Upper Airway Consultant Speech and Language Therapist

Job description

Job responsibilities

Communication

To deploy excellent and effective interpersonal skills to foster and maintain positive therapeutic relationships with patients and their families, showing empathy at all times.

To communicate unwelcome or sensitive information to patients and their families with the utmost sensitivity and understanding, providing emotional support and reassurance during times of distress.

To communicate with all colleagues and healthcare professionals clearly and respectfully, in order to promote collaboration and multidisciplinary team working for the benefit of patients, with an ability to negotiate as necessary (e.g., regarding caseload prioritisation, treatment options).

To meet regularly with team members, line manager/senior management, service lead, consultants, business and finance managers, adapting communication style as required.

To chair team/service meetings, as requested, and to cascade information to team members appropriately.

Patient care

Direct

To be solely responsible for the operational management of the upper airway SLT service, with a strong multidisciplinary ethos, and to ensure the highest level of clinical governance.

To coordinate, develop and evaluate all aspects of the upper airway SLT clinical service, including outpatient clinics, day case admissions for laryngoscopy, inpatient assessment, group therapy, and ensure all patients receive an appropriate form of treatment.

To triage referrals and identify a pathway of care with the appropriate team member.

To independently assess, diagnose and treat patients with complex upper airway symptoms referred locally and nationally, including those who have been treated unsuccessfully previously, and those with psychogenic presentations, and to document expert clinical decisions in case notes and reports.

To make expert clinical judgements on the need and suitability for laryngoscopy +/- provocation and to perform laryngoscopies independently, seeking ENT and respiratory review appropriately via the upper airway MDT.

To analyse and interpret laryngoscopic images with a high degree of detail, in order to personalise therapy to restore normal function where possible.

To be a key member of the upper airway MDT and participate in other ward rounds within asthma and allergy as required.

To provide highly specialist clinical advice on supra-regional referrals to RBH, to SLT colleagues and other clinical staff nationally to liaise with external agencies throughout the country regarding patient management.

To maintain and demonstrate expert knowledge in upper airway work underpinned by current evidence-based practice.

To reflect on own clinical practice, providing evidence of advanced clinical judgement in order to lead the upper airway SLT service and improve patient outcomes.

To request advice from other specialist clinical services as required.

Indirect

To act in a consultative role, nationally and internationally, to non-specialist and specialist upper airway health professionals, providing expert clinical advice and second opinions to ensure accurate diagnosis and appropriate treatment.

To act as an information resource in the field of upper airway for therapists locally, nationally and internationally and to supervise visiting clinicians/observers as appropriate.

To draw on advanced knowledge in order to provide professional leadership in upper airway management and to participate in national and international initiatives to improve patient care (e.g., development of RCSLT position paper, guidelines on extended scope of practice).

To work within directorate and Trust policy and procedures at all times and to adhere to professional standards of practice.

To have in-depth knowledge of and adhere to RCSLT Professional Guidelines, and to be a lead author in the revision of such guidelines and policy documents.

Policy & Service development

To be solely responsible for the monitoring and interpretation of clinical activity and performance data, to ensure exceptional service quality provision and to highlight areas for service development and change.

To independently evaluate all aspects of clinical team activity and performance and feed back to the upper airway service lead and general manager of the lung division, reporting on issues of quality, risk, equity, activity, workforce and service delivery.

To provide leadership and direction for senior managers, regarding operational management, future strategy and need for service development.

To write robust business cases based on a justified need within the upper airway SLT service, to ensure the service remains financially stable and responsive to increased demand.

To lead on patient safety and quality initiatives including audit and service evaluation.

To investigate, handle and report on complaints and incidents in the upper airway service.

To develop strategies around clinical risk management in the upper airway service.

To take a lead role in the development of standard operating procedures and clinical protocols at a local, national and international level.

To sit on national advisory boards and participate in other working groups to influence the development of clinical standards and policy.

Please job description document for full details of main responsibilities.

Person Specification

SKILLS & ABILITIES

Essential

• Expert clinical skills in voice, ENT, upper airway/respiratory disorders reflected by: o use and interpretation of highly complex data and information for differential diagnosis, often in high-risk patients o ability to achieve successful outcomes in treatment refractory patients

Desirable

• Membership of national & international organisations within field of respiratory medicine, SLT and ENT

EXPERIENCE & KNOWLEDGE

Essential

• Extensive experience working in the field of voice, ENT and respiratory medicine
• Clinical experience and autonomy, to an advanced level, in:assessment, differential diagnosis and management upper airway presentations o the use of instrumental tools (e.g. laryngoscopy) to support diagnosis and management of patients presenting with laryngeal, voice and breathing disorders o providing second opinions & clinical advice on complex cases, fulfilling a consultative role to internal and external colleagues o achieving successful outcomes with complex cases and using advanced communication skills through all aspects of management (e.g. during case conferences) o multidisciplinary & collaborative working of complex voice, ENT and
• Leadership and management experience including: o supervision, appraisal, line management of therapy team o service development, clinical quality & patient safety initiatives o conception and implementation of innovative practice o experience of working with local, regional and/or national colleagues to influence service development, policy, and/or clinical guidelines o managing change and uncertainty o leadership of national professional and clinical networks
• Teaching o experience devising and delivering local, regional and national teaching programmes o evidence of conference presentations, speaker invitations, involvement in academic/HEI training courses

EDUCATION & QUALIFICATIONS

Essential

• Recognised Speech and Language Therapy degree MSc or equivalent level of post graduate experience
• Post-graduate training to an advanced level in: o Assessment, differential diagnosis, & treatment of complex voice, larynx and breathing disorders related to upper airway dysfunction o Perceptual analysis of voice o Acoustic and aerodynamic analysis of voice o Assessment of breathing pattern disorders o Advanced laryngoscopy for assessment of upper airway disorders, including provocation challenges o Fiberoptic Endoscopic Evaluation of Swallowing (FEES) assessment o Interpretation of laryngoscopic images o Psychogenic voice disorders o CBT/other psychological approaches
• Registered Member of Royal College of Speech and Language Therapists

Desirable

• Doctorate level qualification reflective of skills in designing, implementing, analysing and publishing research

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

Guy's and St Thomas' NHS Foundation Trust

Address

Royal Brompton Hospital

Fulham Road

South Kensington, London

SW3 6HP

Employer's website

https://www.guysandstthomas.nhs.uk/careers/careers.aspx (Opens in a new tab)