Specialist Speech and Language Therapist - ESD

Are you looking to develop your skills in stroke rehabilitation and MDT working? If so then we want you! We are a friendly and welcoming MDT and we want to provide all of our therapists with the ability to think critically, challenge the evidence base and provide high standards of person-centred care. This involves commitment, motivation and a strong desire to learn and in turn, we will give you our commitment of CPD, the opportunity to develop your clinical skills in acquired dysphagia and communication disorders within the field of stroke and to aim towards completion of relevant clinical competencies.

This is a full time, permanent post within the Brent ESD team based at Northwick Park Hospital and linked in closely to our award-wining HASU and SU. There is the opportunity to develop skills in dysphagia management, robust access to FEES and VFS, goal-setting and key working skills, complex communication management and the chance to be part of a highly skilled MDT and strong links to our Adult SLT department, also based at Northwick Park Hospital.

We offer peer support and formal supervision as well as cross site departmental in service training, excellent library facilities, a commitment to flexible working policies, support for further postgraduate training and active participation in service development and clinical audit.

You will be based at Northwick Park Hospital on the stroke unit but will provide stroke specific therapy in the community at patients homes. The post holder will be an autonomous practitioner providing specialist speech and language therapy services to patients post-stroke. A significant proportion of these clients will have English as an additional language (EAL). The post holder will complete all duties required for this including comprehensive neuro assessment, key-working, goal setting, providing treatment, liaising with different services, referring onto appropriate services, discharge planning & discharge paperwork.

You will be required to travel independently to service users’ homes. You will have opportunities to support with some managerial duties including triaging new referrals and allocating therapy to team members, supporting in creating the weekly and weekend team timetables. You will provide supervision to rehab technicians and students.

The post holder will participate in team meetings, contributing to departmental / team audits and research projects. They will deliver and evaluate specialist training on a regular basis within the hospital / community setting, to other professionals and patients / carers on all aspects of swallowing, speech, language and communication. They will contribute to clinical training of newly qualified Speech and Language Therapists, Clinical Support Workers & Speech & Language Therapy students.

London North West University Healthcare NHS Trust (LNWH) cares for the people of Brent, Ealing, Harrow and beyond.

Our team of more than 8,200 clinical and support staff serve a diverse population of almost one million people.

We run major acute services at:

• Northwick Park Hospital: home to one of the busiest emergency departments (A&E) in the country. The hospital provides a full range of services including the country’s top-rated hyper-acute stroke unit and one of only three hyper-acute rehabilitation units in the UK
• St Mark’s Hospital: an internationally renowned specialist centre for bowel disease
• Ealing Hospital: a busy district general hospital providing a range of clinical services, as well as 24/7 emergency department and urgent care centre, and specialist care at Meadow House Hospice
• Central Middlesex Hospital: our planned care site, hosting a range of surgical and outpatient services and collocated with an urgent care centre.

We are a university teaching NHS trust, in recognition of the important role we play in training clinicians of the future and bringing the benefits of research to the public.

To view the main responsibility, please see the attached the Job Description and Person Specification.