Detailed job description and main responsibilities

MAIN DUTIES and RESPONSIBILITIES:

Patient / Customer Care

1. To determine and carry out appropriate assessments for complex clients and to evaluate the
information gained to make appropriate clinical decisions based on highly specialist clinical knowledge and including a differential diagnosis.

2. To maintain comprehensive and accurate assessment and treatment records for clients in line with the professional standards and local Trust policies.

3. Within a complex caseload to determine and structure appropriate care plans for intervention including treatment, advice, review, discharge, information exchange and communication with client, team members and carers following assessment.

4. To determine where a client’s needs are best met by individual and/or group therapy, and to establish/provide/refer on to a group as appropriate.

5. To fully consult and negotiate with the client with regard to all aspects of intervention and with due regard for their goals, cultural and linguistic background and where appropriate to include carers and/or families.

6. To recognise potential breakdown and conflict in the clinical setting and where it occurs to employ negotiating skills to generate solutions.

7. To use advanced skills to adapt highly specialist care plans to the changing needs of the client, integrating the client’s goals, changing circumstances and any further assessment information.

8. To communicate highly complex condition-related information from assessment results, differential diagnosis and care plans to the client, carers, families, multi-disciplinary team members and/or other professionals as appropriate both verbally and in writing and to ensure
it is understood.

9. To deal sensitively and with empathy with clients who have high levels of anxiety and/or aggression caused by pain/illness/communication difficulty and/or dementia.

10. To be responsible for the delivery of effective care plans with reference to good practice including highly specialist programmes of care using a wide range of therapy approaches, evidence-based practice and outcome measures.

11. To employ counselling skills with clients and carers where appropriate.

12. To demonstrate skills in motivating clients and/or carers to engage in the therapeutic process.

13. To ensure that where a client is being seen by a multi-disciplinary team/other professionals that the appropriate Speech and Language Therapy interventions are clearly communicated and integrated with all aspects of the client’s care.

14. To identify and manage suitable transfer of intervention for clients leaving inpatient settings by ensuring prompt and comprehensive communication with appropriate teams including the community, other rehabilitation settings and/or specialist units.

15. To contribute to individual or team discharge planning in discussion with the client and carer/s and to communicate the outcome of intervention to relevant people.

16. To lead (be key worker) and to support staff in co-ordinating delivery of care including discharge planning where individual client’s needs are best met by a Speech and Language Therapist.

17. To initiate and develop links with volunteers, voluntary agencies and charities where this might enhance the provision of an individual care plan and to participate in inter-agency team building in Hertfordshire.

18. To use advanced skills in demonstrating practical procedures to individual clients and other relevant people.

19. To assess needs, identify appropriate software and equipment (including high and low tech communication aids), coordinate trials/purchase of software/equipment, introduce
augmentative communication equipment to the clients and carers and to monitor changing needs for appropriate clients.

20. To demonstrate advanced skills in dealing with complex issues, generating and implementing appropriate strategies for prioritisation of own time in order to carry out clinically related administrative duties, relevant to the caseload and operation of the department. 

See Job description and person specification for the full list of roles and responsibilities.