Assistant Speech & Language Therapist

Job summary

If you are passionate about communication and would relish the challenge of working in a Stroke rehabilitation, we would like to meet you!

We are looking for an assistant to join our multi-disciplinary Stroke Rehabilitation Team based at Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells Hospitals to help in the delivery of our Speech and Language Therapy Service. We are looking for a flexible individual with an empathetic nature, who is keen, conscientious and fast learner. You must enjoy working on your own and as part of multiple teams.

You will be helping to perform early assessments and deliver therapy to patients under the direction of the Speech and Language therapy team. Some will have lost the ability to understand or use the spoken and\or written word, whilst others may have difficulty swallowing.

Main duties of the job

Your input will help support patients to regain these skills or, where this is not possible, to learn alternative ways of communicating, for example through gesture or drawing. In addition, you will be required to help with admin tasks, including the making of therapy resources to use with patients, inputting data and administering therapy groups.

We have an established assistant teaching programme to develop your knowledge and understanding. However, it would be beneficial to have had some previous experience as a Health Care Assistant, Clinical Support Worker, Therapy Assistant or Volunteer in a hospital or other health care environment, though this is not essential. Good communication and organisational skills are essential, and an engaging and creative outlook for delivering care highly desirable. As part of the multi-disciplinary team, you will work closely with therapists, nurses, doctors, the patient, their friends, carers and family.

The post is based primarily on our specialist Hyper-Acute and Acute Stroke Units at Maidstone Hospital and our stroke rehab beds in Tonbridge Cottage Hospital and the post-holder must be able and willing to travel cross-site when required by the service.

About us

Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells NHS Trust ranks among the top 10 NHS Trusts nationwide and was named the second-best Trust to work for in the South East in the 2023 and 2024 NHS Staff Survey. Our stroke services are consistently one of the best performing in the South East according to the SSNAP audit.

We are a large acute hospital trust in south-east England, providing general hospital services and specialist care to around 600,000 residents in West Kent and East Sussex. With a dedicated and diverse team of over 8,000 staff we are proud to offer specialised cancer services to over two million people through the Kent Oncology Centre.

Our Therapies and Stroke teams have videos describing what it's like to work for us - take a look for yourself

https://youtu.be/GhVNSbkYkX8

Stroke Recruitment MTW

Looking for flexible working?We are a flexible working-friendly organisation. Whether it's adjusting your hours or exploring other flexible arrangements, we want to work with you to find the best solution for you, our patients, and the Trust. Talk to us about how we can accommodate your working needs.

Click here to hear what our staff say.

Joining us includes a comprehensive benefits package:

• At least 27 days of annual leave plus public/bank holidays (pro-rata for part-time staff).
• Membership in the NHS Pension Scheme, with a 20.6% employer contribution and life assurance benefits
• Blue Light card eligibility
• And more, additional benefits can be found in the benefits documents below