• Willingness to drive and work across varied settings.

Responsibilities

• Provide evidence-based SLT assessment and intervention for adults with communication and swallowing disorders.
• Develop care plans and provide treatment in diverse settings including clinics, homes and care facilities.
• Coordinate care and supervise junior staff or assistants where applicable.
• Participate in service improvement activities and multidisciplinary collaboration.
• Deliver training to staff on communication strategies and recommendations.

Skills

Communication

Time management

Flexibility

Driving license

IT skills

Education

BSc Speech & Language Therapy

Tools

Microsoft Office

Job description

Job summary

We are looking for an enthusiastic and experienced HCPC registered Band 6 Speech and Language Therapist to join our friendly Community Speech and Language Therapy Team covering the Sefton area on a part-time, 12-month fixed term basis.

Our Speech & Language Therapists work with adults who have communication and/or swallowing difficulties with the team being based at Zetland Street. You will work with patients in clinic settings and in their own homes, including nursing and residential homes, providing assessment, treatment and ongoing management for people with a wide range of Speech and Language Therapy needs. The role offers the chance to build strong multidisciplinary relationships across neighbourhood services and make a visible difference to the health and wellbeing of the local population.

You will assess, diagnose, plan and deliver treatment for patients with a range of complex needs, including people living with long-term conditions. We are therefore looking for someone with strong clinical reasoning, excellent communication skills and a compassionate, proactive approach to care. In return, you will join a service that values professional development, collaborative working and continuous improvement. We value CPD and carry out robust clinical supervision and appraisals to encourage therapists' specialist interests and innovation.

Main duties of the job

To provide evidence-based Speech and Language Therapy assessment and intervention to service users who have communication and/or eating and drinking difficulties. These occur as a consequence of physical and mental health conditions such as: Motor Neurone Disease, Parkinson's Disease, Stroke, Dementia and Mental Illness.

The caseload may cover the whole spectrum of communication disorders, e.g. dysfluency, high level language / social use of language and voice as applicable to the service.

The role will be integrated within the therapy team and will work with the team to develop person-centred care plans.

Supervision will be provided by a Highly Specialist Speech and Language Therapist.

About us

Mersey Care is one of the largest trusts providing physical health and mental health services in the North West, serving more than 1.4 million people across our region and are also commissioned for services that cover the North West, North Wales and the Midlands.

We offer specialist inpatient, community services that support physical and mental health and specialist inpatient mental health, learning disability, addiction and brain injury services. Mersey Care is one of only three trusts in the UK that offer high secure mental health facilities.

At the heart of all we do is our commitment to 'perfect care' – care that is safe, effective, positively experienced, timely, equitable and efficient. We support our staff to do the best job they can and work alongside service users, their families, and carers to design and develop future services together. We're currently delivering a programme of organisational and service transformation to significantly improve the quality of the services we provide and safely reduce cost as we do so.

Flexible working requests will be considered for all roles.

Job responsibilities

• To participate as a Specialist Speech and Language Therapist with specific responsibility to assess and treat adults with complex health needs.
• To be responsible for the delivery of specialist assessment, diagnosis, treatment, delivery and evaluation of evidence‑based Speech and Language Therapy intervention in a variety of settings including inpatient, individuals home setting, care homes or outpatient clinics for clients with communication and swallowing disorders, such as dysphagia, dysfluency, voice, head and neck.
• To act as a Care coordinator where applicable, ensuring that clients have full access to any generic services that they require.
• To be responsible and accountable for their own caseload and ensure that care plans are written and reviewed regularly.
• To contribute to the prioritisation of the waiting list for Speech and Language Therapy.
• To complete intake assessments on behalf of the team and feedback to the multi‑disciplinary team.
• To work alongside and liaise with other professionals within the team, staff at day centres, residential staff and families.
• To provide clinical advice to these on the communication needs of clients, resolving areas of conflict as necessary.
• To provide specialist knowledge on alternative and augmentative systems of communication, where appropriate. To ensure that all relevant agencies have access to all systems.
• To Identify and take responsibility for allocating work and providing supervision to Speech and Language Therapy assistants.
• To provide training days to staff teams around specific individuals communication to devise strategies and management plans.
• To be able to deputise on the absence of the clinical lead and ensure coordination of caseload is well managed within the team.
• To be an active and enthusiastic team member by participating with service improvement activities, promoting innovation, being supportive to other team members and proactive when identifying potential issues in the service.

Essential qualifications

• Accredited Speech and Language Therapy qualification (BSc)
• Registration with HCPC

Desirable qualifications

• Member of the Royal College of Speech and Language Therapist (RCSLT)
• Post graduate training/qualification in Dysphagia

Essential skills

• A demonstrated understanding of Equality and Human Rights
• Ability to convey information and skills to direct care staff
• Good time management and organisational skills
• Flexible approach skills towards service change, demands and pressure

Desirable skills

• Experience of providing clinical supervision (to students or SaLT staff)

Essential knowledge

• A philosophy and approach that empowers people
• Knowledge of alternative and augmentative communication and dysphagia
• A person‑centred approach to service delivery
• Understanding of current NHS changes

Essential experience

• Experience of working as part of a multi‑disciplinary team
• Experience with provision of supervision and delegation to junior members of staff
• Experience of use of outcome measures for clinical evaluation
• Driving License
• Basic IT Skills (Microsoft Software: Excel, Word, Power Point, MS Teams)

Essential values

• Continuous improvement - committed to making improvements to our services for the benefit of all
• Accountability - taking ownership to anticipate, develop and deliver high quality care
• Respect - how we treat others in an inclusive and supportive way
• Enthusiasm - demonstrate our passion and pride for what we do and how we do it
• Support - actively supporting others with compassion and courage

Date posted:

20 October 2026

Pay scheme:

Agenda for change

Band:

Band 6

Salary:

£39,959 to £48,117 a year per annum pro rata

Contract:

Fixed term

Duration:

12 months

Working pattern:

Part‑time, Flexible working, Compressed hours

Reference number:

350-CC8280707-A

Closing date:

03 November 2026

Disclosure and Barring Service Check

This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (Exceptions Order) 1975 and as such it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service (formerly known as CRB) to check for any previous criminal convictions.

UK Registration

Applicants must have current UK professional registration. For further information please see NHS Careers website (opens in a new window).

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