Speech & Language Therapist (Band 5 rotational post)

Lewisham and Greenwich NHS Trust; Greater London; On-site; GBP 32,000 - 39,000; Full time

Job summary

Lewisham and Greenwich NHS Trust in London is seeking a Band 5 Speech & Language Therapist for a rotational post across the Queen Elizabeth Hospital acute team, the stroke team at University Hospital Lewisham, and the Lewisham Community Therapies service.

The post offers exposure to dysphagia competencies and instrumental assessments, with progression to newly qualified practitioner tasks under supervision from a Highly Specialist Speech and Language Therapist.

Qualifications

• Degree in Speech and Language Therapy.
• Fully registered member of the Royal College of Speech and Language Therapists.
• Registration with HCPC.
• Successful completion of post-graduate dysphagia training.

Responsibilities

• To assess, develop and implement speech and language therapy treatment for patients with communication and swallowing problems.
• To manage and prioritise workload independently.
• To make a differential diagnosis on the basis of evidence from assessment, seeking advice as appropriate.
• To employ counselling skills with patients and carers.
• To write therapy programmes to be carried out by the SLT assistant.
• To demonstrate specialist knowledge in the area of the current rotation.
• To attend relevant training and development to maintain and develop skills.
• To maintain HPC and RCSLT registration and ensure it is up to date.
• To keep up to date with new techniques and developments for good practice.
• To demonstrate clinical effectiveness by the use of evidence-based practice and outcomes.

Skills

Clinical knowledge

Teamwork

Communication skills

Problem solving

Education

Degree in Speech and Language Therapy

Royal College of Speech and Language Therapists registration

HCPC registration

Post-graduate dysphagia training

Job description

Step into a place where exceptional care, patients, culture, and careers come together.

Explore our current vacancies and take your first step toward making a real difference.

Join us. Make a difference. Be part of Team LGT.

Speech & Language Therapist (Band 5 rotational post)

Band 5

Main area Speech & Language Therapy Grade Band 5 Contract Fixed term: 12 months (From 2 November 2026) Hours Full time - 37.5 hours per week Job ref 197-AO8737

Site Queen Elizabeth Hospital Town London Salary £32,073 - £39,043 per annum plus HCAS (pro rata if part-time) Salary period Yearly Closing 01/10/2026 23:59

Lewisham and Greenwich NHS Trust, (LGT), is a community-focused provider of local and acute care, delivering high-quality services to over one million people living across the London boroughs of Lewisham, Greenwich, and Bexley. We provide whole-life care and are here to support our communities to live healthier lives as well as taking care of them when they need us the most.

Employing almost 7,500 colleagues, affectionately known as Team LGT, we provide services at Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Woolwich, University Hospital Lewisham, and at over a dozen community settings in Lewisham. We also provide some services at Queen Mary’s Hospital in Sidcup.

We have recently launched our new vision and values to mark the LGT10 – the tenth anniversary of our Trust forming in 2013. Our trust vision is to be exceptional. In the quality of our patient care; our support for colleagues; and in the difference we make through our partnerships and in our communities.

Our hospitals and community sites provide a wide range of inpatient and outpatient services, as well as emergency and planned care. The Trust is rated as “good” or “outstanding” in over three-quarters of the services inspected by the Care Quality Commission.

Every year our work includes performing 10,000 procedures in our theatres; bringing seven and a half thousand new lives into the world; carrying out 570,000 visits to patients in their homes or communities and providing emergency care for more than 300,000 patients arriving in our busy Urgent and Emergency Departments.

LGT is a centre for the education and training of medical students enrolled with King’s College London’s GKT School of Medical Education. We are a training centre for nurses, midwives and allied health professionals. We are pioneering new roles that will support the changing needs of our patients and are one of the largest employers of physician associates in the country.

We are committed to working with our partners to deliver the best outcomes for our local communities. This means playing an active role in the South East London Integrated Care System (ICS), and in formal partnerships including the South East London Acute Provider Collaborative, provider partnerships with our local mental health trusts and borough-based boards of the ICС in Bexley, Greenwich and Lewisham.

Job overview

Speech & Language Therapist - Band 5 rotational post

The postholder will participate in a rotation through the acute team at Queen Elizabeth Hospital, the stroke team at University Hospital Lewisham, and the Lewisham Community Therapies team. This vacancy will start in the Queen Elizabeth Hospital.

