Job summary
- Main area
- Speech and Language
- Grade
- Band 6
- Contract
- Permanent
- Hours
- Part time - 30 hours per week (there may be opportunities to take this up to full time as there are changes pending in the team)
- Job ref
- 327-25-588
- Employer
- Gloucestershire Health and Care NHS Foundation Trust
- Employer type
- NHS
- Site
- Southgate Moorings
- Town
- Gloucester
- Salary
- £38,682 - £46,580 per annum (pro rata)
- Salary period
- Yearly
- Closing
- 30/07/2025 23:59
Employer heading
Specialist Speech and Language Therapist Community
Band 6
We love what we do and we think you will, too!
At Gloucestershire Health and Care NHS Foundation Trust (GHC), we provide joined-up mental health, physical health and learning disability services to people of all ages across Gloucestershire. We run community hospitals and provide care and support in people’s own homes and in a range of other locations across the county.
We are on a mission to enable people to live the best life they can and we have a vision to work together to provide outstanding care. We put people at the heart of our services, focusing on personalised care by asking ‘what matters to you’.
We’re passionate about making sure that everyone can contribute to achieving our mission and we are continually working to support healthy and happy high-quality teams in all areas of the Trust.
Our application process aims to understand each candidates knowledge, skills and experience. We have found that candidates that use AI to generate their answers can lack specificity and fail to address key criteria outlined in the job description.
It is really important to personalise your application to convey your individual skills, knowledge, and experiences effectively and for us to understand why you are applying for this role with GHC. We discourage over reliance on AI-generated applications as it will lessen your chances of success in securing an interview with us .
Job overview
This role is offered on a permanent basis. The hours are part-time, 30 hours per week.
We are excited to invite a highly motivated Speech and Language Therapist looking for a new challenge to join our speech and language therapy team here in Gloucestershire.
Now is an exciting time to join us as we further develop our FEES, Tracheostomy and Videofluoroscopy services and training pathways.
We have sessions available in our outpatient and community services, offering you the opportunity to work with a range of service users across Gloucestershire.
We are a friendly, dynamic team with a strong focus on quality service delivery. Our Band 6s have regular supervision including peer supervision sessions, and opportunities to develop skills including those in FEES, VFS, and tracheostomy.
The post is suitable for an experienced Band 5 therapist ,an established Band 6 therapist with a passion to develop and use their competencies , a developing band 6 or a return to practice therapist. We welcome applicants who wish to discuss part-time, flexible working patterns.
Main duties of the job
· To provide Specialist Speech and Language Therapy assessment, diagnosis and treatment to adults in Gloucestershire. This may include patients with acquired communication, voice and swallowing disorders and may be across a wide range of settings including, community hospitals, outpatient clinic or patient’s own home or care home.
· To manage and prioritise own clinical workload as appropriate seeking guidance from team leads as required
· To supervise Speech and Language Therapy assistants or newly qualified SLTs
· To work autonomously within Gloucestershire Health and Care NHS Foundation Trust (GHC) policies and professional practice maintaining accurate and comprehensive electronic records
· To participate in service improvement projects as indicated
The qualification, training & experience requirements for the role are underlined in the Job Description/Person Specification.
Please refer to the Additional Information attachment before submitting
Working for our organisation
We have a skilled and dedicated workforce of over 5000 colleagues working in a diverse range of services over 55 sites and within people’s homes. We strive to enable a welcoming workplace culture that builds and celebrates civility, inclusivity and diversity, while providing a sense of belonging and trust.
Annual staff surveys, regular Pulse surveys and other engagement opportunities provide our people with lots of opportunity to tell us about their experiences of working with us. In the latest staff survey, 61% of colleagues gave us their views. It was great to hear that:
- 72% of colleagues would recommend the Trust as a place to work, ranking us 1st for Provider Trusts in the South West region on this question.
- 76% would recommend the standard of care provided in our services if a friend or relative needed treatment, also ranking us 1st in the South West region.
- 81% said that care of patients and service users is the Trust’s priority, compared with an average in comparable NHS Trusts in England of 64%.
This high-level overview shows we are in a healthy position, with higher scores than average for comparable organisations, alongside a great response rate, indicating good staff engagement. However, we also know we have plenty of room for improvement in many areas. To that end, we continue to prioritise and invest in our commitment to genuinely becoming a Great Place to Work with consistent top-quartile performance in the annual staff survey and Pulse surveys.
Detailed job description and main responsibilities
Overview of the role from the job description
- To provide Specialist Speech and Language Therapy assessment, diagnosis and treatment to adults in Gloucestershire. This may include patients with acquired communication, voice and swallowing disorders and may be across a wide range of settings including, community hospitals, outpatient clinic or patient’s own home or care home.
