Specialist Speech and Language Therapist

This is an exciting new post providing a unique opportunity to support the development of the Speech and Language Therapy provision in a young offenders prison within the South London forensic services. We are looking for a speech and language therapist to join our rich MDT and contribute to the SLT pathway within our mental health care provision in a challenging but rewarding environment.

• To work as a member of the Integrated Mental Health Team at HMP/YOI Isis.
• To exercise professional responsibility for the assessment, treatment and case closure of service users.
• To be professionally accountable for own caseload, working autonomously in a variety of settings.
• To act as lead professional for those on the allocated caseload.
• To undertake speech and language assessments of service users based upon the appropriate use, interpretation and integration of information from a variety of sources including formal and informal assessment, observation and interviews with service users, and others involved in the service user's care.
• 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 timely and accurate reports that provide a diagnosis, assessment and recommendations and comply with best practice guidelines.
• To communicate in a skilled and sensitive manner, information concerning the communication assessment, formulation and treatment plans of service users and to monitor progress during the course of both uni and multi-disciplinary care.
• To work with service users and other members of the MDT to achieve identified goals and to promote social inclusion, independence and well-being. 10. To develop accessible information in order to support service users where required.
• To formulate and implement treatment programmes for the management of service user's communication needs and provide advice to service users with communication difficulties.
• To develop and implement individual and/or group interventions, in collaboration with service users and the MDT to achieve therapeutic goals.
• To engage the service user in therapeutic activities and encourage and support them to achieve their identified goals.
• To monitor and evaluate treatment in order to measure progress and modify treatment plans to ensure effectiveness of clinical interventions.
• To participate in the clinical decision-making process regarding service user care programmes as part of the MDT.
• To attend relevant case conferences and MDT meetings.
• To plan own workload, managing competing demands to ensure care is delivered according to clinical priority.
• To seek second opinions and highly specialist advice where necessary. Including onward referral for dysphagia assessment.
• To participate in MDT team meetings, promote multi-professional links and play a full role in local initiatives.
• To undertake specialist SLT assessments particularly with men with SLCN and neurodivergent needs.
• To contribute to and support the diagnostic pathways for ASD and other neurodivergent needs.

• To receive regular professional clinical supervision from a senior SLT clinician.
• To prepare for and participate in an annual job appraisal.
• To contribute to and support training and education in speech, language and communication needs to other clinical staff, non-clinical staff, students, prison officers and other prison partnership agencies as appropriate.
• To contribute to professional and clinical supervision of any junior members of the speech and language therapy service such as assistants, students, and volunteers.
• To form links with other Speech and Language Therapists who work in the areas of mental health, learning disabilities and forensic.

• From time to time carry out duties, appropriate to grade and experience, which may reasonably be requested by the Clinical Service Manager, Head of Therapies, SLT Professional lead or Highly specialist speech and language therapist within the prison.
• To manage their own workload and support the management of workload of junior staff, assistants and students, within the framework of the team/service's policies and procedures.
• Attend and actively contribute to multi-disciplinary meetings, speech and language therapy staff meetings, relevant Clinical Excellence Network groups, in-service training and implement any action plans related to these meetings.
• To contribute to the development, evaluation and monitoring of the in-service MDT's operational policies and services through the deployment of professional skills in research, service evaluation and audit.
• To undertake risk assessment and risk management for individual service users in relation to their communication difficulties and to provide advice to other professionals on communication aspects of risk assessment and risk management.

• Maintain the highest standards of clinical…