Band 6 Specialist Speech and Language Therapist - Secure Services

Job summary

We are currently recruiting for a Band 6 Speech and Language Therapy Practitioners to work within the Health and Justice Vulnerability Service & Enhanced RECONNECT service.

Enhanced RECONNECT (ER) is an exciting NHS England initiative and are one of four pilot sites across the UK. The service will support individuals with convictions who have been identified as high risk of harm to the public and have complex health needs which may impact on their risk of reoffending. Convictions may include violent and sexual offences and terrorist act offences.

The Health and Justice Vulnerability Service (H&JVS) works with individuals at any point within the criminal justice system. H&JVS works with individuals who come into contact with the criminal justice system and have multiple vulnerabilities such as mental health difficulties, learning disabilities, substance misuse, homelessness, exploitation, or complex social needs. The service aims to reduce health inequalities, improve access to support, and divert people away from the criminal justice system where appropriate.

Both services will take a partnership approach to ensure that individuals within the criminal justice system will have their needs met to reduce their risk of reoffending, through providing coordinated intervention, support, and risk management across multiple agencies, including health, criminal justice, local authority, substance misuse services, employment services and voluntary sector organisations.

Main duties of the job

You will work as part of a multidisciplinary team, including psychologists, occupational therapists, nurses, social workers, substance use workers, support time and recovery workers and peer support workers. You will be responsible for providing a specialist speech and language therapy service to service users of the Enhanced RECONNECT & Health and Justice Vulnerability service, presenting with a range of complex health condition, and speech, language and communication difficulties. As the Speech and Language Therapist in the team you will be responsible for ensuring that high-quality, individualised care is delivered ensuring safely, promoting recovery and maximising independence for service users. You will apply your clinical expertise to offer interventions to service users, for up to 12 months post release from prison. You will also work extensively with a range of partner organisations to ensure that individuals receive coordinated care.

The successful candidate will have experience of working with adults or young people with mental health presentations, psychological difficulties, neurodiversity and complex needs and risks across a variety of forensic mental health settings, including community, inpatient services, and prisons. Experience of partnership working across health, social care, voluntary sector, employment, and criminal justice agencies, and of working with underserved groups would be an advantage.

About us

Welcome to Birmingham and Solihull Mental Health NHS Foundation Trust. Our 4000 clinical and support staff help us to improve mental health wellbeing and meet the needs of the 70,000 people we serve each year. We provide a range of mental healthcare services across Birmingham and Solihull, as well as specialised services nationally. We also offer medical, nursing and psychology training and are proud of our international reputation for both research and innovation.

Our population is culturally diverse, characterised in places by high levels of deprivation which create an increasing demand for our services and a necessity for us to make sure everyone can access the help they need. We are a team of compassionate, inclusive and committed people working together to provide excellent care to support our community. If you are looking for a place to belong, where you can make a real difference to people's lives, join our team where our warm welcome is waiting for you.