They will be supported to complete newly qualified practitioner and dysphagia competencies as required, and will have exposure to instrumental assessments including videofluoroscopy and FEES, as well as the opportunity to work through competencies in critical care.

Main duties of the job

To provide a general speech and language therapy service to adults with communication and swallowing problems across the acute, community and stroke teams, under the supervision of a Highly Specialist Speech and Language Therapist.

To be fully involved in the multi-disciplinary process across the respective teams.

To provide training/ supervision for volunteers, assistants and other professions as requested by the Highly Specialist Speech and Language Therapist.

Working for our organisation

Our people are our greatest asset. When we feel supported and happy at work, this positivity reaches those very people we are here for, the patients. Engaged employees perform at their best and our Equality, Diversity & Inclusion (EDI) initiatives contribute to cultivate a culture of engagement. We have four staff networks, a corporate EDI Team and a suite of programmes and events which aim to insert the 5 aspirations:

• Improving representation at senior levels of staff with disabilities, from black, Asian, and ethnic minorities background, identify as LGBTQ+ and women, through improved recruitment and leadership development
• Widening access (anchor institution) and employability
• Improving the experience of staff with disability
• Improving the EDI literacy and confidence of trust staff through training and development
• Making equalities mainstream

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

• To assess, develop and implement speech and language therapy treatment for patients with communication and swallowing problems
• To manage and prioritise workload independently
• To make a differential diagnosis on the basis of evidence from assessment, seeking advice as appropriate
• To employ counselling skills with patients and carers
• To write therapy programmes to be carried out by the speech and language therapy assistant
• To demonstrate specialist knowledge in the area of the current rotation, underpinned by current evidenced based practice
• To attend relevant training and development in order to maintain and develop skills and knowledge required of a specialist therapist working in the respective fields. To maintain HPC and RCSLT registration and ensure it is up to date
• To keep up to date with new techniques and developments for the promotion and maintenance of good practice in your clinical area
• To demonstrate clinical effectiveness by the use of evidence based practice and outcome measures
• To maintain up to date and accurate case notes in line with RCSLT professional standards and local trust policies
• To have due regard for own personal safety and that of clients and carers, in particular to have regard to moving and handling regulations, restraining policies, lone working and ensure the safe positioning of self and others

Person specification

Qualifications & Training

• Degree in Speech and Language Therapy
• Fully registered member of the Royal College of speech and Language Therapists
• Registration with HCPC
• Successful completion of post-graduate dysphagia training

Experience

• Undergraduate experience of treatment of adults with acquired neurological disorders of communication and swallowing
• Experience of group working with adults in therapeutic setting
• Experience of working with adults with swallowing difficulties
• Awareness and interest in alternative and augmentative communication

Knowledge and Skills

• Evidence of knowledge of own clinical skills and initiative in continuing development
• Knowledge of evidence base for effective treatment for adults with communication and swallowing disorders
• Knowledge of particular needs of patients in acute settings
• Knowledge of recent changes in NHS

Personal Qualities and Skills

• Ability to learn from clinical experience
• Ability to apply theoretical knowledge to clinical practiceAbility to communicate clearly and concisely in writing
• Problem solving ability
• Ability to work as a member of a team
• Ability to develop assertiveness skills
• Basic IT skills

As a local employer and anchor institution we work closely with our community to recruit locally and we welcome applications from the widest variety of people to ensure our workforce are reflective of the local communities which we serve. We encourage all suitable candidates to apply including if you are Black, Asian or other ethnic minorities, live with a disability (visible or not) or are LGBT+. We have a number of active staff networks including Disability, LGBT+, Multicultural Inclusion and Women’s staff networks to bring staff together and celebrate diversity across our whole workforce.

Please note: Information provided during recruitment and pre‑employment checks must be accurate. Misrepresentation may be investigated as fraud and could lead to withdrawal from the process, professional sanctions, or criminal action.

Please note: that sponsorship under the Skilled Worker route is subject to Trust allocation and UK Visas and Immigration (UKVI) approval.

Use of AI in recruitment: We may use artificial intelligence (AI) tools to support the initial review of applications against the essential criteria for this role. Where AI is used, it will support rather than replace human decision-making, and applications will remain subject to appropriate human review.

Employer certification / accreditation badges

You must have appropriate UK professional registration.

This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (Exceptions) Order 1975 (Amendment) (England and Wales) Order 2020 and it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service.