Job Purpose

• Be an active member of the clinical team, providing a comprehensive Highly Specialist Speech & Language Therapy service to children with complex communication needs (Early Years) and eating and drinking difficulties (0-19 years).
• Work within professional standards and clinical guidelines, promote best practice and to undertake all aspects of clinical duties as an autonomous practitioner including assessing and treating own caseload of patients/clients and maintaining professional documentation.
• Build up and maintain key relationships with referring services (including within the MDTs, primary and secondary care services, voluntary and third sector organisations) to facilitate appropriate referrals and an understanding of the role of the Speech & Language Therapist and the Multi-professional team.
• Be responsible for the supervision of junior staff: Speech & Language Therapists, Assistants and Speech & Language Therapy students.
• Work in a variety of settings in the community to deliver appropriate treatment including community clinics, client’s own home, schools and nurseries.
• Support self and service development through active participation in Continuing Professional Development (CPD) and by participating in any audit or research being undertaken by the service.
• Support the members of the team in the day-to-day operation of the service. This may include answering queries, triaging referrals, contributing to team discussions, responding to client needs, delegating and supervising appropriate tasks to administrative staff, communicating with other team members and outside agencies and other operational activities.
• Participate in the multi professional team meetings and actively contribute and chair as required, ensuring all Speech & Language Therapists support integrated working.
• Respond to inconsistent work patterns and to be able to manage a diary and re-prioritise as required.
• Be responsible for the supervision of Speech & Language Therapists, Assistants and Speech & Language Therapy students.
• To be compliant with the Trusts complaints procedure and take appropriate action as necessary in accordance with the procedure.
• Initiate and participate in change management processes as needed. Suggest required service development in line with national or local policies and guidelines. Exhibit behaviour which enables and promotes service development.
• To assist in the development of care protocols and policies for specific clinical issues e.g. AAC guidelines, dysphagia protocols and policies, management of eating and swallowing difficulties.
• To advise line manager / clinical supervisor on issues of service delivery including shortfall, service pressures etc.

Professional Standards

All staff must comply with the Central London Community Healthcare (CLCH) NHS Trust Staff Code of Conduct and demonstrate the Trust’s Values and Behaviours. Senior Managers must also comply with the NHS Code of Conduct for Managers, based on the Nolan principles of public accountability. All staff employed in recognised professions are required to ensure they work to the professional standards and/or Codes of Practice set out for their professional group. In addition, staff are required to demonstrate the Customer Care Standards of the organisation.

• Undertake specialised uni-professional and multi-professional assessments.
• To develop and implement treatment plans for clients referred to the service.
• Participate in the Single Assessment Process when appropriate, performing overview assessments and complex specialist assessments as appropriate. To communicate relevant medical information, assessment details, advice and recommendations across agencies and with clients in compliance with Trust Guidelines for sharing of information and informed consent. These agencies include schools, nurseries, 0-19 nursing team, paediatricians and hospital consultants, GPs, Social Services, Healthcare professionals.
• Be responsible for gaining valid, informed consent for assessment, treatment interventions from parents/carers and, where appropriate, young people. Sharing of information in compliance with legal and professional guidelines.
• Have highly specialist working knowledge of clinical guidelines, specific to the area you are working in and, with the guidance of your supervisor, to translate these guidelines into clinical practice.
• Perform uni-professional and multi-professional specialist assessments and re-assessments of treatment programmes using evidence-based outcome measures and in accordance with RCSLT Guidelines.
• Following highly specialist assessment, to use advanced clinical reasoning, analysis, assessment and re-assessment skills and using a client-centred goal setting approach, to develop and provide individual Speech & Language Therapy treatments and programmes for clients. These treatment techniques may include direct or indirect treatment techniques (for AAC, dysphagia, complex SLCN using formal and informal specific assessment tools), patient and carer education, home and school programmes and other Speech & Language Therapy treatment techniques.

Job Purpose

• Be an active member of the clinical team, providing a comprehensive Highly Specialist Speech & Language Therapy service to children with complex communication needs (Early Years) and eating and drinking difficulties (0-19 years).
• Work within professional standards and clinical guidelines, promote best practice and to undertake all aspects of clinical duties as an autonomous practitioner including assessing and treating own caseload of patients/clients and maintaining professional documentation.
• Build up and maintain key relationships with referring services (including within the MDTs, primary and secondary care services, voluntary and third sector organisations) to facilitate appropriate referrals and an understanding of the role of the Speech & Language Therapist and the Multi-professional team.
• Be responsible for the supervision of junior staff: Speech & Language Therapists, Assistants and Speech & Language Therapy students.
• Work in a variety of settings in the community to deliver appropriate treatment including community clinics, client’s own home, schools and nurseries.
• Support self and service development through active participation in Continuing Professional Development (CPD) and by participating in any audit or research being undertaken by the service.
• Support the members of the team in the day-to-day operation of the service. This may include answering queries, triaging referrals, contributing to team discussions, responding to client needs, delegating and supervising appropriate tasks to administrative staff, communicating with other team members and outside agencies and other operational activities.
• Participate in the multi professional team meetings and actively contribute and chair as required, ensuring all Speech & Language Therapists support integrated working.
• Respond to inconsistent work patterns and to be able to manage a diary and re-prioritise as required.
• Be responsible for the supervision of Speech & Language Therapists, Assistants and Speech & Language Therapy students.
• To be compliant with the Trusts complaints procedure and take appropriate action as necessary in accordance with the procedure.
• Initiate and participate in change management processes as needed. Suggest required service development in line with national or local policies and guidelines. Exhibit behaviour which enables and promotes service development.
• To assist in the development of care protocols and policies for specific clinical issues e.g. AAC guidelines, dysphagia protocols and policies, management of eating and swallowing difficulties.
• To advise line manager / clinical supervisor on issues of service delivery including shortfall, service pressures etc

All staff must comply with the Central London Community Healthcare (CLCH) NHS Trust Staff Code of Conduct and demonstrate the Trust’s Values and Behaviours. Senior Managers must also comply with the NHS Code of Conduct for Managers, based on the Nolan principles of public accountability. All staff employed in recognised professions are required to ensure they work to the professional standards and/or Codes of Practice set out for their professional group. In addition, staff are required to demonstrate the Customer Care Standards of the organisation.

• Undertake specialised uni-professional and multi-professional assessments.
• To develop and implement treatment plans for clients referred to the service.
• Participate in the Single Assessment Process when appropriate, performing overview assessments and complex specialist assessments as appropriate. To communicate relevant medical information, assessment details, advice and recommendations across agencies and with clients in compliance with Trust Guidelines for sharing of information and informed consent. These agencies include schools, nurseries, 0-19 nursing team, paediatricians and hospital consultants, GPs, Social Services, Healthcare professionals.
• Be responsible for gaining valid, informed consent for assessment, treatment interventions from parents/carers and, where appropriate, young people. Sharing of information in compliance with legal and professional guidelines.
• Have highly specialist working knowledge of clinical guidelines, specific to the area you are working in and, with the guidance of your supervisor, to translate these guidelines into clinical practice.
• Perform uni-professional and multi-professional specialist assessments and re-assessments of treatment programmes using evidence-based outcome measures and in accordance with RCSLT Guidelines.
• Following highly specialist assessment, to use advanced clinical reasoning, analysis, assessment and re-assessment skills and using a client-centred goal setting approach, to develop and provide individual Speech & Language Therapy treatments and programmes for clients. These treatment techniques may include direct or indirect treatment techniques (for AAC, dysphagia, complex SLCN using formal and informal specific assessment tools), patient and carer education, home and school programmes and other Speech & Language Therapy treatment techniques