Upper Airways Clinical Lead Speech and Language Therapist

NHS; Plymouth; On-site; GBP 40,000 - 48,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading healthcare provider is hiring a Clinical Lead Speech and Language Therapist for the Upper Airways Severe Asthma Service in Plymouth. The ideal candidate will manage a caseload of patients with upper airway disorders, collaborating with a multidisciplinary team to enhance care and service development. Candidates should hold an HCPC registration and have a strong background in related disorders, alongside proven leadership skills. Flexible working arrangements are available, and priority is given to internal staff and those at risk.

Qualifications

• HCPC registered and RCSLT-recognised qualification required.
• Experience in upper airway disorders and related fields essential.
• Demonstrable experience of service development and audit.

Responsibilities

• Deliver clinical skills for patients with upper airway disorders.
• Develop the role of Upper Airways Clinical Lead SLT.
• Support the Severe Asthma MDT in service development.

Skills

Knowledge of upper airway disorders

Excellent communication skills

Leadership skills

Team collaboration

Education

HCPC registration

RCSLT-recognised qualification

MSc or recognized post-graduate course

Tools

Nasendoscopy

Clinical assessment tools

Job description

Upper Airways Clinical Lead Speech& Language Therapist Asthma Service

Following confirmation of funding for substantial service development, we are delighted to be recruiting a Band 7 Upper Airways Clinical Lead Speech and Language Therapist for the UHP Severe Asthma Service. This is a new post with flexibility to grow the role around the service as it develops. The post-holder(s) will also work alongside other newly funded posts, including a highly specialist physiotherapist.

This post is advertised a 1.2 WTE, giving us the flexibility to consider part-time job-sharing roles of 2x 0.6WTE Band 7 SLTs, or one 1.0 WTE Band 7 SLT. This would be dependent on the applications received.

The post holder(s) would be joining an established, friendly asthma MDT, working closely to improve asthma care whilst developing their own expertise. You will be an integral part of the team, linking with community and acutely admitted patients, helping to streamline access biologics, and improving the management of co-morbidities associated with asthma.

***Preference will be given to internal Trust staff, as well as 'Priority' and 'At Risk' status including NHS At Risk staff throughout Devon who are able to display recent relevant experience as dictated by the Person Specification.***

Main duties of the job

To deliver highly specialist clinical skills to identify, assess, diagnose and manage a specialist caseload of adults with upper airway disorders arising from severe asthma and the treatment thereof, in both inpatient and outpatient settings. This may include clinical assessment measures that fall outside the usual practice of SLT.

To act as a member of the Severe Asthma MDT and to develop the role of the Upper Airways Clinical Lead SLT at UHP. This includes the provision of training and supervision for others as appropriate.

To support the Severe Asthma MDT by contributing to the development of the wider service, including data collection and analysis, and completion of outcome measures.

About us

We are a people business - where every member of staff matters and can make a difference. Patients are at the heart of everything we do. Joining University Hospitals Plymouth NHS Trust means becoming part of a team of dedicated staff, who are committed to leading the way through innovation, clinical excellence and great customer care. The Trust has great opportunities for career development in a highly progressive working environment. We offer all of this in a vibrant, modern city with a historic reputation for adventure. PLEASE NOTE THAT ALL COMMUNICATION WILL BE ELECTRONIC, PLEASE CHECK YOUR EMAIL ACCOUNT REGULARLY. If you have any issues with applying online and need additional support including reasonable adjustments with the application process please contact the recruitment manager for this post who will put you in touch with the recruitment team. We recognise that work life balance is important for our colleagues and so we invite requests from applicants around less than full time/flexible working for our advertised roles. Please contact the recruiting manager to discuss this prior to your application submission. We commit to giving this full consideration in each case. We encourage people from diverse backgrounds to apply for our roles, as diversity strengthens our teams. It is sometimes necessary to close vacancies before the closing date. If you have not heard from us within 4 weeks of the closing date, please assume that you have not been shortlisted.

Job responsibilities

The post holder will be the Clinical Lead Speech and Language Therapist (SLT) for patients with upper airway disorders due to severe asthma. They will work as part of the Severe Asthma multidisciplinary team (MDT). As this is a new post, this will include developing the Upper Airway SLT role within the Severe Asthma service, alongside Respiratory Consultants, Clinical Nurse Specialists, Physiotherapists, and ENT.

The post holder(s) is responsible for providing highly specialist assessment, differential diagnosis and therapeutic intervention for people with a range of upper airway, communication and swallowing disorders arising from severe asthma. This includes chronic cough, complex breathlessness, and Inducible Laryngeal Obstruction (ILO). They will have a specialist advisory role for the Trust in this specialty area, giving service-wide second and expert opinions, training others and supporting students. Some aspects of care may require working outside of the normal scope of practice of SLT e.g. completing clinical observations, using respiratory assessment tool etc.

As this is a newly funded post, there will be a focus on service development and monitoring including collection and analysis of data and outcome measures. This will be vital to ensuring the success of the post and the development of the service. The post holder will also look to develop the role of nasendoscopy within the severe asthma service, with support from the wider SLT team.

The post holder(s) will report to the Principal Speech & Language Therapist for Head & Neck Oncology and Surgical Voice Restoration (SVR) and work closely with the Voice Lead SLT. The post-holder is responsible for their own workload within the designated clinical area on a day-to-day basis. Caseloads will be flexible and at times of Trust critical incident may involve the provision of service to other areas of the Trust if caseload pressures demand.

For further details please see attached JD & PS

Person Specification

Qualifications

• HCPC registration
• RCSLT-recognised qualification
• Successful completion of significant specialist post-graduate training.
• MSc or other recognised long post-graduate course linked to specialism.
• Clinical supervisor training

Experience

• Proven knowledge and demonstrable experience in upper airway disorders and related ENT, voice and swallow disorders.
• Demonstrable experience and competencies associated with performing and interpreting nasendoscopy
• Demonstrable experience of service development, audit and service evaluation
• FEES / VFS demonstrable experience and competence
• Proven evidence of successful MDT working
• Excellent written and verbal communication/interpersonal skills
• Proven evidence of leadership skills

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.