Band 7 Highly Specialist Speech and Language Therapist- Outpatients

Stockport NHS Foundation Trust is looking for an enthusiastic, experienced Highly Specialist Speech and Language Therapist to join their integrated therapy team in the outpatient service. This is a newly created post. Following recent investment into The Speech and Language Therapy department the service is expanding making it an exciting time to join our team. You will manage an outpatient caseload; ensuring service delivery standards are met. You will deputise for the Clinical Lead Outpatient Speech and Language Therapist and Team Lead, where required. You will also be required to support junior Speech and Language Therapists and a Speech & Language Therapy Assistant.
You will work with a mixed outpatient/community caseload with a range of acquired communication and swallowing difficulties. Some inpatient work may also be required.,

• To provide a safe, effective and consistently high quality Speech and Language Therapy service at Stockport Foundation Trust.


• To act as a clinical expert and autonomous practitioner in specialist clinical area to provide highly specialist care to Speech and Language Therapy patients with complex swallowing and communication needs. Manage a delegated caseload within specialist area. To assess, plan and implement patient centred, evidence-based interventions.


• To provide evidence-based care, education and information to patients, carers and health care professionals. This will be in a range outpatient settings.


• Provide line management and supervision to Band 6 and Band 5 Speech and Language Therapists. Contribute to the training and development of Speech and Language Therapy students and Speech and Language Therapy assistants.


• To work with the Clinical Lead Speech and Language Therapist to develop the outpatient Speech and Language Therapy service.


• To support the Clinical Lead Speech and Language Therapist, Speech and Language Therapy Team Lead and Nutrition and Dietetic Service Lead with operational and strategic planning, deputising, as required., + Provide a highly specialist outpatient and community Speech and Language Therapy service using evidence based patient centred principles to assess, implement and evaluate interventions.

+ To perform advanced therapeutic assessment of patients with diverse presentations including head and neck cancer and complex communication and swallowing problems. This includes instrumental assessment such as FEES and videofluoroscopy and to provide a diagnosis and develop and deliver an individualised treatment programme.
+ Act as an independent practitioner and be professionally accountable and responsible for aspects of own work. Decide priorities for own work, balance patient related and professional demands in consultation with other Speech and Language Therapy Clinical Leads and Service Lead.
+ To assist the Clinical Lead in planning and service development within specialist area.
+ To deputise for Clinical Lead and Team Lead when required.
+ To identify service needs and maximise the efficiency of the team within the resource available.
+ To lead on allocated projects with specialist area.
+ To be a source of clinical expertise for the team providing supervision and mentorship.
+ To work alongside consultants, specialist nurses and ward staff to provide specialist Speech and Language Therapy treatment plans as part of holistic patient care.
+ Provision of expert advice on the management of patients referred to the outpatient Speech and Language Therapy team due to additional complex clinical needs.
+ To attend MDT meetings and best interest meetings as needed, promoting an understanding of the role of Speech and Language Therapy in achieving the best outcome for each patient.
+ Supervise, educate and assess the performance of students (this would be to a graduate standard and involve working with universities to ensure the standard of practice and teaching meets the standards set by the degree level qualification).
+ To provide training, support and supervision to Speech and Language Therapy colleagues.
+ Provide relevant training to other healthcare professionals.
+ Develop and implement pathways, resources and teaching materials for use by the Speech and Language Therapy team and other professions.
+ Collect all data necessary to meet local requirements for service monitoring.
+ Work in conjunction with colleagues on development and implementation of local policies based on national guidance.
+ To identify and undertake clinical audit.
+ Maintain professional competence and expertise, keeping up-to-date with current research, working practices and models of working. Comply with professional guidelines and Code of Practice.
+ Participate in personal and professional development through objective setting and regular job review.
+ Work as a committed and effective member of the Speech and Language Therapy Team wider MDT Team in order to maximise the potential of the service and profession.
+ Support other specialist Speech and Language Therapists with caseloads in their absence. As required to offer support to other clinical areas to ensure all patients are seen in a timely manner
Further details can be found in the attached job description and person specification.
The Trust is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, young people and vulnerable adults and expects all staff and volunteers to share this commitment and promote safeguarding by implementing the Trust's policies and procedures, acting promptly on concerns, communicating effectively and sharing information appropriately.
If successful this vacancy will require an enhanced DBS check at a cost of £41.90. This cost will be deducted from your first Trust salary
In addition to this it will be a condition of your employment that you will join the DBS update service and pay the annual subscription fee of £13.

