Speech and Language Therapy Assistant

North Cumbria Integrated Care NHS Foundation Trust

The closing date is 05 May 2025

Job summary

We have a fixed term vacancy for a speech and language therapy assistant working with therapists in the Adult team based at West cumberland Hospital in whitehaven.

This post will primarily be working With the stroke team with an opportunity for community working both in person and via telemedicine . The post holder will support the therapists to deliver a high quality Speech and Language Therapy service to patients referred into the service.

The Speech and Language Therapy department is a small and friendly department with well established clinical and management supervision structures in place. The post holder will be given all the appropriate training to be able to complete the duties of this new and exciting post

Main duties of the job

To assist Speech and Language Therapists in the provision of a regular treatment service to adults. The Assistant will be required to be able to work autonomously at times, across a variety of settings.

The post holder will be required to gather appropriate information for triage following referral and will need to be confident with good communication skills. You will need to be organised and able to manage your own time and work independently.

You may also be required to use telemedicine and whilst training will be provided once in post, you will need to be confident and willing to use this software.

There will be an element of admin duties such as photocopying and sending out of letters and leaflets to patients under the guidance of the Speech and Language Therapist and you will need to be able to have the appropriate IT skills to to be able to access the systems used in the department.

This post will require some travelling to patients homes and other locations across North Cumbria so a current driving licence and the use of a car are essential.

About us

At NCIC, we have an ambition to deliver outstanding healthcare services to the population of North Cumbria. The Trust is committed to creating a centre of excellence in providing rural and remote healthcare and provides a wide range of community and acute services throughout our county.

Our 5 key principles demonstrate our belief in the delivery of 'safe, high quality care every time':

Being a clinically led organisation

Quality and safety at the heart of our Trust

A positive patient experience every time

A great place to work

Managing our money well

As an organisation we are serious about supporting a diverse workforce that reflects our local community and are very much focused on being an inclusive and compassionate place to work.

Across the North East and North Cumbria we are working together to deliver our ambition to be the greenest region in England by 2030. All staff are expected to support sustainability.

Date posted

16 April 2025

Pay scheme

Agenda for change

Band

Band 3

Salary

£24,625 to £25,674 a year per annum

Contract

Fixed term

Duration

12 months

Working pattern

Full-time

Reference number

262-A-25-7126643

Job locations

West Cumberland hospital

homewood road

Whitehaven

CA28 9JG


Job description

Job responsibilities

Please see attached job description and person specification for further information regarding the role and the essential and desirable criteria required to be met by applicants.

Please note, due to changes implemented by the Government to the UK immigration policy, individuals who require a Health and Care Visa or a Skilled Worker Visa may no longer be eligible for sponsorship where the UKVI salary threshold is not met or if the occupation is not included in the updated Immigration Salary List (ISL). Applicants must check their eligibility to be employed in any role they are interested in applying for, prior to completing an application for employment.Any applicants who do not meet the eligibility criteria will not be progressed.

If you are applying under the Disability Confident Scheme or Armed Forces Covenant and you meet all the essential criteria for a post, you will be guaranteed an interview.

Relocation assistance may be available for successful applicants moving to the region for certain posts. Please see our Policy for eligible vacancies.

The essential criteria for this role includes the requirement to have a care certificate or the willingness and ability to undertake this. For further information, please see the additional information link which can be viewed under the read this before applying section.

  • Please ensure that you document evidence of meeting all the essential criteria in the supporting information.
  • If sufficient response is received this post could be closed earlier than the specified closing date, please apply as soon as possible to ensure that your application is considered.

Important Information

Candidates who have been successfully shortlisted for interview will be asked via an email notification to log on to their Trac account to select an interview time. This will usually be within 2 weeks of the closing date.

For candidates applying using a Hotmail account or have strict firewall settings please ensure the following:

  • Junk Mail is checked regularly

Disclosure and Barring Service:

On 28 November 2020, the new Disclosure and Barring Service filtering rules will come into effect.

The changes mean that:

  • youth cautions, reprimands and final warnings will no longer be subject to automatic disclosure
  • the multiple conviction rule has been removed, meaning that if an individual has more than one conviction, regardless of offence type or time passed, each conviction will be considered against the remaining rules individually, rather than being automatically disclosed.

If you are unsure about whether you need to disclose certain criminal record information, free confidential advice may be sought from one of the charity bodies listed below. These bodies can advise you on what you are legally required to declare and may also be able to advise you on how you can disclose criminal record information to a prospective employer and your legal rights when doing so.

