Speech & Language Therapy Assistant

Job overview

A new and exciting opportunity has arisen in the inpatient mental health Speech and Language Therapy (SLT) team in Sheffield. We are delighted to be expanding our small team to include an assistant post.

SLTs working in the mental health team help service users on inpatient wards to manage swallowing difficulties (dysphagia) and communication needs. We support people to understand and express themselves, so they can meaningfully participate in treatment decisions and therapeutic activities on the wards. We support staff training in dysphagia awareness and communication adaptations. As an SLT assistant, you will be supporting our SLTs to deliver a range of interventions which will include directly working with service users and indirect interventions such as developing accessible resources. On the job training will be provided to ensure you are appropriately skilled to deliver interventions within the remit of the role.

The successful candidate will work across all working-age adult wards, including a Psychiatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU), as well as older adult wards and 2 nursing homes. Wards are located over 3 sites (Michael Carlisle Centre, Longley Centre and Grenoside Grange); nursing homes are situated in Chapeltown and Norton.

The role of SLTs in acute mental health settings is an evolving area of practice and so genuine interest and compassion for this client group, a willingness to learn and adaptability skills are highly valued qualities in a candidate.

Main duties of the job

• Under the direction of a registered Speech and Language Therapist the post holder will deliver an effective, high quality Speech and Language Therapy service.
• They will use professional and creative skills to assist in the provision of client centred therapeutic interventions for individuals/groups of clients who have communication needs.
• The post holder will give support to adults with communication difficulties, working as a member of the multidisciplinary inpatient mental health service.
• The post holder will support qualified Speech and Language therapists to carryout their professional role in a timely and effective manner including the production of resources and specified administration tasks.
• Under the guidance of a qualified Speech and Language Therapist the post holder will support carers and relevant others regarding the individual client’s communication strategies and enhancing communication environments.
• The post holder will ensure the recording of service users’ information regarding screening/ waiting lists and allocation is accurate and up to date
• To support qualified clinicians in the planning and implementation of training where appropriate

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

Please see the attached job description and person specification files for detailed information about the nature of the role.

Applicant requirements

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.