Community Specialist Speech and Language Therapist

This is an exciting opportunity to work in a well-established community Speech and Language Therapy Team. We are looking for a dynamic, passionate and caring Speech and Language Therapist to join our dedicated friendly team, providing assessment and treatment for service users with acquired communication and swallowing difficulties. The Speech and Language Therapy team work closely as part of the wider community MDT, which includes dietitians, occupational therapists and physiotherapists.

The successful applicant will be an experienced Speech and Language Therapist, who has completed dysphagia assessment and management competencies and is able to manage a dysphagia caseload independently.

You will be working with adult service users with swallowing and/or communication difficulties resulting from acquired or long-term conditions, including neurological disorders. Your clinical role will be to determine diagnosis and to develop and deliver individualised treatment programs and/or provide advice. You will hold responsibility for your own specialist caseload, working with service users in their own homes or other community settings.

Main duties of the job

Main Responsibilities:

Person specification

QUALIFICATIONS / TRAINING

Essential

• Relevant Degree/Diploma
• Registered with HCPC
• Evidence of Postgraduate Training
• Successful completion of post basic dysphagia course OR completed and documented competencies from dysphagia training
• NHS experience at postgraduate/undergraduate level

Desirable

• Member of Royal College of Speech and Language Therapists
• Member of relevant clinical excellence network, and attendance at events
• Studied at Masters level or equivalent

KNOWLEDGE, EXPERIENCE & EXPERTISE

Essential

• Significant experience working as a Speech and Language Therapist with adults with neurological conditions, demonstrating ability to assess, treat and evaluate care
• Comprehensive knowledge of appropriate and available Speech and Language Therapy assessments and approaches
• Is competent in working at level of specialist dysphagia practitioner
• Knowledge of instrumental dysphagia assessments
• Knowledge of relevant legislation, national guidelines and best practice
• Good Clinical Reasoning skills
• Evidence of CPD, self-directed learning and Reflective Practice
• IT literate with the ability to maintain accurate records
• Access to transport insured for business use
• Willingness to undertake additional and mandatory training as required

Desirable

• Experience developing, supervising and training others
• Previous experience working at Band 6 level

COMMUNICATION AND RELATIONSHIPS

Essential

• Demonstrates positive attitudes and behaviours
• Excellent time management skills
• Ability to communicate effectively with people with complex difficulties and in difficult situations
• Recognises own limitations and have willingness to share and learn from others
• Self-motivated with ability to work independently and influence others
• Proven ability to work well in a team
• Ability to organise own work and caseload
• Problems solving/decision making skills based on patient/client needs

About the employer

We employ more than 6,500 staffwho deliver compassionate care from our two main hospitals,Calderdale Royal Hospital and Huddersfield Royal Infirmary as well as in community sites, healthcentres and in patients' homes. We also are incredibly proud to have almost 150 volunteers here at CHFT.

We provide a range of services including urgent and emergency care; medical; surgical; maternity; gynaecology; critical care; children's and young people's services; end of life care and outpatient and diagnostic imaging services.

We provide community health services, including sexual health services in Calderdale from Calderdale Royal and local health centres. These include Todmorden Health Centre and Broad Street Plaza.

We continue to modernise and invest in our health services to build on our strong reputation.Foundation trusts are public leaders in improving quality in health services. They are part of the NHS- yet decisions about what they do and how they do it are driven by independent boards. Boardslisten to their Council of Governors and respond to the needs of their members - patients, staff andthe local community.

Foundation trusts provide what the health service wants, yet are also free to invest quickly in thechanges to the local community needs, in striving to be the best, and in putting their patients first.