Specialist Speech and Language Therapist

Job summary

Are you passionate about providing a high-quality service to stroke patients? Are you an ambitious individual who relishes a challenge? Lincolnshire's Stroke Service is a dynamic, continuously developing service.

As a Specialist Speech and Language Therapist within the Lincolnshire Stroke Service, you will provide high quality stroke rehabilitation to patients on the hyper acute and acute stroke unit at Lincoln County Hospital. If you are a team player with a special interest in the area of stroke, look no further, we are looking to recruit to this post. You would be supported and mentored by your SLT band 7 and band 6 colleagues. The service has access to videofluoroscopy and FEES therefore you would be eligible for future instrumental training opportunities.

Main duties of the job

You will deliver high quality patient centred care and rehabilitation to people who have recently experienced a stroke. You will assess and manage communication and swallowing impairments, devise therapy care plans suitable for assistants and participate in service development.

You will work within a multidisciplinary team (MDT) of specialist Speech and Language Therapists, Physiotherapists, Occupational Therapists, Dietitians, Nurses and Medics. Experience of MDT, working with stroke and skills in dysphagia (including management of eating and drinking with acknowledged risk) are a key aspect of this role.

You will participate in the collection of Speech and Language Therapy data for SSNAP (Stroke Sentinel National Audit Programme).

Weekend working is part of the service therefore you will need to be flexible to accommodate this according to service demand.

About us

Lincolnshire Community Health Services NHS Trust is in the top 25 per cent of all community trusts for overall staff engagement in the 2021 NHS National Staff Survey.

At LCHS, we know diversity fosters creativity and innovation. We are committed to equality of opportunity, to being fair and inclusive, and to being a place where all belong. We therefore particularly encourage applications from candidates who are likely to be underrepresented in LCHS' workforce.

LCHS recognises the increasing demand for more flexibility in working practices in order to accommodate the personal goals and commitments that employees experience at different stages during their working lives. Flexible working opportunities such as part-time working, compressed hours, job shares, and hybrid working models can help staff to balance their personal and work commitments. Arrangements can be put in place if it can be shown that the needs of the individual can be balanced with those of the service and the impact on other team members, enabling the Trust to recruit and retain skilled staff, raise staff morale, reduce absenteeism and respond to changing service needs more effectively.

Job responsibilities

To provide assessment, diagnosis and specialist, evidence based intervention to adults who have had a stroke referred for speech and language therapy, including providing self-care and support information, to patients, carers, and other professionals.

To manage a caseload of adults who are in the hyper acute and acute phases following stroke.

To supervise and monitor the implementation of specialist treatment programmes delivered by Band 5 SLTs and SLTAs. To allocate tasks appropriately to them while retaining overall responsibility for the designated caseload

To provide clinical support to SLTs and SLTAs.

Base: Lincoln County Hospital - Stroke Unit

Please ensure you read the Job Description and Person Specification attached to the advert in full before applying. This post is ACUTE only.

Person specification

Qualifications

Essential

• Speech and Language Therapy degree
• HCPC registration
• Registered member of RCSLT
• Evidence of Continuing Professional Development e.g. post grad dysphagia training

Desirable

• Post reg qualifications related to stroke
• Clinical educator training

Experience

Essential

• Experience of having worked as a speech and language therapist for adults. Having an in depth knowledge of assessment, diagnosis, treatment and case load management within a broad range of clinical areas and experience of working with more complex cases or those within a specialist area of interest.

Desirable

• Experience of stroke
• Experience of acute and community working
• MDT experience
• Experience of supervising therapy assistants
• Knowledge and use of AAC

Knowledge/skills

Essential

• Knowledge of specialist area- assessment and treatment tools.
• Effective communicator
• Organised and able to prioritise
• Able to work well within a team

Desirable

• Knowledge of safeguarding