Highly Specialist Speech and Language Therapist - Bristol & Ashfield | Oxleas NHS Foundation Trust

An exciting new challenge has arisen for highly specialist speech and language therapist (SALT) to join Oxleas NHS trust in our South West prisons. This is a brand-new service and we are looking for a experienced Speech and Language Therapists to join our highly specialist multidisciplinary teams in the South West.

Our Speech Therapy team is split by region and consists of 5 Specialist Speech Therapists each responsible for 2 prisons. You will report directly to our Operational Lead SALT for the South West. You will support play a key role in implementing our vision and integration into our established healthcare services.

As SALT\’s, you will complement our multidisciplinary team and bridge the gap between existing learning disability (LD) provision and offender healthcare services providing assessments, consultation and co-working with complex clients with LD and autism who present a risk of harm to others. The service will also support service users with a complex mix of neurodevelopmental, speech, language, and communication, mental health, and intellectual disability needs who are high-risk, high-harm, high-vulnerability individuals.

This role is based across HMP\’s Bristol and Ashfield. You will work 1 day from HMP Bristol, 1 day from HMP Ashfield and 1 day from home/flexible. All travel expenses can be claimed through our mileage/expense system (Ts&Cs apply)

As a highly specialist Speech and Language therapist, you willprovidespecialist assessments and interventions for the neurodiverse population who have a variety of complex communication needs. Neurodiversity includes Autism, ADHD, Learning Disability, Acquired Brain Injury and Dementia.

You willindependently manage your own caseload, accessing clinical and managerial supervision on a regular basis. Whilst doing so, you will act as part of a multi-disciplinary team and represent the Speech and Language Therapy Service within your region.

As a specialist in your field, you will provide specialist advice to prison officers, other speech and language therapists, professionals, and stakeholders within and outside of the Prison/Trust with regards to their specialist area,ensuringcarers and family are involved in care where appropriate/possible.

This role will require you toprovide compassionate, non-judgemental care that is based on empathy, kindness, respect, and dignity.

A prison tour is highly recommended prior to interview – shortlisted applicants will be contacted to arrange this.

Important Sponsorship Information for this post: Due to service budget restrictions we are currently unable to offer a certificate of sponsorship for this post.

Oxleas – About Us

Oxleas offers a wide range of NHS healthcare services to people living in South East London and Kent and to people in prison. Our services include community health care such as district nursing and speech and language therapy, care for people with learning disabilities and mental health care such as psychiatry, nursing and therapies. Our multidisciplinary teams look after people of all ages and we work in close partnership with other parts of the NHS, local councils and the voluntary sector and through our new provider collaboratives. Our 4,000 members of staff work in many different settings including hospitals, clinics, prisons, children’s centres, schools and people’s homes.

We have over 125 sites in a variety of locations in the South of England. In London we operate within the Boroughs of Bexley, Bromley Greenwich and into Kent. We manage hospital sites including Queen Mary’s Hospital, Sidcup and Memorial Hospital, Woolwich, as well as the Bracton Centre, our medium secure unit for people with mental health needs. We are the largest NHS provider of prison health services providing healthcare to prisons within Devon, Dorset, Bristol, Wiltshire and Gloucestershire, Kent and South London. We are proud of the care we provide and our people.

Our purpose is to improve lives by providing the best possible care to our patients and their families. This is strengthened by our new values:
• We’re Kind
• We’re Fair
• We Listen
• We Care
• To provide specialist assessments and interventions for the neurodiverse population who have a variety of complex communication needs. Neurodiversity includes Autism, ADHD, Learning Disability, Acquired Brain Injury and Dementia.
• To independently manage own caseload, accessing clinical and managerial supervision on a regular basis.
• To champion the SLT profession.
• To act as part of a multi-disciplinary team and represent the Speech and Language Therapy Service at Team/Directorate meetings/working parties.
• To provide specialist advice to prison officers,other speech and language therapists, professionals, and stakeholders within and outside of the Prison/Trust with regards to their specialist area,ensuring carers and family are involved in care where appropriate/possible.
• To provide compassionate, non-judgemental care that is based on empathy, kindness, respect, and dignity.

Management responsibilities
• To induct, train, review work performance and clinically supervise/appraise colleagues, as identified.
• To contribute to the development of Speech and Language Therapy Service policies and procedures, including participation in projects and quality improvement initiatives.
• To contribute to the service development through relevant meetings and working groups.
• To plan and deliver training courses for the prison, education and healthcare staff.
• Communicate regularly through team meetings, Business meetings, clinical forums and individually with team members providing an opportunity for two-way feedback.
• Ensure that service users and carers’ opinions and experiences are being responded to at a team level.
• Clinical record keeping is of a consistent high standard and meets trust policy and practice guidance.
Clinical• Deliver evidence-based practice regarding specialist speech and language therapy assessment, goal setting, intervention and evaluation.
• Monitor specialised packages of care including direct therapy, advice, and training. To have knowledge of specialist approaches used with this client group, for example, Talking Mats.
• To contribute to specialist multi-disciplinary assessment, preparing communication passports and accessible information
• To contribute to and carry out Capacity to Consent Assessments in accordance with the Mental Capacity Act, as well providing assessment and advice related to issues of consent, capacity and best interests.
• To participate in professionals’ meetings both within the healthcare department as well as wider prison.
• To monitor clinical effectiveness and clinical outcome measures
• To have a working knowledge of relevant procedures and policy including The Mental Health Act, Valuing People, The Mental Capacity Act, Liberty Protection Safeguards, Safeguarding Adults and other legal frameworks.
• To follow Health and Safety guidelines regarding unpleasant working conditions, e.g., Hepatitis, lone visits, exposure to bodily fluids.

IMPORTANT INFORMATION, PLEASE READ:

All applicants must be willing to undertake National Security Vetting in order to work in a Prison Setting. This will be completed as part of the pre-employment checks through Oxleas and the prison vetting team.

You will need to provide:

Proof of right to work documentation

Proof of ID, needs to include 1 photographic ID

Proof of address documentation

Non-UK passport holders will need to have correct documentation (right to work in the UK) and a Home office Share code.

Address History:

5 years address history will be needed.

Applicants that are not UK Passport holders who provide less than 5 years UK address history will need to provide a Police Certificate which must be in English from where they resided previously.

Applicants who are UK Passport holders who have lived abroad for a period of more than six months during the last three years will need to provide a certificate of good conduct or an overseas police check in English from the countries resided in or visited.

In order to assist you in obtaining a Police Certificate, guidance can be sought from:https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/criminal-records-checks-for-overseas-applicants

If the country you have resided in is not listed here, you can obtain the necessary information by contacting the relevant Embassy or High Commission for that Country. Their contact details can be found on the Foreign & Commonwealth Office website (http://www.fco.gov.uk/en).

This advert closes on Wednesday 13 Aug 2025 #J-18808-Ljbffr