Specialist Speech and Language Therapist - Acute Stroke

Job summary

Are you ready to grow and develop your specialist skills within the field of acute Stroke? If so, we would be excited to welcome you to join our friendly, enthusiastic and supportive team! The post is based at Cheltenham General Hospital in Gloucestershire, providing cover to both the hyperacute (HASU) and acute (ASU) stroke units.

We are looking for a Speech and Language therapist with post graduate dysphagia skills and a passion for working with individuals experiencing acute post-stroke communication and swallowing difficulties. This post would suit experienced Speech & Language Therapists at band 5 level or those already working as a band 6 who wish to further develop their competencies in communication and dysphagia within a supportive and experienced team.

Main duties of the job

In this role, you will:

• Manage a shared caseload of stroke inpatients with complex communication and swallowing disorders.
• Provide specialist assessment of both communication and swallowing difficulties and input into discharge planning.
• Create and implement individualised treatment programmes, ensuring that these are monitored and modified as required.
• Work alongside a supportive team of experienced Speech and Language Therapy colleagues as well as a Speech and Language therapy assistant.
• Work closely with our multidisciplinary colleagues, providing regular joint sessions and attending shared goal planning meetings.

Why Join Us?

We are proud of our supportive team culture and strong commitment to your professional growth and wellbeing. When you join us, you can expect:

• Comprehensive CPD opportunities and access to a wide range of training
• Structured supervision, including regular peer support sessions
• Opportunities to develop advanced clinical skills in areas such as FEES
• A clear pathway for career progression, supported through regular personal development reviews

Whether you're experienced in community working or keen to transition into this rewarding area, you will be supported every step of the way to grow, develop, and thrive.

The qualification, training & experience requirements for the role are outlined in the Job Description/Person Specification.

About us

We have a skilled and dedicated workforce of over 5000 colleagues working in a diverse range of services over 55 sites and within people's homes. We strive to enable a welcoming workplace culture that builds and celebrates civility, inclusivity and diversity, while providing a sense of belonging and trust.

Annual staff surveys, regular Pulse surveys and other engagement opportunities provide our people with lots of opportunity to tell us about their experiences of working with us. In the latest staff survey, 61% of colleagues gave us their views. It was great to hear that:

• 72% of colleagues would recommend the Trust as a place to work, ranking us 1st for Provider Trusts in the South West region on this question.
• 76% would recommend the standard of care provided in our services if a friend or relative needed treatment, also ranking us 1st in the South West region.
• 81% said that care of patients and service users is the Trust's priority, compared with an average in comparable NHS Trusts in England of 64%.

This high-level overview shows we are in a healthy position, with higher scores than average for comparable organisations, alongside a great response rate, indicating good staff engagement. However, we also know we have plenty of room for improvement in many areas. To that end, we continue to prioritise and invest in our commitment to genuinely becoming a Great Place to Work with consistent top-quartile performance in the annual staff survey and Pulse surveys.

Job responsibilities

Overview of the role from the job description:

• To provide a comprehensive speech and language therapy service to stroke patients in the acute setting with acquired communication and swallowing disorders

For full details of the job role, please refer to the job description and person specification.

The Trustis required towork in line with the Governments UK Visa and Immigration Rules and Regulations. For more information about sponsorship for certain roles, please visit -https://www.gov.uk/browse/visas-immigration/work-visas

Person specification

QUALIFICATIONS

Essential

• Recognised Royal College of Speech and Language Therapists degree level qualification
• Member of the Royal College of Speech and Language Therapists (RCSLT)
• Member of the Health Care Professions Council (HCPC)
• Post Graduate Dysphagia Training

LENGTH AND / OR NATURE OF EXPERIENCE

Essential

• Experience in managing patients with acquired communication and swallowing difficulties post stroke
• Special interest in current evidence-based practice relating to post stroke communication and/or swallowing difficulties

Desirable

• Experience of working with Stroke patients within an acute/hyperacute setting

Professional/managerial/Specialist Knowledge

Essential

• Specialist skills in differential diagnosis and targeting of clinical interventions relevant to Stroke
• Ability to appropriately prioritise and manage a complex caseload independently
• Negotiation skills for management of conflict across a range of situations
• Demonstration of specialist knowledge in Stroke underpinned by current evidence based practice
• Knowledge of a broad range of specialist formal and informal assessment methods and their interpretation