Job overview

We are seeking an experienced and enthusiastic Speech and Language Therapist with  specialist skills in managing adults with acquired disorders of swallowing and communication. Prior experience within ENT or Head & Neck cancer is desirable. You will be based at St Georges Hospital, Tooting, working within a team of specialist SLTs in the acute service including SLT led clinics, MDT Clinics and will have direct link to our MDT Outreach Head and Neck Cancer team.

You will offer a  specialist service in collaboration with and support from the Clinical Lead SLT. You will also have a demonstrable experience of working autonomously as an SLT within a multidisciplinary team and have a passion for the speciality..

Experience or competence in instrumental assessment would be advantageous however training is available within the role.

 Our service makes a strong commitment to providing excellent supervision and peer support, with a strong emphasis on team learning and development. We meet regularly as a specialist team as well as with the wider SLT team and provide and support opportunities for CPD.

Main duties of the job

This role is key in providing the following to the Head and neck Inpatient service;

          i.            Supporting  clinical caseload allocation for the whole team to ensure timely assessment of new/ current patients,

         ii.            ensuring safe management and timely rehabilitation of complex post surgical and airway patients within MDT setting

       iii.            overseeing clinical treatment plans to ensure provision of evidence and goal based therapy

       iv.            commencing discharge planning alongside MDT to ensure the SLT team proactively contributes to maintaining flow through services

         v.            ensuring timely referrals for ongoing rehabilitation

       vi.            communicating sensitive and difficult information to patients and their relatives

     vii.            completing necessary documentation to allow for audit data sets to be completed which report on performance of the service

   viii.            contributes to the team’s capacity to deliver the required frequency and intensity of therapy as outlined in clinical guidelines and local SOP

       ix.            monitoring staff well-being and adhering to Well-Being Action Plans

         x.            Supporting and training junior team members

Working for our organisation

With nearly 9,000 dedicated staff caring for patients around the clock, they are the largest healthcare provider in southwest London.

Their main site, St George’s Hospital in Tooting – one of the country’s principal teaching hospitals – is shared with St George’s, University of London, which trains medical students and carries out advanced medical research. St George’s Hospital also hosts the St George’s, University of London and Kingston University Faculty of Health and Social Care Sciences, which is responsible for training a wide range of healthcare professionals from across the region.

As well as acute hospital services, they provide a wide variety of specialist care and a full range of community services to patients of all ages following integration with Community Services Wandsworth in 2010.

St George’s University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust serves a population of 1.3 million across southwest London. A large number of services, such as cardiothoracic medicine and surgery, neurosciences and renal transplantation, also cover significant populations from Surrey and Sussex, totalling around 3.5 million people.

The trust also provides care for patients from a larger catchment area in southeast England, for specialties such as complex pelvic trauma. Other services treat patients from all over the country, such as family HIV care and bone marrow transplantation for non-cancer diseases. The trust also provides a nationwide state-of-the-art endoscopy training centre.