An exciting new challenge has arisen for highly specialist speech and language therapist (SALT) to join Oxleas NHS trust in our South West prisons. This is a brand-new service and we are looking for a experienced Speech and Language Therapists to join our highly specialist multidisciplinary teams in the South West.

We are recruiting for 3 B7 SALTs, across 10 prisons. One responsible for Bristol, South Gloucestershire & Wiltshire (BSGW), one for Devon and one for Dorset. You will report directly to our Operational Lead SALT for the South West. You will support play a key role in implementing our vision and integration into our established healthcare services.

As SALT's, you will complement our multidisciplinary team and bridge the gap between existing learning disability (LD) provision and offender healthcare services providing assessments, consultation and co-working with complex clients with LD and autism who present a risk of harm to others. The service will also support service users with a complex mix of neurodevelopmental, speech, language, and communication, dysphagia, mental health, and intellectual disability needs who are high-risk, high-harm, high-vulnerability individuals.

This role is based across HMP Ashfield, Bristol, Erlestoke & Wiltshire. HMP Bristol will be your official base and all further travel expenses can be claimed through our mileage/expense system.

Main duties of the job

As a highly specialist Speech and Language therapist, you will provide specialist Speech and Language Therapy assessments and interventions for service users who have a variety of complex communication and/or swallowing needs. This will include adults with neurodiversity and neurological conditions.

You will independently manage your own caseload, accessing clinical and managerial supervision on a regular basis. Whilst doing so, you willact as part of a multi-disciplinary team and represent the Speech and Language Therapy Service within your region.

As a specialist in your field, you will provide specialist advice to prison officers, other speech and language therapists, professionals, and stakeholders within and outside of the Prison/Trust with regards to their specialist area, ensuring carers and family are involved in care where appropriate/possible.

This role will require you to provide compassionate, non-judgemental care that is based on empathy, kindness, respect, and dignity.

About us

Oxleas offers a wide range of NHS healthcare services to people in community and secure environment settings. We are the largest NHS provider of prison health services providing healthcare to prisons within Devon, Dorset, Bristol, Wiltshire and Gloucestershire, Kent and South London.

Our healthcare departments operate across four prisons in the BSGW cluster each of which require a bespoke service responding to the prisoner and prison needs:

• HMP Ashfield - Cat C - Population = 412
• HMP Bristol - Cat B - Population = 638
• HMP Erlestoke - Cat C - Population = 494
• HMP Leyhill - Cat D (Open) - Population = 460

Oxleas are the lead provider across 10 South West prisons and operate in Devon and Dorset in addition to the above.

Our wider services include community health care such as district nursing and speech and language therapy, care for people with learning disabilities and mental health care such as psychiatry, nursing and therapies.We have over 125 sites in a variety of locations in the South of England.

Our purpose is to improve lives by providing the best possible care to our patients and their families. This is strengthened by our new values:

• We're Kind
• We're Fair
• We Listen
• We Care

Job description

Job responsibilities

Management responsibilities

• To induct, train, review work performance and clinically supervise/appraise colleagues, as identified.
• To contribute to the development of Speech and Language Therapy Service policies and procedures, including participation in projects and quality improvement initiatives.
• To contribute to the service development through relevant meetings and working groups.
• To plan and deliver training courses
• Communicate regularly through team meetings, Business meetings, clinical forums and individually with team members providing an opportunity for two-way feedback.
• Ensure that service users and carers opinions and experiences are being responded to at a team level.
• Clinical record keeping is of a consistent high standard and meets trust policy and practice guidance.

Clinical

• Deliver evidence-based practice regarding specialist speech and language therapy assessment, goal setting, intervention and evaluation.
• To carry out and interpret specialist assessments of the eating and drinking (dysphagia) within the prison.
• Monitor specialised packages of care including direct therapy, advice, and training. To have knowledge of specialist approaches used with this client group, for example, Talking Mats.
• To contribute to specialist multi-disciplinary assessment and care package, including consultation, giving advice and joint care planning e.g., Positive Behaviour support.
• To contribute to and carry out Capacity to Consent Assessments in accordance with the Mental Capacity Act, as well providing assessment and advice related to issues of consent, capacity and best interests.
• To participate in professionals meetings both within the healthcare department as well as wider prison.
• To monitor clinical effectiveness and clinical outcome measures
• To have a working knowledge of relevant procedures and policy including The Mental Health Act, Valuing People, The Mental Capacity Act, Liberty Protection Safeguards, Safeguarding Adults and other legal frameworks.

