An opportunity has arisen to work in our friendly team, to provide specialist SLT input to acute inpatients at Worcester Royal Hospital & Alexandra Hospital, Redditch. This includes the oncology wards working flexibly to ensure adequate cover on both sites. The post will primarily focus on inpatient dysphagia assessment and management. There is access to video-fluoroscopy and FEES Services. This post is part of a fixed term contract for maternity leave cover.

Main duties of the job

The post holder will be able to provide specialist swallowing and communication input to acute inpatients across sites with a varying range of aetiologies.

They will independently manage an inpatient caseload, seeking support from peers and supervisor as required.

The individual will be able to efficiently prioritise their workload balancing clinical versus non-clinical demands.

The individual will have excellent interpersonal skills and work as part of the SLT team and wider MDT.

They will have good IT skills and be able to use electronic patient records.

About us

Our purpose is simple - Putting Patients First. We are looking for exceptional colleagues who can help us achieve this.

Worcestershire Acute Hospitals NHS Trust is a large acute and specialised hospital trust that provides a range of local acute services to the residents of Worcestershire and more specialised services to a larger population in Herefordshire and beyond.

The Trust operates hospital-based services from three sites in Kidderminster, Redditch and Worcester

Our workforce is nearly 6,800 strong, and our caring staff are recognised as providing good and outstanding patient-centred care. You could be one of them.

We are committed to recruiting the best people to work with us to achieve our Vision - working in partnership to provide the best healthcare for our communities, leading and supporting our teams to move 4ward. Our 4ward behaviours, which we ask all staff to demonstrate, underpin our everyday work and remain firmly at the heart of all we do.

Our objectives are simple:

• Best services for local people
• Best experience of care and best outcomes for our patients
• Best use of resources
• Best people

Better never stops, and our Clinical Services Strategy provides a clear future vision for our Trust, our hospitals, our services and our role in the wider health and care system.

We are proud to have achieved Timewise accreditation - this means we are committed to embedding flexible working within our organisation as a flex positive employer.

Job description

Job responsibilities

Patient/client care:

To assess, develop and implement Specialist Speech and Language Therapy Treatment

To write reports reflecting specialist knowledge

To provide appropriate specialist intervention and evaluate outcomes

To provide advice to others regarding the management and care of patients/clients with communication, voice and/or feeding and swallowing difficulties

To ensure that patients are involved in the planning and prioritisation of their care plans wherever possible

To demonstrate negotiation skills

To demonstrate clinical effectiveness by use of evidence based practice and outcome measures

To adapt practice to meet individual patients circumstances, including due regard for cultural and linguistic differences

To demonstrate skills in dealing with complex issues to generate appropriate strategies for caseload management

Policy/service development/implementation:

To contribute to interagency/multi-disciplinary team building

To be aware of, adhere to and implement service and team plans and policies

To use specialist knowledge to inform service/policy developments as appropriate

Financial and physical resources:

To monitor stock levels in own service area and request new equipment as appropriate

To be responsible for the security, care and maintenance of equipment ensuring standards of infection control and safety are maintained including equipment loaned to clients

Human resources

To supervise the work of assistants and volunteers

To participate in student placements as appropriate

To provide mentoring to more junior Speech and Language Therapists

To explain the role of Speech and Language Therapists to visitors, students and volunteers

To assist in the support of students from other professional groups as appropriate

To participate in specialist training in area of clinical expertise

To assist with the identification of training needs within the team

Information resources:

To maintain up to date and accurate case notes in line with RCSLT professional standards and local trust policies

To share information with others, observing data protection guidelines

To gather activity data accurately and regularly, ensuring the provision of such information promptly within local Trust guidelines

Research and development:

To participate in and develop innovations in areas of risk management, quality standards setting and clinical effectiveness

To undertake Clinical Governance /audit projects within local service

To participate in departmental research and clinical governance/audit projects

To collect and provide research data as required

Freedom to act:

To be accountable for own professional action and recognise own professional boundaries, seeking advice as appropriate

To work within defined departmental and national protocols/policies and professional code of conduct

To work independently accessing appraisal within an Individual Performance Framework at pre-determined intervals

Knowledge and Skills:

Communication and relationship skills:

To contribute to clinical teams both multi disciplinary and uni disciplinary by discussing own and others input around clients needs ensuring a well co-ordinated care plan

To communicate complex condition related information from assessment to clients, carers, families and members of the multi-disciplinary team/other professions

To work closely with clients, carers and families, agreeing decision making relevant to the patient/client management

To demonstrate empathy with clients, carers and families and colleagues, ensuring that effective communication is achieved, particularly where barriers to understanding exist

