Speech and Language Therapist for FEES Training

Job description

Job responsibilities

MAIN DUTIES/RESPONSIBILITIES - CLINICAL DUTIES

To maintain personal professional status by ensuring that the requirements laid down by relevant professional body for periodic registration to maintain personal professional licence are complied with.

To be responsible for the clinical and administrative work of the speech and language therapists, monitoring referrals, prioritising caseloads in accordance with Service Guidelines and general arrangements for providing a responsive, cohesive and effective service for the patients in the hospital.

To organise and operate the hospital’s speech and language therapy service and its associated caseload efficiently and according to Service Guidelines in order to provide an equitable, responsive and effective service.

To deal with initial, verbal complaints sensitively, avoiding escalation where possible, informing line manager of all such incidents and recording in line with Trust policy.

To ensure that Trust and speech and language therapy policies are understood and observed and that procedures are followed.

To undertake clinical work with adults with a wide range of acquired communication and

swallowing difficulties to a high clinical standard.

The clinical work will include:

• Assessing and diagnosing a wide range of communication and swallowing disorders, including diverse and multi-faceted pathologies.
• Planning appropriate therapy intervention, making fine judgements about type and timing of treatment negotiated with patients, carers and the MDT.
• Recommending and introducing low tech communication systems and resources
• Delivering group and individual therapy as required.
• Providing specialist advice, education and therapy programmes to patients, carers and other health professionals.
• Managing patients and carers anxieties regarding intervention and prognosis.
• Evaluating treatment outcomes
• Transferring and discharging as appropriate.

To assess, develop and implement highly specialist person centred programmes of treatment to meet the needs of clients on personal caseload. This requires the development of a high level of clinical competence within the field of acquired communication and swallowing disorders, reflecting on own practice and keeping abreast of significant advances in clinical care through attendance at courses, conferences, CENs and critical appraisal of journal articles. 

To maintain clinical records, and to write timely reports and correspondence for Health, Social Services and other colleagues reflecting specialist knowledge.

To provide highly specialist evidenced based advice to speech and language therapists and other professionals working within the field on clinical issues in particular with regard to establishing safe practice in swallow management and developing a supportive communicative environment for those who are unable to meet their communication needs using verbal channels: offering second opinions within the field, providing specialist assessment (including videofluroscopic &/FEES investigation) and therapy recommendations.

To contribute to inter-disciplinary assessment and treatment programmes where appropriate, and negotiate with others around case management in complex cases.

To ensure that patients are involved in the planning and prioritisation of care plans wherever possible and to facilitate their meaningful involvement in planning their care with other members of the inter-disciplinary team. This will involve communicating complex information with skill and sensitivity, employing total communication strategies when required.

To provide a clinical lead to the inter-disciplinary team in the hospital in order to facilitate best practice.

To initiate and take part in regular clinical review and supervision with other therapists both as a peer reviewer and supervisee.

Please refer to the attached job description and personal specification of the role. You are welcome to call 01279827199 to have an informal chat about the role.

Person Specification

Qualifications

Essential

• Recognised Speech and Language Therapy Degree Qualification or equivalent.
• Registered to practice with Health Professionals Council and Royal College of Speech and Language Therapists.
• Post Graduate Training in dysphagia management and Videofluoroscopy.
• Professional appraisal training.
• Clinical supervision training

Desirable

• Evidence of successful completion of specialist short courses up to Masters Degree equivalent, including:
• oAdvanced post graduate training in dysphagia management.
• oPost graduate training in videofluoroscopy &/FEES.
• Member of relevant speech and language therapy Clinical Excellence Networks (CENs) or British Aphasiology Society.
• Management/ leadership training
• Training in research methodology

Experience

Essential

• Experience in working with a wide range of complex aetiologies including stroke, adult learning disability, head and neck cancers, neurological conditions, dementia etc
• Experience using specialist assessments e.g. psycholinguistics, videofluoroscopy etc
• Experience of devising, implementing and evaluating training programmes for patients, carers and professionals
• Experience of working within an inter-disciplinary team.
• Experience in the supervision of students and assistants.
• Experience of designing, implementing and making recommendations from audit
• Experience of working in partnership with the voluntary sector

Desirable

• Experience of working with High Tech Augmentative Communication Systems
• Experience of participation in service planning and clinical governance groups
• Experience in managing junior colleagues.

Disclosure and Barring Service Check

This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (Exceptions Order) 1975 and as such it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service (formerly known as CRB) to check for any previous criminal convictions.

Employer details

Employer name

The Princess Alexandra Hospital NHS Trust

Address

The Princess Alexandra Hospital

Harlow

Essex

CM20 1QX

Employer's website

https://www.pah.nhs.uk (Opens in a new tab)