Apprentice Speech and Language Therapist

The successful person in post will join the experienced, friendly, and friendly Adult Speech and Language Therapy Team. Collectively, the SLT team works across a broad range of both inpatient and outpatient areas across the Trust sites, including Stroke, Neurosciences, Head and Neck Cancer, General Inpatients, Critical Care, Upper Airways, and Voice/ENT workstreams. We hope to welcome someone who has a passion for delivering high quality clinical care to patients in ENT/Voice, Head and Neck, and Upper Airways services, whilst simultaneously providing focussed leadership, support and development for Speech and Language Therapists who work within these clinical specialisms. The successful candidate will report directly to, and work closely with, the SLT Service Manager, specifically with the ambition of growing these services into a networked (cross-site) service, such that patients needing specialist input can receive the same high standard of care wherever they are in the Trust, and that we have a skilled, flexible, and well-resourced team equipped to meet these needs.
The post holder will be the Principal Speech and Language Therapist for ENT/Voice, Head and Neck, and Upper Airways SLT services at Oxford University Hospitals Trust. The ambition for this post is to develop and grow staff in these workstreams into a cross-site team, supporting patients referred primarily by Ear, Nose and Throat (ENT), Clinical Oncology and Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery (OMFS) and Respiratory services across John Radcliffe Hospital, Churchill Hospital, and Horton Hospital sites. These patients may include adult inpatients, radiotherapy pathways and outpatients with head and neck (H& N) cancers, thyroid, benign ENT, upper airway, maxillofacial and voice disorders.


The post holder will work within Therapies CSU, and report into the Adult SLT Service Manager post, who similarly supports Adult SLT Services across the Trust.
Oxford University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust is one of the largest NHS teaching trusts in the country. It provides a wide range of general and specialist clinical services and is a base for medical education, training and research.


The Trust comprises four hospitals - the John Radcliffe Hospital, Churchill Hospital and Nuffield Orthopaedic Centre in Headington and the Horton General Hospital in Banbury.


Our values, standards and behaviours define the quality of clinical care we offer and the professional relationships we make with our patients, colleagues and the wider community. These values put patients at the heart of what we do and underpin the quality healthcare we would like for ourselves or a member of our family. Watch how we set out to deliver compassionate excellence via theOUH YouTube channel.
This includes assessment, diagnosis, and management of complex communication and swallowing problems, using advanced technical skills and knowledge acquired through significant postgraduate education and experience.


Assessment and management of patients with tracheostomies, playing a vital role in the weaning and discharge process for inpatients, and supporting Trust developments in managing long term tracheostomy in the outpatient setting e.g. via Tracheostomy Management Group


This may include H& N cancer patients undergoing radiotherapy (requiring pre-treatment counselling and pre-habilitation on-treat intervention and rehabilitation at early and late-stage recovery), or H& N cancer patients undergoing surgical management.


Responsibility for the coordination and management of the surgical voice restoration (SVR) service. This involves fitting voice prosthesis, prosthesis care, assisting with surgical placement and leading on management of complex cases.


Assessment and management of adult clients with voice disorders arising from a wide variety of aetiologies. This may involve the use and interpretation of nasendoscopy and videostroboscopy procedures, and objective assessments such as laryngograph and acoustic analysis.


Assessment and management of adult clients with upper airway disorders resulting from a wide variety of respiratory aetiologies. In addition, the use and interpretation of continuous laryngoscopy and provocation testing, and the ability to respond appropriately during patient respiratory distress.


To provide specialist opinion and advice to others regarding the management and care of patients/clients with communication, airway and/or swallowing difficulties, to work collaboratively and negotiate with other professions in the management of complex cases, demonstrating appropriate strategies for caseload management and to ensure that patients and/or carers are involved in the planning and prioritisation of their care plans wherever possible.


To undertake SLT duties at any location within the Trust, in order to meet service need, as directed by the SLT Service Manager, and to participate with other senior staff in specialist assessment clinics where appropriate or as requested


To attend ward/unit meetings and other clinical meetings as required in relation to clinical specialist areas, and to actively promote and contribute to MDT working, maintaining effective communication and patient-centred focus


To act autonomously and within boundaries of own clinical remit, managing own caseload and workload, and to manage any clinical risk by seeking support from senior clinical colleagues as required.


To ensure clinical care delivered within Speech Therapy services is patient-centred, ensuring patients are involved in the shared decision making process


To actively contribute to incident management practices, including leading incident investigations, sharing learning from incidents across the Trust, and using this to inform Speech Therapy practice


To be actively involved in the design, collection, analysis and dissemination of activity data and audits within Speech and Language Therapy services. To provide accurate and timely information to support decision making, performance monitoring and identification of areas requiring improvement.


To identify areas of risk and act on these as required


To lead on review of relevant policies, procedures and clinical guidelines within the Trust


To identify education, training and development needs relating to the service area.


To coordinate, develop, and provide regular training, and to adapt this according to the needs of course participants.


To evaluate the outcomes and impact of training delivered.


To facilitate professional and clinical supervision, line management, mentoring, coaching, induction, probation and appraisal for other staff, students and assistants working within the service. This may involve using a wide variety of adult learning techniques to optimise others learning.


To provide support to students from other allied health professional groups as appropriate. Apprenticeships, return to practice, and work experience.


To explain the role of Speech and Language Therapists to visitors, students and volunteers.


To critically assess own learning needs and service needs, and create personal/professional development plan. To be responsible for own personal professional development, and keep abreast of new practice relevant to the specialist service area, and ensure this is utilised in patient care to ensure evidence based practice.


To enhance clinical expertise through self-reflection and analysis of own clinical practice and professional behaviours. To collaborate with the SLT Service Manager and other SLT staff to develop, promote and coordinate SLT clinical services within the Trust and wider networks e.g. BOB ICS and Network meetings


To build links and act as a representative for the Speech and Language Therapy and OUH services at local, regional and national levels.


To contribute to interagency/multi-disciplinary team building and policy development, assuming a delegated lead where appropriate, and to adhere to and ensure that team plans and policies are implemented using specialist knowledge to inform service/policy developments as appropriate


To monitor stock levels in own service area and request new equipment as appropriate (e.g. To develop a system for, and routinely collect and update, service activity data. Ensuring this data is shared promptly with others, observing data protection guidelines.


Recognised Speech and Language Therapy degree qualification or recognised equivalent
Evidence of successful completion of Masters degree or equivalent short courses related to speciality and specific competency based training

Extensive experience working within adult SLT, a significant amount of which should be within H& N, ENT/Voice and/or Airways
Extensive experience in specialist ENT/Voice, which may include independent use of EEL
Experience of delivering education and training to others, including clinical supervision, appraisal, student placements, and training programmes
Oxford University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
John Radcliffe Hospital