Highly Specialist SLT (Community Stroke)

Job overview

We are looking for an experienced inpatient Speech and Language Therapist with knowledge and skills in stroke rehabilitation and a passion for rehabilitation to join our team. You will either be a proficient Band 6 or already working in a Band 7 role. You will be joining an established stroke rehab pathway in a large speech and language therapy team. You will have clinical skills in supporting the communication/swallowing needs of patients post stroke, including those with a range of other medical conditions. This role will lead on: Rehabilitation of patients in their place of residence following their diagnosis of stroke; AAC when appropriate; Training and education for the wider MDT, including nurses and AHP’s and assistant practitioners.

Our team has access to videofluoroscopy, and an established FEES service, providing responsive instrumental assessment to support dysphagia management and swallow rehabilitation. We have a supportive admin team, embedded supervision, support structures for both professional development and wellbeing and CPD is very well supported and actively encouraged.

Our wider SLT staff work across a variety of inpatient and community settings. We also benefit from being part of a large SLT service which includes children’s services. We have very strong SLT and AHP leadership within the Trust.

Main duties of the job

To work in collaboration with the Head of Adult SLT Service in planning, coordinating, delivering and evaluating the Speech & Language Therapy provided to patients within the Trust on a day to day basis.

To provide highly specialist SLT assessment diagnosis and treatment of patients.

To ensure the delivery of highly specialist care to all patients in the Trust according to clinical priorities and as required by the Head of Service, usually in the community stroke , as part of the community and rehabilitation SLT team.

To provide highly specialist SLT in the area of community stroke, ensuring effective practice and providing support and development to SLTs and the wider MDT

To maintain close working relationships with other health professionals /referrers to ensure efficient, effective, patient centred and appropriate delivery of the service.

To supervise and educate student SLTs to a graduate standard, working with the Universities to ensure standard of practice and teaching meets the standards set by the degree level qualification.

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

To perform highly specialist assessments of patients with diverse presentations and complex physical and psychological conditions resulting from a stroke. To provide a clinical diagnosis and develop and deliver an individualised treatment programme.

Undertake the assessment and treatment of patients in community settings who have suffered a stroke. To maintain associated records as an autonomous practitioner and provide advice to medical and nursing staff and other members of the multi-disciplinary team regarding patients’ function/condition.

To hold responsibility for own caseload and be responsible for a defined area of the service or a particular patient type, as defined by the Head of Service, working without supervision. Access to advice and support is available as required, clinical work is not routinely evaluated. To undertake all aspects of clinical duties as an autonomous practitioner.

Formulate, deliver and evaluate highly specialist individual SLT programmes based on a sound knowledge of evidence-based practice and treatment options using clinical assessment, clinical reasoning skills and knowledge of treatment.

Make rapid and appropriate amendments to treatment in response to clinical observations made during the treatment of the patient.

Assess patient understanding of treatment proposals, gain valid informed consent and have the capacity to work within a legal framework with patients who lack capacity to consent to treatment.

Use a range of verbal and non-verbal communication tools to communicate effectively and motivate patients, to progress rehabilitation and treatment programmes.

Use appropriate resources (e.g. interpreters) to communicate effectively with patients who have English as an additional language and provide an equitable treatment programme to patients of differing cultural and social backgrounds

Provide and receive complex information relating to patient’s diagnosis, treatment & long-term rehabilitation outcomes to patient’s carers and the MDT.

Applicant requirements

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.