Speech and Language Therapist

NHS; London; On-site; GBP 56,000 - 64,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading organization in mental health is seeking a Speech and Language Therapist to join their Forensic Intellectual and Neurodevelopmental Disabilities Team in London. This role offers the chance to provide specialist care to individuals with communication difficulties and manage a complex caseload, all within a supportive multidisciplinary team. Excellent CPD opportunities and flexible working conditions are provided, making this an attractive position for dedicated professionals looking to make a meaningful impact.

Qualifications

• Significant postgraduate clinical experience required.
• At least 2 years of post dysphagia training experience.
• Experience with learning disabilities and forensic mental health settings.

Responsibilities

• Deliver specialist SLT assessment and treatment for clients.
• Manage and prioritize own complex SLT caseload.
• Development and implementation of SLT treatment plans.

Skills

Communication difficulties management

Clinical reasoning

Information synthesis

Client-centered approach

Acute observational skills

Education

Graduate Diploma / Degree in Speech and Language Therapy

Registered with Health Professions Council

Member of the Royal College of Speech and Language Therapists

Completed dysphagia training course to at least Intermediate level

Evidence of relevant postgraduate study

Tools

Boardmaker

Job description

Go back South West London and St Georges Mental Health NHS Trust

Speech and Language Therapist

Information:

This job is now closed

Job summary

This is an exciting and unique opportunity to join the newly developed Forensic Intellectual and Neurodevelopmental Disabilities (FIND) Community Team in South West London & St George's Mental Health Trust. The forensic service sits within the Specialist Service Line of the Trust and is a provider within the South London Mental Health and Community Partnership (SLP) Forensic Provider Collaborative (PC).

The SLP Forensic PC's overarching goals centre on bringing care closer to home, improving patient pathways and outcomes by delivering excellent care in better environments. The SLP has a track record of delivering highly effective, clinically informed service developments across the Pathways within the Forensic PC. The post holder will be joining a skilled, motivated and innovative multidisciplinary team committed to continual learning and development and will be offered excellent CPD opportunities.

Main duties of the job

To deliver highly specialist clinical work as part of the multidisciplinary team. This includes working with clients with communication and swallowing difficulties / providing a specialist dysphagia service, for individuals within the Forensic intellectual and neurodevelopmental (FIND) team Working closely with AHP Lead , professional Lead and senior management team to scope the needs of the SLT service for this service .

The team will support in facilitating discharge planning of South West London patients from the Oak Unit and from Independent Sector secure services by enabling direct transfer to the FIND community caseload. Aside from the quality-of-life benefits of timely transfer to community settings closer to home, this close working at the interface with secure inpatient facilities, will also enable effective flow through the pathway. The FIND Community Team will sit alongside the two well stablished forensic community teams, namely the South West London & St George's Community Forensic Team (the Forensic Outreach Service).

To work with the senior management team to scope the needs of the SLT service for this service . As a Trust we are proud to offer agile and flexible working opportunities as part of our new ways of working, and we are happy to talk flexible working at the interview stage. In this role you will be able to work Monday to Friday in the time frames from 9am to 5pm, giving you the very best of good work life balance.

About us

We are Proud to Belong at South West London and St George's Mental Health NHS Trust.

We have expert services, a rich history and a clear commitment to providing the best quality care for those with mental ill-health. The Care Quality Commission already rates our services as 'good' - we aspire to be 'outstanding'.

This is a great time to join us. We are transforming the way we care for our communities to support our mission of Making Life Better Together. We have built two brand new mental health facilities at Springfield University Hospital, which are amongst the best in the world. More developments are planned across our sites and services.

We are inclusive and diverse and strive to be actively anti racist. We want to attract people from all backgrounds and experiences to enrich the work we do together. We are proud to co-produce and involve our local communities in all that we do.

We offer flexible working, career development and a variety ofbenefits to enable a positive, welcoming environment in which our people and their careers can thrive.

Come and join our inclusive teams and help our patients on their recovery journey.

Springfield University Hospital, Tooting

Job responsibilities

To be responsible for the delivery of Speech and Language Therapy across the FIND team providing assessment and implementing specialist SLT treatment and programmes of care, writing reports, reflecting specialist knowledge.

To independently manage, triage and prioritize own complex caseload providing a highly specialist SLT assessment, formulation, diagnosis, intervention and advice based on evidence-based practice

To use specialist knowledge to screen all new referrals where appropriate with the multi-disciplinary team, and allocate priority for intervention, based on client need.

To independently assess people with complex mental health needs, LD needs or ASD needs within the service using a range of standardized and non-standardized assessments and other assessment tools, together with advanced analytical clinical reasoning skills in order to form a baseline measure or differential diagnosis from which to plan intervention.

To assess clients using clinical/technical skills including listening, phonetic transcription and analysis, linguistic profiling based on linguistic models of development, social communication analysis, use of AAC such as signing and use of electronic communication aids such as switches/IT support and a range of formal and psychological assessment tools.

To demonstrate acute observational skills in working with clients with profound and multiple learning disabilities who display subtle communication.

To use a holistic, client centred approach, gathering and synthesising information from other professionals and relatives/carers, in order to ensure that intervention packages are best suited to patient, relatives and place of delivery

To develop and implement speech and language therapy treatment plans for individuals and groups using expertise to create innovative ways of working where appropriate, to promote and maximise individual potential as well as to plan for and advise others regarding the management of clients with communication and/or feeding/swallowing difficulties within the context of an MDT and in consultation with patients and relatives

To contribute to complex clinical decisions taking into account conflicting priorities of airway protection, quality of life, nutritional compromise and client autonomy

To liaise with other team specialists and professional groups to refer clients for further investigation and/or second opinion as required.

Person Specification

Training and Qualifications

• Graduate Diploma / Degree in Speech and Language Therapy or equivalent
• Registered with Health Professions Council
• Member of the Royal College of Speech and Language Therapists
• Completed dysphagia training course to at least Intermediate level
• Evidence of relevant in-depth postgraduate study or qualification at a level equivalent to a Masters where it exists e.g. dysphagia

Experience

• Able to demonstrate significant level of years postgraduate clininical experience.
• At least 2 years post dysphagia training experience of managing clients with dysphagia needs.
• Experience of working in a range of mental health settings including with learning disabilities and/ or forensic mental health
• Experience of developing others through CPD / PDP/ clinical supervision
• Experience of working as part of a SLT team and/or multi disciplinary team
• Training in management and/or leadership skills Experience of supervising other SALTs Supervision of students
• Experience of managing clients with dysphagia needs.

Knowledge & Skills

• Knowledge of management and treatment of communication difficulties in individuals with serious mental health conditions
• To be competent in handling the mental, emotional and psycho-social aspects of working with service users who present risks to others
• To be familiar with relevant legislation relating to the care of people with serious mental health conditions
• Understand the impact of communication breakdown on the client's emotional wellbeing, mental health, functional ability, life chances, family dynamics and social and educational inclusion
• Ability to teach specific SLT treatment packages, and theory to patients / carers / professionals/ others
• Competent IT skills e.g. word as well as SLT specific applications such as Boardmaker
• Excellent written and spoken communication
• Specialist knowledge of management and treatment of dysphagia in individuals with serious mental health conditions

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.

South West London and St Georges Mental Health NHS Trust

£56,276 to £63,176 a yearpro rata per annum inclusive of inner London HCAS