Stroke Lead Speech & Language Therapist

Job responsibilities

SPECIFIC DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

Patient care:

Be professionally & legally responsible & accountable for all aspects of your own work including the management of patients in your care. Ensure a high standard of clinical care for patients under your management and to support more junior staff to do likewise.

To be accountable for the delivery of a SLT service to stroke in-patients referred with swallowing and/or communication problems.

To assess, develop and implement Highly Specialist SLT treatment for Stroke inpatients.

Provide expert advice to the MDT and patients/families where clinical presentations are complex, prognoses uncertain or sensitive discussions are required following stroke or stroke related illness (e.g. nutrition decisions, end-of-life care).

To be on the SLT rota for weekly Nutrition MDT meetings, and provide thorough handovers for acute stroke inpatients.

To attend ward rounds, board rounds, family meetings and team meetings on ASU as required.

To write reports reflecting highly specialist knowledge.

To support seamless transition of care across the stroke pathway through timely referrals, liaison with community and Early Supported Discharge teams, and contribution to discharge planning.

To provide appropriate specialist intervention and evaluate outcomes.

To demonstrate good negotiation skills across a range of issues to maximise functional outcomes for patient in the in-patient setting on ASU.

To ensure that patients are involved in the planning and prioritisation of their care plans wherever possible.

To negotiate with other professionals including doctors, nursing staff and other allied health professionals around case management in complex cases.

To adapt practice to meet individual patients circumstances, including due regard for cultural and linguistic differences as well as emotional and psychological factors which may affect intervention.

To demonstrate clinical effectiveness by use of evidence-based practice and outcome measures.

To demonstrate skills in dealing with complex issues to generate appropriate strategies of caseload management.

To contribute towards instrumental assessment (Videofluoroscopy and FEES) for inpatients and outpatients on the wider SLT caseload, in line with competence.

Policy/Service development:

To take lead of the development of Stroke team objectives or projects in liaison with staff, ensuring services meet national standards (e.g. NICE, RCP Stroke Guidelines, SSNAP metrics).

To negotiate with others around service issues and caseload management.

To develop care protocols for relevant areas of team operation.

To regularly review and re-write service policies pertaining to team working to ensure that they reflect up to date and evidence-based practice and local/national targets.

To advise the SLT /Dietetic Manager on issues of service delivery including shortfall, service pressures etc.

To assume delegated tasks as requested by SLT/ Dietetic Manager including participation in working groups and policy development groups.

To develop care protocols/packages relation to inpatient stroke care in liaison with the SLT Manager to improve patient care ensuring that they reflect up to date and evidenced based practice.

To monitor own and others service delivery on ASU and report to manager.

To contribute to interagency/multidisciplinary team building and policy development in stroke.

To adhere to and ensure service and team plans and policies are implemented.

To use specialist knowledge to inform stroke service/policy developments as appropriate.

Financial and physical resources:

To monitor stock levels in own service area and request new equipment as appropriate.

To identify and request resources that would be beneficial for patient care and service development.

To be responsible for the security, care and maintenance of equipment ensuring standards of infection control and safety are maintained- including equipment loaned to patients e.g. communication aids.

Human resources:

Be responsible for own personal development in order to establish and maintain competence and fitness to practice as a Highly Specialist Speech and Language Therapist. To maintain a professional evidence-based portfolio, meeting the requirements of the HCPC.

To provide leadership for a team of SLTs, Apprentices and assistants working with inpatients who have had a stroke.

To provide regular specialist training on a range of topics including dysphagia, communication and cognitive linguistic disorders to colleagues.

To facilitate the development of others problem solving / negotiation skills within peer supervision.

To provide supervision, advice and support to more junior SLT, Apprentices, assistants and volunteers working in stroke.

Provide student placements in ASU including assessment of the placements as appropriate.

To provide second opinions to less experienced colleagues.

To explain the role of SLT to visitors, students and volunteers.

To arrange observation and training for students from other professional groups as appropriate and within team.

To identify the training needs and develop a training programme for stroke team.

To co-ordinate the development of others within CPD team profile reflecting organisational priorities.

To assist in the recruitment of new staff and ensure appropriate induction is provided.

To promote reflective practice in SLTs working in stroke.

To provide specialist training and presentations in areas of clinical expertise.

To coordinate the ASU SLT Sunday rota, aiming to provide a consistent 6-day service as far as possible.

