MERTON – Speech and Language Therapist – Neuro

Job Title: Highly Specialist (Lead) Speech and Language Therapist (SLT)

Adult Community, Merton Neuro Rehab Team 

Band: 7

Hours: 37.5 hours per week

Responsible to: Merton Neuro Rehab Service Manager

Accountable to: Clinical Service Unit (CSU) Manager, Specialist Services 

The post holder will provide a highly specialist speech and language therapy assessment, diagnosis and treatment service as part of the Merton Neuro Rehab Team on a virtual and domiciliary basis across Merton.  The service includes clients with a wide range of acquired communication and swallowing difficulties, such as stroke and head injury, and those who have a degenerative condition and need support to manage disability and quality of life. The service also provides input for clients who have cognitive-communication and vocational rehabilitation needs 

CLINICAL RESPONSIBILITIES

• To provide a highly specialist speech and language therapy lead role provided by the neuro team. To take responsibility for the referrals, procedures and operational running of the service along with the leads and service manager
• To develop and provide appropriate highly specialist speech and language therapy assessments and intervention.
• To facilitate group work and peer mentoring for people affected by a neurological condition, alongside the MDT.
• To analyse auditory, visual and kinaesthetic aspects of client’s communication
• and to identify appropriate strategies to facilitate and enhance communicative
• effectiveness in the home, at work and other relevant setting.
• To carry out highly specialist physical examination of the orofacial process including the mechanism of eating, drinking and swallowing
• To employ manual dexterity in the manipulation and stimulation of the orofacial process
• To monitor all aspects of the interaction of significant others with clients. In particular, to simultaneously monitor auditory, visual and kinaesthetic aspects of dyadic interactions, encouraging adaptive strategies to maximise effective communication
• To make appropriate clinical decisions following assessment, using evidence
• based practice and outcome measurement to provide the most effective treatment
• to clients and their families within clearly defined care plans
• To use clinical judgement and specialist skills to evaluate deterioration in clients health status and report same as appropriate to other health services (in particular with regard to dysphagia)
• To make a differential diagnosis on the basis of evidence from assessment
• To adapt practice to meet individual client’s and families’ circumstances, including due regard for specific clinical conditions affecting their speech and language and / or cognitive, cultural, religious and linguistic differences
• To work collaboratively with interpreters in assessment and ongoing intervention
• with clients for whom English is an additional language, as appropriate
• To maintain sensitivity at all times to the emotional needs of clients and their families / carers, in particular when imparting potentially distressing information regarding the nature of the client’s difficulties and implications of the same
• To ensure that clients, families and carers are involved in the planning and prioritisation of their care plans wherever possible
• To motivate clients and families / carers to engage in the therapeutic process
• To participate in screening for accepting and prioritising referrals
• To demonstrate clinical effectiveness by use of evidence based practice and outcome measures relevant to the field, in particular in the field neurology
• To refer clients to other services as appropriate
• To manage conflict across a range of situations
• To undertake multi disciplinary initial contact assessments
• To form productive relationships with others who may be under stress and/or
• have challenging communication difficulties
• To use clinical judgement to discharge clients from own caseload

If you would like to know more, please apply today or contact me on Kayley.west@xylaservices.com