Highly Specialist Speech & Language Therapist - Learning Disability

Job summary

Highly Specialist Speech & Language Therapist - Learning Disability Band 7

The Croydon Intensive Support Team (IST) is a new initiative, established to reduce the number of adults with a LD and Autism being admitted to hospital, minimizing the length of stay when they are, and ensuring that care is person centered and delivered in the least restrictive environments.

The Croydon IST will consist of a multidisciplinary, multiagency team working together primarily to:

• Provide intensive support to people living within Croydon to ensure that they are well supported to remain in borough in the least restrictive environments,
• Support people living out of borough with plans to move back to Croydon or move on to another service,
• Develop the skills and expertise of local providers to be able to support complex identified people living in borough.

The team will do this through the early management of identified complex situations, rather than crisis management. This will include detailed risk assessment and management underpinned by a positive behaviour support model.

The small team will be led by a clinical psychologist employed by Croydon Health Services (CHS) alongside a behaviour specialist and a specialist speech and language therapist employed by CHS, as well as a Transforming Care Nurse and Peer Support Worker employed by South London and the Maudsley and an advanced practitioner employed by Croydon Local Authority.

Main duties of the job

• At a specialist level to assess, develop, treat and discharge people with a learning disability and autism referred with communication and swallowing difficulties, working in the community.
• To work as a member of the Integrated and multi-disciplinary team, to provide an efficient, effective and coordinated Speech and Language Therapy Service.
• To supervise and manage other Speech Therapists, and to provide leadership in this specialism if required within the Croydon IST.
• Develop, co-ordinate and ensure the systematic provision of a Speech and Language Therapy Service alongside the psychology/behavioural service to adults with intellectual disabilities, autism or both whose behaviours significantly challenge and place them at risk of an admission/placement breakdown in the context of the 'complex care' (formerly Transforming Care cohort) agenda and personally provide highly specialist clinical input. These individuals would be typically referred and listed on the Croydon Adult Dynamic Support Register.
• To contribute to enabling other staff, service users and carers from diverse backgrounds to flourish by working to create a psychologically safe environment.
• To provide consultation as appropriate, functioning as a highly specialist SaLT in the provision for the 'complex care' (formerly Transforming Care cohort) as part of Croydon Intensive Support Team (IST)
• To contribute to pilot service evaluation, audit, research and policy development.

About us

Croydon Health Services NHS Trust provide hospital and community services from a number of community and specialist clinics throughout Croydon. The Trust was formed on 1st August 2010 through the integration of Croydon Community Health Services and Mayday Healthcare NHS Trust. Around 4,100 staff provide services for a population of over 360,000 people who are relatively young with a high level of ethnic diversity.

Our main hospital site, Croydon University Hospital is one of the busiest in London. We're also leading the way in providing more healthcare outside hospitals at clinics, specialist centres and in people's homes. Our experienced district nursing teams, Allied Health Professionals and community matrons look after people of all ages across Croydon and our Children's Hospital at Home cares for children with long-term conditions without them having to come to hospital.

Across the NHS everyone is working hard to meet growing demand and we're no exception. But with the right people on board, we are rising to this challenge, putting our people in the driving seat, encouraging innovation and transforming our services to give local people the quality of care they deserve. Croydon Health Services puts a great deal of importance on education and training throughout the careers of all of our staff. As well as offering access to a range of core skills training and professional development.