To develop skills in motivating clients and /or carers to engage in the therapeutic process

To develop negotiation skills in the management of conflict across a range of situations

To deal with initial complaints sensitively, avoiding escalation where possible

To form productive relationships with others who may be under stress and/or have challenging communication difficulties

To employ excellent communication skills

Knowledge, training and experience:

To demonstrate Specialist Knowledge in clinical specialism underpinned by current evidence based practice

To manage caseload independently

To identify personal/professional development evidenced by Personal Development Plan/ Professional Portfolio developed within an appraisal framework

To participate in Individual Performance Review ensuring that the objectives set reflect the Service and Trust plans, including specific objectives relating the clinical specialism

To attend relevant training and development in order to maintain and develop skills and knowledge required of a specialist therapist working in the adult acute inpatients and voice outpatients and maintain up to date HPC and RCSLT registration

To attend Specialist Short Courses appropriate to clinical specialism

To demonstrate knowledge of, and adhere to RCSLT Professional and Clinical and National and Local Clinical Guidelines

To participate in the development of local clinical guidelines informed by evidence of clinical specialism

To participate in the development and delivery of specialist training (formal and informal) to others in area of clinical expertise with and without support

To keep up to date with new techniques and developments for the promotion and maintenance of good practice in stroke rehabilitation

To provide advice to non-specialists and other specialists/ professionals within clinical field

To attend relevant course, meetings and special interest groups

To develop a working knowledge of relevant procedures including: Safeguarding, , Working with Vulnerable Adults, Mental Capacity Act and other legal frameworks

To develop a working knowledge of the principles of Clinical Governance and their application to professional practice

Analytical and judgmental skills:

To develop the ability to reflect on auditory, visual and kinaesthetic aspects of clients communication /voice and to identify appropriate strategies to facilitate and enhance communicative effectiveness

To negotiate with carers, clients and others around individual case management

To recognise potential breakdown and conflict when it occurs and seek advice and support to resolve

To use specialist knowledge to inform sound clinical judgements/decision making for case management

To make a differential diagnosis on the basis of evidence from assessment seeking advice as appropriate

To develop clear care plans based on best practice

To demonstrate the ability to reflect on practice with peers and mentors and identify own strengths and development needs

To develop the ability to target training (formal and informal) appropriately to the needs of course participants

To develop the ability to reflect on and evaluate training provided

To adapt practice to meet individual patient/client circumstances

Planning and organisational skills

To manage and prioritise own caseload independently

To manage and prioritise own workload

Physical skills

To demonstrate highly developed auditory and perceptual skills in the assessment diagnosis and treatment of patients/clients

To demonstrate skills in handling clients with disabilities

Effort and Environment:

Physical effort:

To have due regard for your own personal safety and that of patients/carers, in particular to have regard to moving and handling regulations, restraining policies and ensure the safe positioning of self and others

Mental effort:

To maintain intense concentration in all aspects of patient management for prolonged periods. In particular, to monitor auditory, visual and kinaesthetic aspects of clients communication, adapting and facilitating according to perceived client needs including cultural and linguistic differences.

To be flexible to the demands of the environment including unpredictable work patterns, deadlines and frequent interruptions

Emotional effort

To maintain sensitivity at all times to the emotional needs of stroke and other patients and their carers in particular when imparting potentially distressing information regarding the nature of the communication and swallowing difficulties and implications of the same

To demonstrate the ability to manage patients with challenging behaviours including the application of appropriate management strategies

Working conditions:

To work within infection control and health and safety guidelines in order to deal appropriately with unpleasant conditions related to client contact as they arise: for example exposure to body fluids, infectious conditions, encountered on a regular basis

To employ appropriate strategies to manage aggressive behaviour within the workplace

Person Specification

Qualifications

Essential

• Degree in Speech and Language Therapy or equivalent.
• Membership of RCSLT
• Registration with HCPC
• Relevant post-graduate courses/conferences
• Membership of relevant CEN
• Computer literate

Experience

Essential

• Experience of working in relevant specialty fields which will have led to:
• the acquisition of sound and well-established theoretical and practical specialist knowledge.
• successful experience of working and learning in multi-professional teams.
• experience of working with complex conditions with an appropriate level of autonomy.
• To include experience/training in the following treatment and assessment techniques:
• - dysphagia assessment and treatment
• - dysarthria assessment and treatment
• - aphasia assessment and treatment

Desirable

• Prior experience in working in an acute hospital setting
• Prior experience of referring to and interpreting instrumental assessments e.g. video-flu
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