This is an exciting opportunity to lead our well-established and highly reputed upper airway service at the Royal Brompton Hospital. We are looking for a consultant speech and language therapist, to replace our current postholder in a national centre of excellence.

You will work within the asthma and allergy clinical group, overseeing service delivery to patients with breathing, voice and sensory changes, secondary to laryngeal dysfunction. The typical caseload includes assessing and managing inducible laryngeal obstruction / vocal cord dysfunction, chronic refractory cough and laryngeal hypersensitivity, and related voice and swallowing difficulties. A

A core component of our service is the continuous laryngoscopy during provocation (CLP) clinic, which you will lead. You must have significant experience in performing and interpreting laryngoscopies autonomously, often in challenging cases, to achieve accurate upper airway diagnoses and to aid in therapy progress. A laryngoscopy examination will typically form part of the interview process.

You will manage two upper airway speech and language therapists (Bands 5 and 6), and be a key member of the upper airway multidisciplinary team. You will be expected to further our reputation as a leading centre for the treatment of upper airway disorders.

Main duties of the job

The post holder will be an expert, independent clinician of the highest level within the field of upper airway disorders, providing evidence-based assessment and treatment to patients with a range of breathing, voice and throat difficulties arising from the larynx. He/she will also play a central role in the upper airway multidisciplinary team, comprising respiratory physicians, ENT specialists, and physiotherapists.

The post holder will have regional, national and, potentially international, recognition for their knowledge and experience in treating upper airway disorders and will be routinely called upon to provide second opinions and consult on complex clinical cases. He/she will routinely engage in supervising less experienced clinicians and in teaching physicians and allied health professionals at local, regional and national levels.

He/she will be responsible for the effectiveness of the upper airway SLT service, monitoring performance, activity, and service outcomes, using initiative to design and implement new models of practice.

About us

Guy's and St Thomas' NHS Foundation Trust comprises five of the UK's best known hospitals - Guy's, St Thomas', Evelina London Children's Hospital, Royal Brompton and Harefield - as well as community services in Lambeth and Southwark, all with a long history of high quality care, clinical excellence, research and innovation.

We have a long tradition of clinical and scientific achievement and - as part of King's Health Partners - we are one of England's eight academic health sciences centres, bringing together world-class clinical services, teaching and research. We have one of the National Institute for Health Research's biomedical research centres, established with King's College London in 2007, as well as dedicated clinical research facilities.

Royal Brompton and Harefield hospitals joined Guy's and St Thomas' in February 2021 and is the largest specialist heart and lung centre in the UK and among the largest in Europe. We provide treatment for people with heart and lung disease, including rare and complex conditions, offering some of the most sophisticated treatment that is available anywhere in the world.

Job description

Job responsibilities

Communication

To deploy excellent and effective interpersonal skills to foster and maintain positive therapeutic relationships with patients and their families, showing empathy at all times.

To communicate unwelcome or sensitive information to patients and their families with the utmost sensitivity and understanding, providing emotional support and reassurance during times of distress.

To communicate with all colleagues and healthcare professionals clearly and respectfully, in order to promote collaboration and multidisciplinary team working for the benefit of patients, with an ability to negotiate as necessary (e.g., regarding caseload prioritisation, treatment options).

To meet regularly with team members, line manager/senior management, service lead, consultants, business and finance managers, adapting communication style as required.

To chair team/service meetings, as requested, and to cascade information to team members appropriately.

Patient care

Direct

To be solely responsible for the operational management of the upper airway SLT service, with a strong multidisciplinary ethos, and to ensure the highest level of clinical governance.

To coordinate, develop and evaluate all aspects of the upper airway SLT clinical service, including outpatient clinics, day case admissions for laryngoscopy, inpatient assessment, group therapy, and ensure all patients receive an appropriate form of treatment.

To triage referrals and identify a pathway of care with the appropriate team member.

To independently assess, diagnose and treat patients with complex upper airway symptoms referred locally and nationally, including those who have been treated unsuccessfully previously, and those with psychogenic presentations, and to document expert clinical decisions in case notes and reports.

To make expert clinical judgements on the need and suitability for laryngoscopy +/- provocation and to perform laryngoscopies independently, seeking ENT and respiratory review appropriately via the upper airway MDT.

To analyse and interpret laryngoscopic images with a high degree of detail, in order to personalise therapy to restore normal function where possible.

To be a key member of the upper airway MDT and participate in other ward rounds within asthma and allergy as required.

To provide highly specialist clinical advice on supra-regional referrals to RBH, to SLT colleagues and other clinical staff nationally to liaise with external agencies throughout the country regarding patient management.

