Band 7: Highly Specialist Speech & Language Therapist: to Adult Mental Health inpatient services.

The successful candidate will join and lead the innovative Speech & Language Therapy department working in inpatient services across Nottinghamshire.

You will be well supported by senior MDT and Speech & Language Therapy colleagues, with many opportunities for peer support.

Main duties of the job

The speech & Language Therapy provision to the inpatient wards aim to deliver Dysphagia and communication support to patients sectioned under the mental health act. The overall aim is to support the patient, their carers, and the ward to progress safely to discharge and community living. The post holder will lead the newly established Speech & Language Therapy team to deliver these aims.

You will be supporting this aim with your specialist communication knowledge and your understanding of the individual's needs based on the assessments and observation you will be undertaking.

Speech & Language Therapists in the AMH inpatient services work as part of multidisciplinary teams and you will be instrumental in the holistic formulation of the individual's needs and care plans by adding a functional and environmental communication perspective to the discussion (using the 5 Good Communication Standards as one of the principles of inclusive communication).

About us

We have a huge variety of opportunities in our expansive Trust covering geographically from South Yorkshire, Nottinghamshire to Leicester, providing mental health inpatient and community services, community health services, forensic mental health services and secure prison healthcare across the East Midlands.

We have more than 100 sites and a huge scope of unique opportunities to develop your career and gain some amazing experiences. We strive to be a great place to work and offer many staff benefits and tailored staff support and wellbeing programmes.

Do you want to make a difference?
Do you believe in Trust, Honesty, Respect, Compassion and Teamwork?

Then Nottinghamshire Healthcare is the perfect place for you to start, maintain or further your career. Join our team of nearly 9000 who are making a difference every day. We are all about our people - our staff, volunteers, carers, service users and patients. We are NottsHC.

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Job description
Job responsibilities

Specialist speech, language, and communication assessments focusing on functional communication and what reasonable adjustments (Accessible Information Standards) should be in place to support the persons needs.

Liaison, advice and recommendations that aim to progress towards discharge and to prevent further communication breakdown. Additionally, the aim is to aim to empower the person to express their thoughts and opinions to the extent they wishes. You will work in an interactive and a consultative way.

The role will also involve assessing and developing the management of eating and drinking difficulties for individuals, where issues arise due to a variety of physiological, cognitive and environmental reasons.

Co-working with your MDT colleagues, families, and carers to enable their inclusive communication practices in their relationships, care, and interactions with the individual.

Attendance at meetings with and on behalf of the patient, ward, and wider Speech & Language Therapy service and the individual to plan for ongoing and accessible care.

Support and supervision of Speech & Language Therapy colleagues in the team including the development of core competencies involved in care and management of dysphagia.

Person Specification
Contractual Requirements
Essential

• A full UK driving licence and vehicle for business use is required for this post

Qualifications
Essential

• Recognised SLT Degree/diploma
• RCSLT Registered
• HCPC Registered

Desirable

• Post-graduate dysphagia qualification/ completion of dysphagia competencies

Experience
Essential

• Working experience of assessing and managing a complex caseload with adults with speech, language and communication needs.
• Experience of the assessment and treatment of dysphagia for people with mental health conditions and/or Intellectual Disabilities
• Experience of effective multi-disciplinary/agency working and established interpersonal and negotiation skills
• Experience of designing and delivering different learning and development opportunities for staff teams.
• Experience of delivering environmental approaches to SLT service delivery and evaluating them
• Experience in developing evaluation / audit tools and resources as part of SLT team and wider MDT

Desirable

• Experience of diagnostic assessments and post diagnostic support.
• Highly specialist experience of working with people with mental health /personality disorders diagnoses
• Experience of leading / managing project work.
• Experiencing of offering robust consultative advice.
• Experience of supervising students and other staff
• Experience of linking communication to risk issues

Knowledge
Essential

• Highly specialist applied knowledge of working with adults with Speech, Language and Communication Needs (SLCN) who have mental health diagnoses, attachment and personality disorder or neuro-developmental disabilities
• Knowledge of Speech Language Communication tools, assessments and interventions relating to the client group.
• Knowledge of National Policy and guidance and impact on local practice.
• Applied leadership knowledge.

Desirable

• Highly specialist knowledge of how speech, language and communication needs contribute to risk assessment and support management.

Skills
Essential

• Empathetic and psychologically minded
• Excellent written and oral communication skills
• Well organised, able to prioritise and manage workload effectively
• Good reasoning skills
• Leadership skills
• Motivated and a motivator
• Team builder and team member
• Autonomous and able to work without direct supervision
• Reflective practitioner
• Ability to manage own well-being with access to supervision to sustain this.

Desirable

• Highly specialist skill in working with young people and adults with Aspergers and/or autism
• Experience of supporting other staff and students
• Experience of managing a project or service initiative
• Skills in working with individuals in crisis

Any attachments will be accessible after you click to apply.

186-069-23-MH