Highly Specialist Speech and Language Therapist in North Shields

Do you want to work in one of the best performing NHS organisations in England? Work for an organisation that was voted the best acute and combined acute and community trust in the country, based on the experience of its staff (NHS Staff Survey 2022). Work in an organisation that supports its staff and focuses on staff experience as much as it does the experience of its patients? You can live and breathe in an area that has the cleanest air, cost effective living, great nightlife, some of the best schools with a wealth of history available on your doorstep. Sound too good to be true? Well it isn’t, this is what you get when you work for Northumbria Healthcare and, this is…the Northumbria Way!

What the Northumbria Way means for you:

• Extensive staff health and well-being programme including access to our specialist Wellbeing Hub
• Support and connection through a variety of Staff Network groups
• A range of flexible working opportunities
• Generous annual leave and pension scheme
• Access to lease car and home electronics scheme (qualifying criteria applies)
• Opportunities to improve your professional development through our vast training programmes
• Access to savings scheme via salary sacrifice with Northumberland Community Bank

We work closely with Kids First Nurseries that are based within our trust grounds at Wansbeck, North Tyneside and Hexham hospitals to care for our Trust family's children, they offer care for children from 6 weeks old up to 4 years. There are a number of funding options run by the government to help working parents, including Early Years Funding and Tax Free Childcare. Flexible working offers choice in where, when, and how we work, ensuring patients remain at the heart of all we do. It’s open to everyone, and we aim to find solutions that work for both you and the organisation. All arrangements must be reasonable and balanced to maintain safe and effective patient care.

We are proud to be one of the country’s top performing NHS trusts – rated ‘outstanding’ overall by the Care Quality Commission (CQC). We provide a range of health and care services to support more than 500,000 people living in Northumberland and North Tyneside across the largest geographical area of any NHS Trust in England. Our teams deliver care from hospitals, a range of community venues and people’s homes. Our hospitals include a specialist emergency care hospital (the first of its kind in England), three general hospitals and community hospitals. In the community we deliver a wide range of community and public health services. We lead in innovation and quality, having opened the Northumbria Healthcare Manufacturing and Innovation Hub during the Covid-19 pandemic and have recently launched our Community Promise – a pledge to make a real impact not just in healthcare but on the wider factors that affect people’s lives, such as education, employment and the economy.

If Northumbria Healthcare sounds like somewhere you could belong we would love to hear from you. Visit our website to catch up on our latest news.

Job overview

An exciting opportunity has arisen to join the Adult Speech and Language Therapy Voice and Respiratory Service at Northumbria Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust. We are looking for a motivated SLT to join our experienced team, supporting people with complex voice and upper airway disorders. The successful candidate will have experience in the assessment and management of dysphonia, chronic cough and inducible laryngeal obstruction (ILO). Experience in dysphagia is welcomed. Laryngoscopy expertise is desirable, but internal training is available. Our SLT's work closely with the respiratory multidisciplinary team, including physicians, nurses, physiotherapists, clinical psychologists and lung physiologists. Our SLT's attend specialist clinics including Complex Breathlessness, Joint Cough and Exercise-Induced Laryngeal Obstructions clinics, with collaboration with regional Ear, Nose and Throat services. Our service is recognised as a leading UK service, with team members contributing to national clinical guidelines, research and teaching. We value ongoing learning through structured CPD, peer supervision and case discussion.

Please note we reserve the right to close this vacancy prior to the closing date once the required number of suitable applications have been received.

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

The main responsibilities of the post include:

• Independently assess, diagnose and treat own highly specialised caseload of patients / clients and maintain associated records.
• Participate in research in your specialist area.
• Take a leadership role in voice and upper airways, offering advice to other SLT's / staff on SLT issues.
• Provide specialist voice and respiratory support and supervision to the SLT team, integrating goals for the team into wider service objectives.
• Support pathway development and multidisciplinary relationships internally, externally and across agencies to enable creation and maintenance of local flexible service provision.
• Supervise assistants/volunteers/junior staff and others working with the post holder.
• Contribute to induction, mentoring and support of junior staff and facilitate clinical case discussions as part of peer review.
• Take full SLT student placements, contributing to their assessment and examination.

Due to the nature of this role, it is essential that the post holder has a valid driving licence and can meet the travel requirements of the post.

Applicants who are members of the Armed Forces, those who have a disability that requires support in the workplace (two ticks pledge) and those who have been looked after by the care system as a child or young person (for example, in foster care, children's homes, kinship or local authority care) who meet the essential criteria will be interviewed under the Trust's interview guarantee scheme. We recognise the positive value of diversity and inclusion and are committed to a workforce that is diverse, equal and inclusive. We welcome and encourage job applications from people of all backgrounds. We particularly welcome applications from Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic (BAME) candidates as BAME people are currently under-represented in our workforce as well as other under-represented groups such as LGBT+ and disabled candidates. We are proud to be a Disability Confident Employer, a Stonewall Diversity Champion, we have a Gold award from the Defense Recognition Scheme, and we are delighted to support Apprenticeships, Age Positive and are a mindful employer.

If you require any reasonable adjustments to attend interview please make the recruitment team aware as soon as possible by calling our HR Recruitment Team on 0191 203 1415 option 2. Applicants who meet the Fit and Proper Person Requirements (FPPR) will require additional pre-employment checks in line with CQC and NHS England statutory guidance. Make sure to read the ‘applicant guidance notes’ before submitting your application and make sure you know everything there is to know before joining our fantastic trust!

Certificate of Sponsorship

Northumbria Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust proudly hold a sponsor licence. In order to provide sponsorship you and the role you are applying for must meet UKVI eligibility requirements. Please check your eligibility prior to submitting an application. Skilled Worker visa: Overview - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk) Please note that it is a requirement of this Trust that all successful applicants pay for their own DBS certification if a DBS check is required for the post. The method of payment is a salary deduction from your first monthly pay.