Nacro Tel: 0300 123 1999, or email: helpline@nacro.org.uk

Unlock Tel: 01634 247350, email advice@unlock.org.uk or complete the online form on the Unlock website

The Trust is committed to safeguarding adults and children therefore if the post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (ROA) 1974 (Exceptions) Order 1975 (as amended) the successful candidate(s) will be subject to a criminal records check with the Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS). The cost of the DBS must be met by the successful candidate(s) through salary deduction. DBS charges are as followsif applicable to the post:

Standard Check: £18 + Administration cost of £3.85 = £21.85. Deducted at £6.85 from 1st month salary and £5 deducted from salary over following 3 months.

Enhanced Check: £38 + administration cost of £3.90 = £41.90. Deducted at £11.90 from 1st month salary and £10 deducted from salary over following 3 months.

As part of the one of the largest employers in the UK NCIC future employees will have also access to the following benefits.

A lease car may be available for this position; further details will be provided upon appointment if applicable.

27-day holiday scheme rising to 33 after 10 years

Flexible working Scheme

Excellent opportunities for development

Competitive NHS Pension scheme

Access to NHS discounts with retailers and leisure companies

EAP (Employee Assistance Programme) a free, confidential counselling and information service to assist with personal or work-related problems

These schemes are subject to availability

Job description

Job responsibilities

Please see attached job description and person specification for further information regarding the role and the essential and desirable criteria required to be met by applicants.

Please note, due to changes implemented by the Government to the UK immigration policy, individuals who require a Health and Care Visa or a Skilled Worker Visa may no longer be eligible for sponsorship where the UKVI salary threshold is not met or if the occupation is not included in the updated Immigration Salary List (ISL). Applicants must check their eligibility to be employed in any role they are interested in applying for, prior to completing an application for employment.Any applicants who do not meet the eligibility criteria will not be progressed.

If you are applying under the Disability Confident Scheme or Armed Forces Covenant and you meet all the essential criteria for a post, you will be guaranteed an interview.

Relocation assistance may be available for successful applicants moving to the region for certain posts. Please see our Policy for eligible vacancies.

The essential criteria for this role includes the requirement to have a care certificate or the willingness and ability to undertake this. For further information, please see the additional information link which can be viewed under the read this before applying section.

  • Please ensure that you document evidence of meeting all the essential criteria in the supporting information.
  • If sufficient response is received this post could be closed earlier than the specified closing date, please apply as soon as possible to ensure that your application is considered.

Important Information

Candidates who have been successfully shortlisted for interview will be asked via an email notification to log on to their Trac account to select an interview time. This will usually be within 2 weeks of the closing date.

For candidates applying using a Hotmail account or have strict firewall settings please ensure the following:

  • Junk Mail is checked regularly

Disclosure and Barring Service:

On 28 November 2020, the new Disclosure and Barring Service filtering rules will come into effect.

The changes mean that:

  • youth cautions, reprimands and final warnings will no longer be subject to automatic disclosure
  • the multiple conviction rule has been removed, meaning that if an individual has more than one conviction, regardless of offence type or time passed, each conviction will be considered against the remaining rules individually, rather than being automatically disclosed.

If you are unsure about whether you need to disclose certain criminal record information, free confidential advice may be sought from one of the charity bodies listed below. These bodies can advise you on what you are legally required to declare and may also be able to advise you on how you can disclose criminal record information to a prospective employer and your legal rights when doing so.

Nacro Tel: 0300 123 1999, or email: helpline@nacro.org.uk

Unlock Tel: 01634 247350, email advice@unlock.org.uk or complete the online form on the Unlock website

The Trust is committed to safeguarding adults and children therefore if the post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (ROA) 1974 (Exceptions) Order 1975 (as amended) the successful candidate(s) will be subject to a criminal records check with the Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS). The cost of the DBS must be met by the successful candidate(s) through salary deduction. DBS charges are as followsif applicable to the post:

Standard Check: £18 + Administration cost of £3.85 = £21.85. Deducted at £6.85 from 1st month salary and £5 deducted from salary over following 3 months.

Enhanced Check: £38 + administration cost of £3.90 = £41.90. Deducted at £11.90 from 1st month salary and £10 deducted from salary over following 3 months.

As part of the one of the largest employers in the UK NCIC future employees will have also access to the following benefits.

A lease car may be available for this position; further details will be provided upon appointment if applicable.

27-day holiday scheme rising to 33 after 10 years

Flexible working Scheme

Excellent opportunities for development

Competitive NHS Pension scheme

Access to NHS discounts with retailers and leisure companies

EAP (Employee Assistance Programme) a free, confidential counselling and information service to assist with personal or work-related problems

These schemes are subject to availability

Person Specification

Knowledge

Essential

  • Experience of working in a comparable role within the caring profession.
  • Knowledge of roles and experience of working alongside other professionals in Health and Social Care.
  • Awareness of the role of SLT working with adults with swallowing and communication problems.

