Black Country Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust is growing and changing. We provide specialist mental health, learning disability and community services across Dudley, Sandwell, Walsall and Wolverhampton, and we’re hiring people who want to shape what comes next. Formed on 1 April 2020 through the merger of Black Country Partnership NHS Foundation Trust and Dudley and Walsall Mental Health Partnership NHS Trust, we’re now focused on the future with a new Trust Strategy and our Best for the Black Country programme. What we do · Adult and older adult mental health · Children and young people’s mental health · Specialist learning disability services · Community healthcare for children, young people and families in Dudley Why join now · We’ve got real momentum right now. New strategy, clear priorities and our Best for the Black Country work mean things are moving in the right way, fast. · Our values aren’t just posters. People are genuinely compassionate, take responsibility, treat you with respect and help you feel confident and empowered. · You’ll be looked after. Flexible working, family-friendly policies, supportive teams, proper wellbeing support and chances to learn with coaching and development. · There’s room to grow. Loads of services to explore and real space to try ideas and be heard. · It’s a good place to live. Friendly diverse communities, easy transport, good schools and colleges, shopping, food, lots to do, plenty of green space and a lower cost of living than many other city regions. What it’s like to work here You’ll join friendly, skilled teams who look out for each other. We plan together, share caseload pressures, and celebrate wins. New starters get a warm welcome and clear induction; early careers colleagues have preceptorship and buddying; experienced staff can lead, teach and innovate. You’ll have space to do good work, speak up, and see the difference you make. Who we are We’re 4,000 colleagues from many backgrounds, committed to improving health and wellbeing for our communities and for each other. If you’re excited about the role but don’t tick every box, please apply. We value potential and transferable experience. Job overview Are you ready to be part of a growing and dynamic field of Speech and Language Therapy in Mental Health? We’re offering an exciting opportunity for a Band 6 Specialist SLT to join our supportive Allied Health Professions (AHP) team within urgent care mental health services across the Black Country (Inpatient mental health wards in Dudley, Sandwell, Walsall and Wolverhampton). This permanent, full-time post offers the chance to make a real impact with adults and older adults on mental health wards. We’re open to part-time applications for the right candidate and offer flexible working arrangements (subject to service needs and policy). Advert · Deliver a specialist SLT service for dysphagia and communication needs. · Work with clients presenting with complex and diverse mental health conditions, including behaviours that challenge. · Provide dysphagia assessment, advice, and intervention to reduce clinical risks and support safe oral intake. · Offer communication assessments and interventions tailored to individual needs. · Collaborate with multi-disciplinary teams to support holistic care. · Contribute to staff training and service development initiatives. Working for our organisation About us We are an energetic and hardworking team, working with adults with mental health needs. We regularly come together exploring ways we can ensure a quality service as well as enabling shared learning. We work alongside Occupational Therapists, Physiotherapists, Nurses, Clinical Psychologists, Support Workers and other partners, both internal and external. As a Trust we are committed to increasing the quality and range of services we provide which are safe and supportive to services users, their carers and relatives. Having been reviewed by the CQC as 'Good' we are working towards further improving over time - Come and join us on this journey as we work to provide even better care for our staff and patients. Detailed job description and main responsibilities Assess, diagnose and manage the communication and/or swallowing needs of patients referred to the service in inpatient settings. Responsible for autonomous initial patient diagnosis and assessment: Collection of detailed case history information Specialist informal assessment and observation Uses f ormal standardised assessment procedures Evaluates intervention plans using outcome measures and revises plans as necessary Contributes to, reads and abides by risk assessments relating to patients of the service. To carry out and support with mental capacity assessments. Communicates assessment and therapeutic findings within the multi-disciplinary team. Completes contemporaneous case notes and written clinical information completion according to Trust procedures. Undertakes specialist clinical work with individuals and groups of patients with guidance for the most complex cases from senior SLT. Makes decisions leading to SLT review or discharge of patients and/or referral to other services, as appropriate. Is responsible for managing own clinical caseload. To undertake any other duties of a similar nature consistent with the responsibilities of this post in order to provide a quality Speech and Language Therapy service. Applying and timelines We may close this advert early if we receive a high volume of applications, so please apply soon. We shortlist after the closing date and will contact shortlisted candidates usually within two weeks. If you haven’t heard by then, you haven’t been shortlisted. Please check your email for updates and contact Recruitment for feedback. Pay and contracts Most NHS roles are paid under NHS Agenda for Change. With us - your starting point is set against the advertised band and your relevant NHS service, with progression through annual increments. Medical and Very Senior Manager roles follow separate national pay frameworks, not Agenda for Change. Details are provided in each advert and during recruitment. Standards and checks · Clinical posts up to and including Band 4 are expected to hold the Care Certificate. If you don’t have it yet, we’ll support you to complete it in post. · Some roles require a Standard or Enhanced DBS check under part V of the Police Act 1997. Having a criminal record won’t automatically prevent employment. We consider the role and individual circumstances. · We are an equal opportunities employer, offer flexible working, and are a smoke free Trust. Inclusion, equality and adjustments · We are an equal opportunities employer and offer flexible working. · We are an anti-racist, disability-inclusive and LGBTQ-inclusive Trust. · We welcome applications from under-represented groups and people with lived experience relevant to our services, including Black and Asian colleagues, Disabled people (including non-visible disabilities such as neurodiversity and mental health) and LGBTQ people. · Disabled applicants can request consideration under our Guaranteed Interview Scheme where essential criteria are met. You can ask for reasonable adjustments at every stage of the process. Our culture and values Best for the Black Country is our improvement journey. We share a clear vision and values, lead with compassion and visibility, listen to every voice, keep improving what we do and take ownership for delivery. You’ll feel it in how teams support each other and in the impact your work has on local people. If you want to contribute, learn and progress, this is a great time to join us.