Highly Specialist Neonatal and Acute Paediatric Speech and Language Therapist - Band 7

As an NHS Trust we strongly encourage and support vaccination uptake as this remains the best line of defence against COVID-19. At Epsom and St Helier Hospitals, above all we value respect. We put respect at the heart of all we do, by living up to our shared behaviours of kindness, professionalism, positivity and teamwork. This enables us to provide great patient care and make ESTH a great place to work. When you sign up to work with us, you sign up to this and we welcome applicants who share our values.

This exciting cover is an opportunity for a SLT with both neonatal and acute paediatric experience, with a special interest in neonatal care looking to further develop neonatal skills. You will be working as part of an MDT providing a specialist neonatal SLT service to a local neonatal unit (level 2) with ad-hoc provision to a special care baby unit (level 1). There will be potential opportunities to lead on a Quality Improvement project within neonates to help further develop the Neonatal SLT service. Informal clinical support will be available via a local Clinical Lead Neonatal SLT and external clinical supervision can be arranged. Your role will also require you to provide holistic and developmentally supportive care to babies, children and families. You will independently manage an acute in-patient neonatal and paediatric dysphagia caseload across the paediatric ward and outpatient clinic settings. You will undertake comprehensive assessment and management of a specialist neonatal and paediatric Dysphagia caseload demonstrating sound clinical knowledge and reasoning skills.

Main duties of the job

• Manage and provide highly specialist assessment, differential diagnosis and therapeutic management of infants with dysphagia or developmental feeding and communication difficulties on the neonatal unit and acute paediatric in-patients and out-patient settings.
• Independently manage a designated caseload of neonatal and acute paediatric inpatients and outpatients producing a high standard of case notes and reports reflecting specialist neonatal knowledge.

Specialist skills

• Complex neonatal dysphagia management
• High risk infants
• Development of feeding and swallowing
• Early communication and interaction
• Have an understanding of neonatal best practice models of care such as Family Integrated Care, Developmental care and the Baby Friendly Initiative.
• Identify potential physiological compromise and risk for aspiration and advise on appropriate precautions to minimise the risks.
• Lead the Videofluoroscopy clinic, identifying appropriate patients and co-ordinating the VFSS process for inpatient and community patients.
• Provide expertise and specialist speech and language therapy advice and consultation to other professionals in relation to patient assessment, diagnosis, treatment and care within your specialist area, including participation in the MDT feeding clinic.
• Be involved in the provision of support, guidance and information to parents and other professionals regarding your specialist area.
• Work as part of the MDT in undertaking comprehensive assessment of this specialist caseload, explaining and discussing treatment options and developing an agreed individualised, outcome-focussed treatment plan with the child’s parent/carers using clinical knowledge and sound clinical reasoning skills.

Communication

• Communicate information in accessible formats to parents/carers, and other professionals and agencies.
• Have an awareness of the systems and processes of other agencies in order to work collaboratively with these agencies.
• Refer infants, children and/or families to other appropriate agencies as required.
• Demonstrate excellent verbal, non-verbal and written communication skills.
• Communicate complex and/or sensitive information in an understandable form to parents/carers, which may be unwelcome or difficult to accept.
• Communicate information effectively and work collaboratively with partner agencies and professionals in health, social services, education and the voluntary sector to ensure the protection of vulnerable children.
• This may include some sensitive information.
• Use IT to communicate via e-mail, to obtain information from the internet and intranet and to input data on information systems.

Working for our organisation

Epsom and St Helier University Hospitals NHS Trust provides a range of medical services to approximately 490,000 people living across southwest London and northeast Surrey. In addition, we provide more specialist services, in particular renal and neonatal intensive care, to a wider area, covering parts of Sussex and Hampshire. We serve an area that is rich in diversity, with a mix of urban and rural areas, and differing levels of quality of life. We cover some of the most prosperous postcodes in the country, as well as some poorer areas. Together with our colleagues at NHS Surrey and NHS Sutton and Merton, we work to make sure that we deliver the best possible care to the communities we serve. The Trust employs approximately 5,000 staff across its hospitals and is supported by over 500 volunteers.

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

Please see the attached supporting job description and person specification document which contains more information about the role and requirements. Please ensure your application refers to the job description and person specification.

Person specification

Skills

• Relevant experience at undergraduate/post graduate level
• Knowledge/experience in the use of evidence‑based assessment and treatment approaches and practices
• Registered with the Health and Care Professions Council
• Registered with the Royal College of Speech and Language Therapists
• Knowledge of risk assessment for this client group

Experience

Our mission: ‘to put the patient first by delivering great care to every patient, every day.’ There’s never been a better time to join the Epsom and St Helier team. Our hospitals are facing a bright and busy future, and our staff have a proven track record in providing high quality, compassionate care for our patients. Boasting incredible staff benefits and dedicated training schemes, working for us will not only take your career forward, but could help to transform the lives of our patients and visitors. We offer all employees some fantastic staff benefits, and are the only hospitals in Surrey to offer staff the London high cost area supplement. Our hospitals also benefit from great locations, so whether you’re attracted to the bright lights of the city or the countryside of Epsom Downs, both are within easy reach.

Further Information

PLEASE NOTE THAT THIS POSITION MAY CLOSE EARLIER THAN THE STATED CLOSING DATE IF A SUFFICIENT NUMBER OF APPLICATIONS ARE RECEIVED. IF YOU WISH TO APPLY FOR THIS POSITION, YOU ARE ADVISED TO SUBMIT YOUR APPLICATION AS SOON AS POSSIBLE. PLEASE NOTE THAT WE CONTACT ALL APPLICANTS VIA EMAIL AND NOT BY POST. YOU ARE ADVISED TO CHECK YOUR RECRUITMENT SYSTEM ACCOUNT ON A REGULAR BASIS. YOU CAN ACCESS THIS ACCOUNT VIA OUR WEB SITE > Work for Us > Current Vacancies > My Job Account. For new entrants into the NHS, your pay under the Agenda for Change or Medical & Dental Pay Bands, will normally be set at the minimum of the pay band as advertised. If you apply for this position and do not hear from us within 4 weeks of the closing date, please assume that you have not been short‑listed for interview on this occasion. ESTH values diversity and is committed to the recruitment and retention of underrepresented minority groups. We particularly welcome applications from black, Asian and minority ethnic candidates, LGBTQ+ candidates and candidates with disabilities. As a Disability Confident Employer we are working to create a workplace that enables all staff to reach their full potential. We are committed to this because we know that greater diversity and inclusion will lead to an even greater positive impact for the people we serve. Internal applicants from underrepresented minority groups are encouraged to seek development support such as work shadowing and interview skills coaching. Please contact the recruitment team for more information.

You must have appropriate UK professional registration. This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (Exceptions) Order 1975 (Amendment) (England and Wales) Order 2020 and it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service.