This specialist Speech & Language Therapy post provides input to in and outpatient patients (adults and children) presenting with voice, upper airways and muscle tension swallowing disorders arising from a wide range of aetiologies, with a focus on Post Covid symptoms. The post holder will help deliver the service available to local patients with voice and upper airways conditions post COVID-19. They will integrate with the Post COVID-19 Service at Whittington Health.

Main duties of the job

This post will help deliver speech and language therapy to outpatients (adults and children) with clinical voice disorders and upper airways conditions post COVID-19 (as part of a growing upper airways service). The post holder will support the Clinical Voice Lead in the development of protocols and pathways in these fields.

• Experience of clinical voice disorders is essential and a passion for/experience of working with upper airways conditions (e.g., chronic cough, laryngeal hypersensitivity, and inducible laryngeal obstruction) is desirable.
• An underpinning of knowledge of neurology for differential diagnosis in both neurolaryngology and neurology is desirable.
• The post holder will work with the Clinical Voice Lead in the assessment and treatment of a caseload of patients referred from Whittington Health.
• She/He/They will assist in the management of a caseload of outpatients presenting with voice, upper airways, and post COVID-19 related disorders.
• She/He/They will liaise with the Post COVID-19 Service in Whittington Health and satellite organisations. This role will also include offering training and contributing to service developments, audit, outcome measurements and research.
• She/He/They will work closely with MDT colleagues in ENT, the PostCOVID-19 service and support other SLTs on the wards/community services to deliver integrated care
• The post holder will receive clinical supervision from the Clinical Voice Lead at Whittington Health.

About us

Whittington Health is an integrated care organisation, including the Whittington Hospital, a district general hospital in North central London. The post holder will join the ENT/Voice Speech and Language Therapy Service. It is an outpatient service staffed by a 0.8WTE Clinical Voice Lead. The service is based at the Whittington Hospital. It was commissioned for referrals for adults and children with clinical voice disorders from the Whittington ENT Department. The service provides assessment and therapy to outpatients alongside consultation to inpatients with voice disorders.

Whittington Health serves a richly diverse population and works hard to ensure that all our services are fair and equally accessible to everyone. Nowhere is this more obvious than in the way we look after our staff. We aim to employ a workforce which is as representative as possible of this population, so we are open to the value of differences in age, disability, gender, marital status, pregnancy and maternity, race, sexual orientation, and religion or belief. The Trust believes that as a public sector organisation we have an obligation to have recruitment, training, promotion and other formal employment policies and procedures that are sensitive to these differences. We think that by doing so, we are better able to treat our patients as well as being a better place to work.

Job description

Job responsibilities

1. Demonstrate clinical expertise in the assessment, treatment and management of voice, swallowing, and airway conditions in adults and children, predominantly as outpatients.

2. Provide specialist assessment and management of inpatient/outpatient adults and children with complex voice, upper airway disorders and Post COVID-19 symptoms.

3. Demonstrate robust knowledge of voice, swallowing and respiratory disorders underpinned by current evidence-based practice and outcome measures.

4. Demonstrate auditory and perceptual skills in the assessment diagnosis and treatment of patients with voice disorders.

5. Be flexible to the needs of a clinical caseload to prioritise the caseload and maintain a database for future audit and research, managing time appropriately.

6. Develop and maintain good working relationships with all healthcare professionals involved in the care of patients.

7. Attend and contribute to MDT meetings, referring to other professionals and arranging joint working to ensure the delivery of effective, integrated therapy.

8. Support the dissemination of knowledge of voice, swallowing and airway work within the Trust and/or at a national and international level, through demonstration of specialist clinical practice and positive clinical outcomes.

9.To develop and maintain own specialist skills and knowledge in a specialist area through ongoing personal study, participation in clinical excellence networks, designated training courses and ensure the benefits are incorporated into clinical practice.

10. Reflect on clinical practice, adapt to evidence and feedback from clinical supervision, and contribute to the local Trust systems of clinical governance.

11. Be flexible to the needs of the service and demonstrate ability to respond to change positively as directed by lead clinicians.

Person Specification

Qualifications

Essential

• BSc/MSc. Speech Sciences or equivalent (including PG Dip.)
• HCPC licence to practise, and registered member of RCSLT
• Successful completion of post graduate study relevant to field (e.g., voice disorders and upper airways conditions)
• Successful completion of specialist courses relevant to field (e.g., voice therapy techniques, voice assessment, upper airways disorders and Long Covid

Desirable

• Counselling skills
• Student supervision and training

Previous experience

Essential

• Experience of working with voice and/or upper airways disorders

Desirable

• Delivering specialist training to a range of audiences
• Carrying out evidence based / research projects

Knowledge

Essential

• Using a specialist range of assessment tools and procedures to evaluate disorders of voice, upper airways dysfunction and Long Covid, with support
• Demonstrating key characteristics leading to a specialist diagnosis of voice and upper airways disorders including Long Covid, with support
• Selecting, setting & evaluating specialist treatment goals for patients with voice and upper airways disorders (including Long Covid) with support
• Knowledge of a range of therapeutic interventions relevant to voice and upper airways disorders (including Long Covid) demonstrating the evidence base for these approaches
• Knowledge of the key presentations and management options for voice and upper airways conditions (chronic cough, reflux and Long Covid)
• The application of specialist knowledge of local cultural, linguistic & demographic factors to the management of voice and upper airways caseload including Long Covid
• Knowledge of the diagnosis and management for patients with Long Covid and the role of the SLT, with support
• Knowledge of multi-disciplinary team approaches
• Understanding of clinical governance principles
• Approaches to support clients & carers with challenging behaviour, mental health needs or in high levels of distress

Desirable

• Applying specialist knowledge of assessment tools and procedures to evaluate disorders of swallowing related to voice, upper airways and Long Covid conditions (with support)
• Knowledge of approaches to mentoring, advising, supporting and clinically supervising less experienced SLTs and support staff
• Basic qualitative & quantitative research approaches
• Knowledge of the key elements of writing a research protocol

Skills

Essential

• Communicate complex, sensitive information
• Excellent communication skills
• Make an informed hypothesis of a voice and/or upper airways disorder from a case study/sample
• Critically evaluate published research within a specific area of clinical expertise
• Skills in delivering presentations and training, including basic adaptations to presentation / training style for a range of audiences
• Development and implementation of short term clinically based projects

Employer details

Employer name

Whittington Hospital NHS Trust

Address

Whittington Hospital

Magdala Avenue

London

N19 5NF

Any attachments will be accessible after you click to apply.

220-WHT-2466-A