Senior Speech and Language Therapist

Purpose:

• - To provide specialist assessment, diagnosis, and therapeutic interventions for patients on the rehabilitation ward at Woking Hospital, in outpatient clinics, and patients in the community who have communication and/or swallowing difficulties, resulting from a variety of acquired or progressive neurological conditions or frailty.
• - To provide advice, support and education for patients and their families/carers, and offer training to students, and other Health Care Professionals.
• - To be able to work independently and as part of a Team, and to participate in innovative projects and service development to benefit patients and colleagues.

• 1. Be able to work autonomously, with a specialist, often complex caseload, to assess, diagnose, develop and implement programmes of care. Supported by clinical supervision and SLT Lead.
• 2. Assess, differentially diagnose, formulate treatment plans (in collaboration with patients and carers), write assessment reports, identify and choose appropriate therapeutic or clinical management techniques from a range of options, provide appropriate therapeutic intervention, and evaluate treatment outcomes.
• 3. Demonstrate clinical effectiveness by use of evidence-based practice and outcome measures.
• 4. Provide complex and sensitive information to patients in a manner that they can understand e.g. regarding cognitive changes
• 5. Refer on for specialist assessment for Assistive and Augmentative communication. Liaise with specialist centres to provide continuity of care and help source funding for equipment.
• 6. Liaise with a wide range of professional colleagues and other agencies to ensure comprehensive management of the patient e.g. attendance at ward meetings and case conferences and telephone liaison e.g. with GPs, dieticians and social services.
• 7. Plan for patient discharge, ensuring appropriate onward referral and liaison as required.
• 8. Adapt practice to meet individual patient circumstances, including due regard for cultural and linguistic differences.
• 9. Complete incident forms where appropriate and discuss pertinent issues regarding safeguarding/incidents with Speech & Language Therapy Lead and others involved.
• 10. Work with patients with a variety of diagnoses and their carers/families, across the teams geographical patch. Working flexibly to provide an equitable service to all patients, as the caseload determines and to cover periods of staff absence
• 11. Work with a designated caseload and be flexible to carry out work in other areas of the wider SLT Team to facilitate equity of service provision for all patients (according to level of experience and competence) as requested by Speech and Language Therapy Lead, and to further develop own professional practice.