Specialist Speech & Language Therapist (Head & Neck)

Job summary

We are looking for an enthusiastic therapist to join our award winning, innovative department, with a reputation for excellence. The department is highly supportive of further SLT research and service development with regular acceptance of SLT posters at national conferences and published journal articles. The SLT team is based across several sites with a wide skill mix covering acute, stroke, ENT, spinal, inpatient rehabilitation, and outpatient services and is committed to the CPD of all our therapists. We pride ourselves on being friendly and welcoming, providing opportunities for all with an emphasis on evidence-based practice and striving to advance the evidence base.

Main duties of the job

This is a rotational post across acute inpatient and head and neck teams. The acute rotation will involve being part of a team of 7 SLTs delivering high quality, evidence-based care to inpatients including critical care, care of the elderly, neuro, acute medical and surgical wards at Northwick Park Hospital. You will have an opportunity to develop skills in FEES, cough reflex testing, videofluoroscopy, with robust access to sEMG, use of the water protocol, goal-setting and MDT working. The head and neck rotation will cover acute ENT and Oral Maxillo Facial Surgery (OMFS) at Northwick Park Hospital including both inpatient and outpatient work, including exposure to laryngectomy and Surgical Voice Restoration. Both rotations will cover working with tracheostomy.

The post holder will participate in team meetings, complex audit and research projects on a regular basis. They will plan, deliver and evaluate specialist training within the hospital setting to other professionals and patients / carers on all aspects of swallowing, speech, language and communication. They will have the opportunity to participate in clinical education and training to newly qualified Speech and Language therapists and students.

About us

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.