Job summary
Highly Specialist Speech & Language Therapist - Critical Care/Adult Acute, Hammersmith Hospital
Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust is looking for a motivated and experienced Speech & Language Therapist (SLT) who exemplifies our Trust values to join our Adult Acute SLT Department as part of our wider SLT service of over 30wte SLTs.
This is an exciting newly created post to provide expert clinical care as part of a small team of SLTs and to support a planned expansion in Critical Care capacity on the HH site, including the provision of ECMO. HH is a specialist hospital offering a range of services including renal, haematology, cancer (including upper GI) and cardiology.
You will be supported by the Adult SLT Clinical Lead for the HH site, and work closely and collaboratively with other adult SLTs and teams across the organisation which includes Adult Acute, Stroke & Neuro-rehab, H&N and ENT/airways based at Charing Cross Hospital, and Adult Acute at St Mary's Hospital. The SLT service receives academic support from the Clinical Academic SLT. You will work alongside your site-based therapy and wider MDT colleagues, and collaborate with community partners.
Main duties of the job
The post-holder will provide a highly specialist clinical SLT service to adult inpatients with communication and/or swallowing disorders resulting from acquired neurological/medical/surgical conditions of an acute or chronic nature. The role will have a specific remit for patients within the critical care setting on the Hammersmith Hospital (HH) site, but the post holder may also be required to support the HH acute team, and wider critical care service across Charing Cross and St Mary's Hospitals.
The post holder will deliver an evidence-based responsive service to adults admitted with swallowing and communication difficulties across the site (critical care, medical and surgical beds). You will work as an integrated member of the multidisciplinary team providing assessment and management to critical care patients including contributing to tracheostomy and ventilator weaning plans.
The post holder will be a senior member of the SLT department, maintaining a high quality evidence-based service, supporting junior members of the team, and participating in the development of the SLT critical care service, including carrying out audit and delivering teaching programmes to other professions.
About us
At Imperial College Healthcare you can achieve extraordinary things with extraordinary people, working with leading clinicians pushing boundaries in patient care. Become part of a vibrant team living our values - expert, kind, collaborative and aspirational. You'll get an experience like no other and will fast forward your career.
Benefits include career development, flexible working and wellbeing, staff recognition scheme. Make use of optional benefits including Cycle to work, car lease schemes, season ticket loan or membership options for onsite leisure facilities.
We are committed to equal opportunities and improving the working lives of our staff and will consider applications to work flexibly, part-time or job share.
Job description
Job responsibilities
The full job description provides an overview of the key tasks and responsibilities of the role and the person specification outlines the qualifications, skills, experience and knowledge required. For both overviews, please view the Job Description attachment with the job advert.
Person Specification
Education/ qualifications
Essential
- Degree accredited by Royal College of Speech and Language Therapists (RCSLT)
- Current HCPC registration as a SLT
- Post graduate qualification in acquired disorders of swallowing and communication to Masters level or equivalent experience.
- Completion of core and critical care tracheostomy competencies
Desirable
- FEES level 2/3 competence
- Experience or knowledge in ECMO
Experience
Essential
- Professional portfolio demonstrating post-qualification experience working at specialist level including critical care, with adults with acute and chronic disorders within an acute hospital setting.
- Independent management of patients with complex impairments in level 2 and 3 critical care settings, including those with tracheostomy.
- Supervision and appraisal of junior staff
- Giving formal presentations to a range of professionals
- Clinical governance and quality improvement activities
- Working as an integrated member of a multi-disciplinary team.
Desirable
- Managing ventilator-dependent patients
Skills/knowledge/ abilities
Essential
- Specialist level of clinical skills and knowledge underpinned by current models of best practice.
- Able to work effectively within a team to contribute to shared goals and initiatives and also on own initiative.
- Able to use highly specialist knowledge to make appropriate clinical decisions following assessment.
- Able to collaborate with client/carer and medical, nursing, AHP and social care teams around individual case management, prioritisation and clinical risk management.
- Proven ability to receive and adapt to change.
- Demonstrates skills in dealing with complex issues and able to generate appropriate strategies for caseload management
- Ability to demonstrate appropriate empathy and give unwelcome news to patients/carers who may be distressed or angry
- Able to communicate complex/emotive information in highly sensitive /distressing situations both verbally and in writing
- Able to manage the emotional consequences of working with distressing conditions
Disclosure and Barring Service Check
This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (Exceptions Order) 1975 and as such it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service (formerly known as CRB) to check for any previous criminal convictions.
Applications from job seekers who require current Skilled worker sponsorship to work in the UK are welcome and will be considered alongside all other applications. For further information visit the UK Visas and Immigration website .
From 6 April 2017, skilled worker applicants, applying for entry clearance into the UK, have had to present a criminal record certificate from each country they have resided continuously or cumulatively for 12 months or more in the past 10 years. Adult dependants (over 18 years old) are also subject to this requirement. Guidance can be found here Criminal records checks for overseas applicants .
UK Registration
Applicants must have current UK professional registration. For further information please see
NHS Careers website .
Employer details
Employer name
Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust
Address
Hammersmith Hospital
London
W12 0HS