- To manage and prioritise own clinical workload as appropriate seeking guidance from team leads as required
- To supervise Speech and Language Therapy assistants or newly qualified SLTs
- To work autonomously within Gloucestershire Health and Care NHS Foundation Trust (GHC) policies and professional practice maintaining accurate and comprehensive electronic records
- To participate in service improvement projects as indicated
Duties, responsibilities and key Relationships
Clinical
- To provide specialist differential diagnosis, clinical advice, and care plans/therapy to clients with communication / swallowing difficulties; this includes analysis of facts and a comparison of a range of options for appropriate intervention, implementing specialist programmes where appropriate.
- To provide advice and second opinions to SLT colleagues when necessary to support the clinical management of patients.
- To assess and analyse type, severity and impact of complex conditions of speech, language, communication and swallowing impairments in a wide range of adult patients, through specific formal and informal assessments.
- To provide advice and second opinions when necessary to support the clinical management of clients within multi-disciplinary team decision making with patients and their significant others
- To demonstrate clear communication skills when presenting specialist clinical information in both verbal and written formats when dealing with sensitive situations such as end of life.
Professional
- To monitor and/or undertake quality improvement projects as service demands in order to inform the SLT service and Gloucestershire Health and Care NHS trust (GHC) and Gloucestershire Hospital NHS Trust (GHNHST) of development needs
- Contribute to local clinical guidelines
- To monitor and evaluate clinical effectiveness using provided support, evidence-based practice and outcome measures.
- To maintain up to date and accurate case notes, both paper and electronic records in line with RCSLT Professional Standards, GHC Trust Policy and departmental guidelines.
- To adhere to and maintain the standards and guidelines as recommended by the RCSLT and the Health Care Professions Council (HCPC) codes of conduct and practice.
- To attend relevant training and development in order to maintain and develop skills and knowledge required of a specialist therapist working with a variety of patients and maintain up to date HCPC and RCSLT registration. This includes participating in regular supervision and annual personal development planning.
- To prescribe augmentative and alternative methods of communication (e.g. communication aids) and provide support, advice and training to clients, carers and professionals with the support of highly specialist AAC therapist both in house and in specialist centres of excellence.
- To refer patients on to other services and agencies and to liaise with members of voluntary organisations concerned with the client group eg Early Stroke discharge team, Parkinsons Disease support group
- To negotiate with patients/carers/ significant others around individual case management, ensuring patient involvement in their clinical outcomes.
Leadership / Management
- To manage communication breakdown/conflict in complex cases generating potential solutions
- To attend departmental development meetings, presenting and leading as appropriate to sharing skills or recent training
- To provide clinical and line management supervision to colleagues including band 5 colleagues, assistants and students
Person specification
QUALIFICATIONS
Essential criteria
- Recognised Royal College of Speech and Language Therapists degree level qualification
- Member of the Royal College of Speech and Language Therapists (RCSLT)
- Member of the Health Care Professions Council (HCPC)
LENGTH AND / OR NATURE OF EXPERIENCE
Essential criteria
- Experience in managing patients with communication and swallowing difficulties as a result of acquired disorders.
- Working collaboratively within a multi-disciplinary team and with other professionals.
Professional/managerial/Specialist Knowledge
Essential criteria
- Ability to identify own professional development needs and develop a professional portfolio within the appraisal framework, including specific objectives
- Skill in independent selection of appropriate strategies for prioritisation and management of a complex caseload
- Specialist skills in differential diagnosis and targeting of clinical interventions
- Ability to demonstrate highly developed auditory and perceptual skills in the assessment, diagnosis and treatment of clients
- Excellent interpersonal and communication skills including skilled and professional recognition of communication barriers/facilitation
- Ability to effectively manage own caseload
- Negotiation skills for management of conflict across a range of situations
- To employ appropriate strategies to manage aggressive or other inappropriate behaviour within the workplace
- Experience of presenting to a wide range of audiences.
- A baseline knowledge and understanding of the specific counselling required for the specialist area
- Demonstration of specialist knowledge in clinical specialism underpinned by current evidence based practice
- Knowledge of a broad range of specialist formal and informal assessment methods and their interpretation
Personal skills abilities and attribute
Essential criteria
- Approachable and flexible
- Good communication skills (written and verbal)
- Be able to prioritise tasks and manage time effectively
- To recognise personal limitations and to seek support when required.
- Ability to work under pressure
- Ability to assimilate new concepts and approaches to care
- Ability to engage positively with service users
- Ability to work effectively as a team member
- Working knowledge of Microsoft Office packages e.g. Word, Excel, PowerPoint and Outlook
Other requirements
Essential criteria
- Ability to work flexibly across the Trust and participate in video consultations as required.
- Able to attend and participate in all mandatory and statutory training events
Desirable criteria
- Ability to travel around the county as requested, independently and efficiently.
Employer certification / accreditation badges
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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
Further details / informal visits contact
- Name
- Sarah Cartwright
- Job title
- Speech and Language Therapist
- Email address
- [email protected]
- Telephone number
- 0300 422 8105
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