Post-graduate training and experience in dysphagia is essential. Skills and experience in Videofluoroscopy, FEES, head and neck cancer and tracheostomy are desirable. Due to the outpatient nature of this post, the ability to travel around Stockport is essential.

Stockport NHS Foundation Trust
There are lots of good reasons to choose to come and work at Stockport NHS Foundation Trust. A dynamic integrated Trust with integrity and vision. Exactly the same qualities you'll see in yourself. Stockport NHS Foundation Trust aims to be the organisation of choice for patients and an employer of choice for staff. In order to continually improve all aspects of our patient experience, we rely upon having a highly skilled, motivated, diverse, productive and patient focused workforce.
Stockport Foundation Trust is one of four 'specialist' hospital sites in Greater Manchester. Being a 'specialist' hospital will enhance our general surgery, anaesthetics, critical care and emergency medicine for the benefit of people in Stockport, High Peak, Cheshire and across Greater Manchester.
Our values 'We Care, We Respect, We Listen' are at the heart of everything we do, and come from our promise: 'Making a difference every day.' They drive the behaviour and actions for everyone in our organisation.
In your application for this post, please describe how your experience and skills align with 'Our values-based behaviours' ( see additional documentation) and provide examples.
Greater Manchester Continuous Service Commitment
As well as recognising previous NHS service, Stockport NHS Foundation Trust is a member of the Greater Manchester Continuous Service Commitment. If you are currently employed by Greater Manchester Local Authority, Combined Authority, GMFRS, TfGM as well as other public service organisations, Stockport NHS Foundation Trust will recognise your previous service for sickness and maternity/paternity/adoption entitlement and also for annual leave purposes (providing there has been no break in service). If you currently work for one of the above organisations and successfully apply for a post with Stockport NHS Foundation Trust, please ensure the Recruitment team are aware so that this service is reflected in your contract of employment.
Our Values:
We Care
About each other
Our patients and their families
The communities we serve
The environment
We support them and deliver on their promises
We Respect
Each other
Our patients and their families
Our partners
We are kind and helpful, and we expect the same in return
We Listen to
Each other
Our patients and their families
Our partners
We act and learn from what we hear,
• The work is based at Heaton Norris Health Centre and includes weekend working at Stepping Hill Hospital on a rota as required.


Working for our organisation
We hold a unique position in the Stockport community as the provider of healthcare and we are one of its largest employers.
Our mission is to make a difference every day. Our values are that we care, we respect, and we listen
We believe that the best organisations are those that reflect the communities they serve. We are therefore seeking to improve the diversity of our workforce to make it truly representative of our local population., Stockport NHS Foundation Trust is committed to promoting and championing a culture of diversity, fairness and equality for all applicants and employees. Applications are welcomed from all backgrounds and we strive to reflect the community we serve in our diverse workforce. Our "two tick" kite mark guarantees a candidate with a disability, who fulfills the essential criteria, an interview at the Trust. We can make reasonable adjustments, and offer support and advice in a variety of ways on request.

We recognise that flexible working is important. We take requests for flexible working seriously, consider any request we receive and try to work with you, so we can explore if your request may fit with the needs of the service.
The salary for the role is only one part of the excellent package of benefits we offer to you:
+ Between 27-33 days of annual leave plus bank holidays
+ NHS pension scheme membership
+ Salary sacrifice schemes for lease cars, home electronics and more, to make your salary go further
+ NHS Staff discounts
+ Cycle to work scheme
+ Salary finance - for loans, savings, budget planning and tips on managing debt
+ Stockport Credit Union- for local financial advice