Specialist Speech and Language Therapist in Liverpool

Band 6 Main area Speech & Language Therapy – Community Services. Contract: Fixed term, 9 months (Maternity leave cover). Hours: Full time, 37.5 hours per week (Mon‑Fri). Site: Livingston Drive Health Centre, Town Liverpool. Salary £39,959 – £48,117 per annum.

Mersey Care NHS Foundation Trust celebrates diversity and promotes equal opportunities; we are committed to challenging and eliminating racism and other forms of discrimination and advancing and promoting equality of opportunity in the provision of services and creating an inclusive environment for all employees. We believe that everyone has the right to be treated with dignity and respect. We take positive action to support disadvantaged groups and also particularly encourage applications from ethnically diverse, disabled and LGBTQIA+ people that are under‑represented in our workforce. Furthermore, we welcome applications from reservists and ex‑armed forces personnel as we recognise the benefits of the values, skills, training and experience that they bring to their work with us.

Job Overview: Are you seeking a speech & language therapy role within a well‑established team of skilled and experienced clinicians? If you want to develop your own clinical skills with a varied range of clients in the community this could be the post for you. We are looking to recruit a Band 6 Specialist SLT to cover maternity leave. The role will be split across Liverpool and Knowsley/St Helens teams. This role gives the post holder a unique opportunity to work with a large group of specialist Speech and Language Therapists as they develop their knowledge and skills. Our Speech & Language Therapists work with adults who have communication and/or swallowing difficulties. We work in community settings, including clinics and home visits. We work remotely where it is beneficial but also use our base to see patients and hold line management and supervision sessions. We value CPD and carry out robust clinical supervision and appraisals to encourage therapists’ specialist interests and innovation. The team has Assistant Practitioners who provide treatment plans and training. The team is led by an operational manager and we have excellent AHP support within Mersey Care leadership. This post would suit someone who is looking to develop their skills within a community setting or perhaps someone who is interested in broadening their clinical skills with a more varied caseload.

Main Duties of the Job:

• Provide evidence‑based Speech and Language Therapy assessment and intervention to service users who have communication and/or eating and drinking difficulties.
• Integrate within the therapy team and work with the team to develop person‑centred care plans.
• Participate as a Specialist Speech and Language Therapist with specific responsibility to assess and treat adults with complex health needs.
• Deliver specialist assessment, diagnosis, treatment, delivery and evaluation of evidence‑based Speech and Language Therapy intervention in a variety of settings.
• Act as a Care coordinator where applicable, ensuring clients have full access to any generic services that they require.
• Be responsible and accountable for your own caseload and ensure that care plans are written and reviewed regularly.
• Contribute to the prioritisation of the waiting list for Speech and Language Therapy.
• Work alongside and liaise with other professionals within the team, staff at day centres, residential staff and families.
• Provide clinical advice on the communication needs of clients.
• Identify and take responsibility for allocating work and providing supervision to Speech and Language Therapy assistants.
• Provide training days to staff teams around specific individual's communication to devise strategies and management plans.
• Be an active and enthusiastic team member by participating with service improvement activities.

Person Specification:

• Accredited Speech and Language Therapy qualification (BSc)
• Registration with HCPC
• Member of the Royal College of Speech and Language Therapist (RCSLT)
• Postgraduate training/qualification in Dysphagia

Skills:

• A demonstrated understanding of Equality and Human Rights
• Ability to convey information and skills to direct care staff
• Good time management and organisational skills
• Flexible approach skills towards service change, demands and pressure
• Experience of providing clinical supervision (to students or SaLT staff)

Values:

• Continuous improvement – committed to making improvements to our services for the benefit of all.
• Accountability – taking ownership to anticipate, develop and deliver high quality care.
• Respect – how we treat others in an inclusive and supportive way.
• Enthusiasm – demonstrate our passion and pride for what we do and how we do it.
• Support – actively supporting others with compassion and courage.

Experience:

• Experience of working as part of a multi-disciplinary team
• Experience with provision of supervision and delegation to junior members of staff
• Experience of use of outcome measures for clinical evaluation