Information resources:

To maintain up to date and accurate case notes in line with RCSLT professional standards and local trust policies.

Maintain professional standards in line with the Royal College of Speech and Language Therapists & the Health Professions Council.

To share information with others, observing data protection guidelines.

To gather and update activity data accurately and regularly, ensuring the provision of such information promptly within local Trust guidelines.

Research and development

To participate in and develop innovations in areas of risk management, quality standards setting and clinical effectiveness

To initiate and undertake Research/Clinical Governance /audit projects within area of expertise

To represent the team within multi-disciplinary systems of clinical governance within the Trust.

To participate in departmental research and clinical governance/audit projects.

To collect and provide research data as required.

To ensure accurate collection of SSNAP data for Speech and Language Therapy

Freedom to act

To provide leadership within stroke care, ensuring appropriate cover is maintained on the unit and for any outlying patient .

Manages complex stroke caseload independently, and delegates appropriately to colleagues.

To monitor and evaluate own highly specialist service delivery and provide progress reports.

To be accountable for own professional action and recognise own professional boundaries, seeking advice as appropriate.

To work within defined departmental and national protocols/policies and professional code of conduct.

To work independently accessing appraisal within an Individual Performance Framework at pre-determined intervals.

KNOWLEDGE AND SKILLS

Communication and relationship skills

To contribute to clinical teams both multi-disciplinary and uni-disciplinary by discussing own and others input around clients needs ensuring a well co-ordinated care plan.

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

To work closely with clients, carers and families, agreeing decision making relevant to the patient/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 understanding of the impact of Stroke, swallow/communication impairment, and hospital admission of patient and family wellbeing.

To demonstrate skills in motivating clients and /or carers to engage in the therapeutic process.

To demonstrate negotiation skills in the management of conflict across a range of situations.

To deal with initial complaints sensitively, avoiding escalation where possible.

To form productive relationships with others who may be under stress and/or have challenging communication difficulties.

To employ excellent communication skills.

Qualifications

Essential

• Degree or equivalent qualification in Speech and Language Therapy leading to RCSLT License to Practice
• Registered member of RCSLT and HCPC
• Advanced on-going postgraduate training in acquired disorders of communication and swallowing, achieved through attendance at short courses, National conferences and structured personally directed learning evidenced by a learning portfolio.
• Membership of National and Regional Speech and Language Therapy CENs

Desirable

• Experience of interpretation of Videofluoroscopy images
• Experience in the delivery and interpretation of FEES

Experience

Essential

• Significant post qualification experience of working proactively within a multidisciplinary team in Stroke and/or Acute inpatients
• Significant experience in devising appropriate evidence-based swallow and communication therapy plans for patients, including referral for more specialist assessment as appropriate
• Experience of leading teams and people management
• Experience of supervising assistants and students, and supporting the development of more junior staff
• Experience in independently devising and conducting service improvement projects
• Experience in leading appropriate discharge plans for patients

Desirable

• Management/ leadership qualification
• Knowledge of the Stroke pathway and potential options for discharge
• Experience in completing clinical audit

Knowledge and Skills

Essential

• Excellent verbal and written communication skills for the communication of complex and sensitive information with patients, carers and other professionals.
• Ability to communicate where patients and carers have barriers to communication
• Prioritisation skills and excellent time management, with ability to be flexible in line with changing demands
• Ability to appropriately delegate
• Teaching skills
• Ability to influence other members of the team in patient management decisions
• Ability to work in a holistic, patient-centred way
• Ability to synthesise information and through analytical processes produce complex treatment programmes
• Effective IT skills, including ability to gather relevant data for team outcome measures
• In depth expert knowledge of current issues and treatment approaches in Stroke care and acquired disorders of communication and dysphagia
• Knowledge of AAC, both high and low tech, and how to implement this for patients
• Recent issues and developments within the NHS, the Region and the Profession
• Knowledge of relevant Stroke guidelines/SSNAP criteria and how this applies to practice
• Knowledge of key aspects of clinical governance and how this applies to practice

Desirable

• Experience of managing dysphagia in Stroke patients with a tracheostomy.

Personal Skills

Essential

• Clear vision for how to further develop the Stroke SLT service
• Excellent interpersonal skills
• Excellent problem-solving skills
• Ability to work in a multi- disciplinary team
• Able to cope with the physical and emotional demands of working in an acute hospital setting
• Car driver essential

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).