Desirable

  • Experience of work in the NHS/community groups/ voluntary sector/working with stroke patients.
  • Knowledge of swallowing/eating difficulties, and communication difficulties.

Skills & Aptitudes

Essential

  • Well-developed communication skills for receiving, and conveying sensitive information to clients and carers, which require tact, empathy, reassurance or persuasive skills and where there are often barriers to understanding.
  • Analytical and judgement skills involving facts or situations, some of which require analysis e.g. assessment of client's response to assessment and SLT intervention.
  • Ability to plan and organise activities and programmes e.g. implement work with clients and their families/carers and other professionals, manage own time and ability to prioritise tasks
  • Physical skills, including auditory and perceptual skills in order to be able to observe social, emotional, behavioural and environmental cues, to provide assessment information.
  • Able to work where there is frequent exposure to distressing or emotional circumstances e.g. client/carer concerns or emotional liability.
  • Able to concentrate frequently where work patterns are unpredictable e.g. during client assessment and for the completion of written records/admin tasks where there is a need to change from one activity to another on a frequent basis.

Personal Circumstances

Essential

  • Current driving licence required
  • Car owner

Other Requirements

Essential

  • Able to use Microsoft office software.
  • Able to access/input computer programmes pertaining to the job role.
  • Support equality and value diversity
  • Ability to maintain concentration in a range of clinical environments and withstand interruptions and unexpected changes to work patterns.

Desirable

  • Data inputting skills.

Qualifications

Essential

  • 4 GCSE including English at Grade C or above.
  • NVQ Level 3 in Childcare and Education, Social Care or Healthcare or equivalent relevant experience

Desirable

  • Care Certificate (mandatory once in post).
Person Specification

Knowledge

Essential

  • Experience of working in a comparable role within the caring profession.
  • Knowledge of roles and experience of working alongside other professionals in Health and Social Care.
  • Awareness of the role of SLT working with adults with swallowing and communication problems.

Desirable

  • Experience of work in the NHS/community groups/ voluntary sector/working with stroke patients.
  • Knowledge of swallowing/eating difficulties, and communication difficulties.

Skills & Aptitudes

Essential

  • Well-developed communication skills for receiving, and conveying sensitive information to clients and carers, which require tact, empathy, reassurance or persuasive skills and where there are often barriers to understanding.
  • Analytical and judgement skills involving facts or situations, some of which require analysis e.g. assessment of client's response to assessment and SLT intervention.
  • Ability to plan and organise activities and programmes e.g. implement work with clients and their families/carers and other professionals, manage own time and ability to prioritise tasks
  • Physical skills, including auditory and perceptual skills in order to be able to observe social, emotional, behavioural and environmental cues, to provide assessment information.
  • Able to work where there is frequent exposure to distressing or emotional circumstances e.g. client/carer concerns or emotional liability.
  • Able to concentrate frequently where work patterns are unpredictable e.g. during client assessment and for the completion of written records/admin tasks where there is a need to change from one activity to another on a frequent basis.

Personal Circumstances

Essential

  • Current driving licence required
  • Car owner

Other Requirements

Essential

  • Able to use Microsoft office software.
  • Able to access/input computer programmes pertaining to the job role.
  • Support equality and value diversity
  • Ability to maintain concentration in a range of clinical environments and withstand interruptions and unexpected changes to work patterns.

Desirable

  • Data inputting skills.

Qualifications

Essential

  • 4 GCSE including English at Grade C or above.
  • NVQ Level 3 in Childcare and Education, Social Care or Healthcare or equivalent relevant experience

Desirable

  • Care Certificate (mandatory once in post).

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).

Additional information

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).

Employer details

Employer name

North Cumbria Integrated Care NHS Foundation Trust

Address

West Cumberland hospital

homewood road

Whitehaven

CA28 9JG


Employer's website

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

Employer details

Employer name

North Cumbria Integrated Care NHS Foundation Trust

Address

West Cumberland hospital

homewood road

Whitehaven

CA28 9JG


Employer's website

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

For questions about the job, contact:

Acting Head of Speech and Language therapy

Hazel Gilmore

hazel.gilmore@ncic.nhs.uk

07811714387

Date posted

16 April 2025

Pay scheme

Agenda for change

Band

Band 3

Salary

£24,625 to £25,674 a year per annum

Contract

Fixed term

Duration

12 months

Working pattern

Full-time

Reference number

262-A-25-7126643

Job locations

West Cumberland hospital

homewood road

Whitehaven

CA28 9JG


Supporting documents

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