Speech and Language Therapy Co-worker

Job overview

This is a very rare and exciting opportunity to work for six months with Specialist Speech and Language Therapists (SaLT)  across the Trust's Mental Health Inpatient Wards.  SaLTs assess, diagnose and treat patients with speech, language and communication needs and swallowing impairments. You will work under the direction of the SaLTs to support identification of patients needing assessment and to help deliver the support and treatment they need. You will be expected to attend ward rounds to represent the SaLT service. You will need to develop a good working relationship with patients and ward staff including nurses, psychiatrists and other therapists. Previous experience working with people with mental illness or learning disabilities would be preferable.

Main duties of the job

• To contribute to the delivery of high-quality assessment, diagnosis and intervention to patients and their carers including both communication and dysphagia/swallowing support and health improvement.
• To analyse the need for, develop and produce easy read/accessible information/visual supports appropriate to the individual service user’s health and communication needs to improve their health and well-being.
• To represent the Speech and Language Therapy Service as required.
• To be involved in specialist multi-disciplinary assessment (including gathering and analysing case history information) and care packages.
• To identify, develop and deliver training packages appropriate to the audience need.
• To identify, develop and implement therapy resources and low-tech communication aids following clinical assessment, which involves making judgements about what is required, appropriate and achievable.
• To plan, organise and manage own workload to complete tasks in a timely manner.
• To use good word processing skills to create accessible information resources.

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

• To contribute to the specialist assessment and diagnosis of the communication and/or eating and drinking skills of patients receiving care in Acute and Crisis services
• To contribute to planning, implementing and monitoring and analysing outcomes of specialist intervention programmes aimed at maximising the service user’s functional communication skills (including health literacy), developing their communication environment and/or managing their eating and drinking difficulties/risk, through direct therapy, advice and training/education.
• To contribute to specialist multi- disciplinary assessment and care packages.
• To participate in CPA/MDT meetings and carry out identified actions which may include liaising with other professionals and carers.
• To plan organise/co-ordinate and/or attend multi-disciplinary clinics as required.
• To identify, develop and implement visual therapy resources and low-tech communication aids following clinical assessment, which involves making judgements about what is required, appropriate and achievable.
• To contribute to Augmentative and Alternative Communication assessments and support programming and implementation of low- and high-tech communication aids.