• To follow Health and Safety guidelines regarding unpleasant working conditions, e.g., Hepatitis, lone visits, exposure to bodily fluids.

Research

• To contribute to regular and ongoing audits of Speech and Language Therapy Service work in order to contribute to knowledge of clinical effectiveness and outcomes.
• To develop own skills through training, support, supervision, and study. In order to promote evidence-based practice.

Communication

• To demonstrate well-developed communication and presentation skills
• To provide and receive complex, sensitive, or contentious information where there may be significant barriers to understanding or acceptance possibly within emotive, distressing and/or antagonistic atmospheres.
• To adapt spoken and written information to suit the communication needs of the listener/audience
• To demonstrate well-developed motivation, kindness, negotiation, empathy, and reassurance
• To liaise with other members of the Multi-Disciplinary Teams, this may include prison discipline staff, support staff, other healthcare disciplines, and commissioners.
• To work closely with SLTs from other areas of the trust and in other services.
• To develop and deliver specialist presentations and training to a range of audiences including Service Users, carers, staff, and Professional colleagues, in both small and large groups.
• To provide letters, care plans and reports as necessary.
• To provide accurate and contemporaneous statistical information in accordance with local standards
• To use basic word processing skills and specialist software packages to develop communication aids and accessible information

IMPORTANT INFORMATION, PLEASE READ:

All applicants must be willing to undertake National Security Vetting in order to work in a Prison Setting. This will be completed as part of the pre-employment checks through Oxleas and the prison vetting team.

You will need to provide:

Proof of right to work documentation

Proof of ID, needs to include 1 photographicID

Proof of address documentation

Non-UK passport holders will need to have correct documentation (right to work in the UK) and a Home office Share code.

Address History:

5 years address history will be needed.

Applicants that are not UK Passport holders who provide less than 5 years UK address history will need to provide a Police Certificate which must be in English from where they resided previously.

Applicants who are UK Passport holders who have lived abroad for a period of more than six months during the last three years will need to provide a certificate of good conduct or an overseas police check in English from the countries resided in or visited .

In order to assist you in obtaining a Police Certificate, guidance can be sought from: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/criminal-records-checks-for-overseas-applicants

If the country you have resided in is not listed here, you can obtain the necessary information by contacting the relevant Embassy or High Commission for that Country. Their contact details can be found on the Foreign & Commonwealth Office website ( http://www.fco.gov.uk/en ).

Person Specification

Education & Qualifications

Essential

• Recognised Speech and Language Therapy Degree Qualification or equivalent
• Health Care Professions Council - Licence to Practice
• Registered Member of Royal College of Speech and Language Therapist
• Evidence of post qualification dysphagia training

Desirable

• Approved Clinical Educator
• Completion of specialist short courses up to Masters Degree or equivalent.
• Positive Behaviour Support, social stories, completion of further education and/or CPD relating to Autism.

Experience

Essential

• Significant post graduate experience which demonstrates the competencies to meet the role requirements outlined in the JD
• Experience working with people with learning difficulties/disabilities, Autistic people
• Experience working with people who present with behaviour that may challenge services and/or a range of offending behaviours. Experience of providing a range of therapeutic interventions for adults who may have additional complexities impacting their communication, such as mental health, trauma, discrimination and social factors
• Highly skilled in dysphagia management

Desirable

• Experience of working in secure settings
• Experience in mentoring/supporting less experienced staff/assistants.
• Specialist knowledge of working with complex cases in terms of dual diagnosis, behaviour that may challenge and social/environmental factors
• Skilled in use of alternative and augmentative communication systems

Employer details

Employer name

Oxleas NHS Foundation Trust

Address

HMP's Bristol, Ashfield, Erlestoke & Leyhill

HMP Bristol

Bristol

BS7 8PS

Any attachments will be accessible after you click to apply.

277-5716231-SWP-A