To maintain and demonstrate expert knowledge in upper airway work underpinned by current evidence-based practice.

To reflect on own clinical practice, providing evidence of advanced clinical judgement in order to lead the upper airway SLT service and improve patient outcomes.

To request advice from other specialist clinical services as required.

Indirect

To act in a consultative role, nationally and internationally, to non-specialist and specialist upper airway health professionals, providing expert clinical advice and second opinions to ensure accurate diagnosis and appropriate treatment.

To act as an information resource in the field of upper airway for therapists locally, nationally and internationally and to supervise visiting clinicians/observers as appropriate.

To draw on advanced knowledge in order to provide professional leadership in upper airway management and to participate in national and international initiatives to improve patient care (e.g., development of RCSLT position paper, guidelines on extended scope of practice).

To work within directorate and Trust policy and procedures at all times and to adhere to professional standards of practice.

To have in-depth knowledge of and adhere to RCSLT Professional Guidelines, and to be a lead author in the revision of such guidelines and policy documents.

Policy & Service development

To be solely responsible for the monitoring and interpretation of clinical activity and performance data, to ensure exceptional service quality provision and to highlight areas for service development and change.

To independently evaluate all aspects of clinical team activity and performance and feed back to the upper airway service lead and general manager of the lung division, reporting on issues of quality, risk, equity, activity, workforce and service delivery.

To provide leadership and direction for senior managers, regarding operational management, future strategy and need for service development.

To write robust business cases based on a justified need within the upper airway SLT service, to ensure the service remains financially stable and responsive to increased demand.

To lead on patient safety and quality initiatives including audit and service evaluation.

To investigate, handle and report on complaints and incidents in the upper airway service.

To develop strategies around clinical risk management in the upper airway service.

To take a lead role in the development of standard operating procedures and clinical protocols at a local, national and international level.

To sit on national advisory boards and participate in other working groups to influence the development of clinical standards and policy.

Please job description document for full details of main responsibilities.

Person Specification

SKILLS & ABILITIES

Essential

• Expert clinical skills in voice, ENT, upper airway/respiratory disorders reflected by: o use and interpretation of highly complex data and information for differential diagnosis, often in high-risk patients o ability to achieve successful outcomes in treatment refractory patients

Desirable

• Membership of national & international organisations within field of respiratory medicine, SLT and ENT

EXPERIENCE & KNOWLEDGE

Essential

• Extensive experience working in the field of voice, ENT and respiratory medicine
• Clinical experience and autonomy, to an advanced level, in:assessment, differential diagnosis and management upper airway presentations o the use of instrumental tools (e.g. laryngoscopy) to support diagnosis and management of patients presenting with laryngeal, voice and breathing disorders o providing second opinions & clinical advice on complex cases, fulfilling a consultative role to internal and external colleagues o achieving successful outcomes with complex cases and using advanced communication skills through all aspects of management (e.g. during case conferences) o multidisciplinary & collaborative working of complex voice, ENT and
• Leadership and management experience including: o supervision, appraisal, line management of therapy team o service development, clinical quality & patient safety initiatives o conception and implementation of innovative practice o experience of working with local, regional and/or national colleagues to influence service development, policy, and/or clinical guidelines o managing change and uncertainty o leadership of national professional and clinical networks
• Teaching o experience devising and delivering local, regional and national teaching programmes o evidence of conference presentations, speaker invitations, involvement in academic/HEI training courses

EDUCATION & QUALIFICATIONS

Essential

• Recognised Speech and Language Therapy degree MSc or equivalent level of post graduate experience
• Post-graduate training to an advanced level in: o Assessment, differential diagnosis, & treatment of complex voice, larynx and breathing disorders related to upper airway dysfunction o Perceptual analysis of voice o Acoustic and aerodynamic analysis of voice o Assessment of breathing pattern disorders o Advanced laryngoscopy for assessment of upper airway disorders, including provocation challenges o Fiberoptic Endoscopic Evaluation of Swallowing (FEES) assessment o Interpretation of laryngoscopic images o Psychogenic voice disorders o CBT/other psychological approaches
• Registered Member of Royal College of Speech and Language Therapists

Desirable

• Doctorate level qualification reflective of skills in designing, implementing, analysing and publishing research

Employer details

Employer name

Guy's and St Thomas' NHS Foundation Trust

Address

Royal Brompton Hospital

Fulham Road

South Kensington, London

SW3 6HP

Any attachments will be accessible after you click to apply.

196-SMT1606