Job overview
We are looking for a highly motivated and experienced speech and language therapist to lead the speech and language therapy services for adults with learning disabilities in the London borough of Hillingdon. We welcome and encourage applications from band 7 applicants, or band 6 with experience looking to progress to band 7.
This is a rare opportunity to take the lead in the development of a safe and efficient speech and language therapy service for adults with learning disabilities. This dynamic role require strong skills in leadership and innovation, in addition to previous experience of service development and delivery. We are looking for applicants who have a passion and commitment to working with people with Learning Disabilities and their carers.
Hillingdon is vibrant, multicultural area and is very easily accessible from central London on the Jubilee and Metropolitan Lines, taking around 35 minutes to Baker Street station.
Opportunity to work virtually for 2.5 days.
The successful applicant may have contact with patients or service users. As an NHS Trust we strongly encourage and support vaccination as this remains the best way to protect yourself, your family, your colleagues and of course patients and service users when working on our healthcare settings.
Main duties of the job
As the local lead for Speech and Language Therapy within the Learning Disability Team, you would be responsible for the development and oversight of SLT clinical pathways, supervising and training junior clinicians, in addition to managing a diverse and wide-ranging clinical caseload. As a part of the multi-disciplinary team you would provide advice and support to colleagues working with people with learning disabilities across the MDT and neighbouring services.
Candidates should have extensive experience of autonomously managing both dysphagia and communication caseloads. Relevant experience of service development and working as part of a multidisciplinary team is also required. Ideal candidates would preferably have some experience of working with adults with learning disabilities, though we would welcome applications from experienced therapists from other clinical areas who have a genuine interest in learning disabilities and are looking to develop their skills in this area. You would receive regular supervision and support from the Speech and Language Therapy Professional Lead in Learning Disabilities within CNWL, in addition to peer supervision with other LD SLT team leads.
Band 6 appointees will be supported to progress to band 7 level through an agreed developmental framework which will be overseen and agreed with the Professional lead for learning disabilities, and the Hillingdon community team manager. Please see job description for more information.
Working for our organisation
Come and join us and be one of the 1500 Therapists / AHP’s in CNWL. We work in many different teams in both physical and mental health, as well as many specialist areas. You could have a career for life with us.
Personal and professional development is a high priority for the profession this enables us to invest in the development of our staff by providing excellent internal training as well as commissioning specialised external training and providing quality supervision. This ensures all our therapists / AHP’s reach their full potential at every stage of their career. Our commitment to research, audit and evidence-based practice is made possible by our strong links with local universities and our CNWL AHP Research Network.
Equality, Diversity and Inclusion are a priority for us in CNWL we expect staff to be culturally competent, reflective and open to culturally diverse CPD opportunities. We are working hard support the recruitment and development of staff from all protected characteristics and welcome applications from any interested applicants.
Band 6 and 7 staff enrich teams and the service with their managerial and clinical expertise. We recognise this and therefore view them as staff we are committed to fully supporting in their clinical and managerial development. There will be opportunities to lead on trust wide projects, shadow senior managers and become a clinical specialist through an ACP programme or advanced training.
Detailed job description and main responsibilities
You should be highly skilled in the delivery of assessment, advice and intervention around communication and dysphagia for people referred to the service, their families and wider support systems. You should be able to independently manage your clinical caseload and have excellent clinical governance skills.
As the local lead, you would be responsible for managing all SLT referrals to the team, including appropriate triage and allocation within the timelines outlined by the service. You will also be responsible for ensuring safe service delivery and caseload management across the SLT service, and will provide regular supervision to more junior colleagues. There will also be opportunity for recruitment and interview experience for vacant SLT posts within the team.
We are committed to supporting continued development of clinical specialisms in areas of interest relevant to this post e.g. autism, dementia, dysphagia, AAC, mental health, positive behaviour support etc. There is also scope for shadowing and training opportunities across neighbouring services including acute SLT services at local Hospitals and Adult Community SLT services. You will be expected to contribute to the development of the wider community learning disability service, including input to new clinical pathways and Care Quality Improvement projects.
Please see job description for further details.
Employer certification / accreditation badges
Applicant requirements
You must have appropriate UK professional registration.
This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (Exceptions) Order 1975 (Amendment) (England and Wales) Order 2020 and it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service.
Documents to download