Speech and language therapist

Job description

Job responsibilities

1. Communication and relationship skills

To work alongside other speech & language therapy colleagues providing support and professional exchange of ideas and experience.

To attend appropriate meetings within the speech & language therapy service and childrens therapy team.

To contribute to clinical teams by discussing own and others input around clients needs ensuring a well-coordinated care plan.

To communicate complex condition related information from assessment to clients, carers, families and members of the multidisciplinary team/other professions.

To communicate condition related information to clients who have communication problems themselves.

To work closely with clients, carers and families, agreeing decision making relevant to the client management.

To demonstrate empathy with clients, carers and families and colleagues, ensuring that effective communication is achieved, particularly where barriers to understanding exist. To demonstrate skills in motivating clients and carers to engage in the therapeutic process.

2. Knowledge, training and experience

To identify personal and professional development evidenced by a personal development plan as part of the appraisal process.

To maintain professional standards by attending appropriate training including short courses and development relating to the clinical specialism to maintain up to date HPC and RCSLT registration.

To demonstrate knowledge of and adherence to RCSLT professional clinical guidelines.

To demonstrate knowledge in clinical specialism underpinned by current evidence-based practice.

To demonstrate a working knowledge of relevant procedures including (safeguarding children, SEN procedure) and other legal requirements.

To demonstrate a working knowledge of the principals of clinical governance and their application to professional practice.

To participate in the development of local clinical guidelines informed by evidence of clinical specialism.

To participate in the development and delivery of training of other professional groups and carers.

To support placements for speech & language therapy students and prospective speech & language therapy students.

To explain the role of speech & language therapy(ist) in work settings.

To demonstrate the ability to reflect on and evaluate training provided.

To undertake general administrative and client related administrative tasks in line with speech & language therapy service operational policies.

To maintain client records in accordance with RCSLT professional standards and local trust operational policies and quality standards.

To provide accurate statistical information as required

To produce reports circulated to a wide range of professional colleagues across agencies, clients and carers regarding clients needs and summarising proposed care plans.

To share information with others observing data protection guidelines

3. Analytical and judgement skills

• To assess patient understanding of treatment proposals, gain valid informed consent and have the capacity to work within a legal framework with patients who lack the capacity to consent to treatment.

4. Planning and organisational skills

To be responsible for organising and planning own caseload and work demands to meet patient and service priorities, in conjunction with the service lead and informing the service lead of excessive demands and effects on patient care.

5. Physical skills

To undertake assessment of patients with a wide variety of presentations and conditions: using clinical reasoning skills and assessment techniques to formulate individualised treatment plans and programmes.

6. Responsibility for patient / client care

To provide a comprehensive patient focused service to children living in the Medway area.

To deliver speech and language programmes, and intervention and support others to deliver these interventions.

To continually reassess patient progress, adapting programmes and treatment accordingly and developing discharge plans.

7. Responsibility for policy and service development implementation

To be aware of and adhere to service and team plans and policies including integrated/multi-agency working

8. Responsibilities for financial and physical resources

To be responsible for the safe and competent use of all equipment and facilities, ensuring faulty items are removed from use and reported for action.

• To be aware of health and safety aspects of your work and implement any policies, which may be required to improve the safety of your work area, including your prompt recording and reporting of accidents or concerns.
• To manage clinical and non-clinical risk, within own role according to team and MCH protocols, including the development of individual patient clinical risk assessments.

9. Responsibilities for human resources (HR)

• Participate in the organisations staff appraisal system as an appraise including the agreement of a personal development plan.

10. Responsibilities for information resources

• To collect and submit all data and statistics as required in a timely and accurate manner.
• To record patient contacts onto the RIO system used by the organisation for recording all information relating to patients you are currently treating.

11. Responsibilities for research and development (R&D)

To participate in team and service audits and research projects.

12. Freedom to act

To abide by the rules of professional conduct of the royal college of speech and language therapists

13. Physical effort (refer to effort factor questionnaire)

See attached

14. Mental effort (refer to effort factor questionnaire)

Areas of the role which require mental effort including the nature, level, frequency and duration of the mental effort required. The frequency of the requirement should also be identified, ie whether this occasional or a frequent need

15. Emotional effort (refer to effort factor questionnaire)

Areas of the role which require emotional effort and the nature, level, frequency and duration demands of the emotional effort required

16. Working conditions (refer to effort factor questionnaire)

The nature, level, frequency and duration of demands arising from inevitably adverse environmental conditions (eg inclement weather, extreme heat/cold, smells, noise and fumes) and hazards, which are unavoidable.

Person Specification

Qualifications

Essential

• Recognised speech and language therapy degree qualification or equivalent

Desirable

• Relevant short courses and training

Registration

Essential

• HCPC registration (eligible for or received)

Experience

Essential

• Appropriate undergraduate placement experience with a paediatric caseload
• Direct experience of working with children with SLCN

Desirable

• Appropriate experience post qualification

Knowledge

Essential

• Knowledge of a range of appropriate assessment and intervention approaches

MCH Values

Essential

• Caring and compassionate, deliver quality and value, working in partnership

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.

Certificate of Sponsorship

Applications from job seekers who require current Skilled worker sponsorship to work in the UK are welcome and will be considered alongside all other applications. For further information visit the UK Visas and Immigration website (Opens in a new tab).

From 6 April 2017, skilled worker applicants, applying for entry clearance into the UK, have had to present a criminal record certificate from each country they have resided continuously or cumulatively for 12 months or more in the past 10 years. Adult dependants (over 18 years old) are also subject to this requirement. Guidance can be found here Criminal records checks for overseas applicants (Opens in a new tab).

UK Registration

Applicants must have current UK professional registration. For further information please see NHS Careers website (opens in a new window).

Employer details

Employer name

Medway Community Healthcare

Address

Snapdragons Centre

Cliffe Road

Strood

ME2 3FF

Employer's website

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