Highly Specialist Slt Preschool Complex

Hertfordshire Community NHS Trust’s Children and Young People’s Therapies (CYPT) Service is excited to be able to offer a rare Band 7 opportunity within it’s Speech and Language Therapy Team. Due to imminent maternity leave we are looking to recruit an SLT with specialist level dysphagia competencies, who has experience working with infants and children aged newborn to five with complex dysphagia and communication needs associated with a range of medical conditions. Experience of hospital working and videofluoroscopy would also be of benefit.

This full time post is available for 12 months to support the clinical caseload across East and North Hertfordshire.

You will be expected to work autonomously undertaking specialist assessment to differentially diagnosis feeding and swallowing difficulties, identify risk and implement a management plan of infants and children, including children with highly complex medical conditions.

**As a Band 7 you will**:
Triage and prioritise referrals based on identified risk and ensure assessments are completed with required timeframes.

Have overview and overall responsibility for the dysphagia and complex needs caseload within the locality

Be the lead therapist in a multi professional feeding clinic

Provide professional supervision to less experienced colleagues and supporting development of dysphagia competencies as indicated / appropriate.

Work with children and families within their home; or in children's centres, early years specialist development centres, nursery and clinic settings

Complete communication assessments as part of EHCP process and provide second opinions for children with complex needs

Work collaboratively with the highly specialist SLTs to ensure best practice and evidence based delivery of high quality care systems are in place

**We offer**:
Regular group professional supervision and peer support

Working as part of a supportive team of highly specialist SLTs

Regular managerial supervision and a well-established appraisal system

Internal and external CPD opportunities such as bitesize tutorials, peer review, CENs

A 2 week induction period where you will have the opportunity to observe and shadow colleagues across a range of clinical areas / settings

Regular meetings with Clinical Quality Leads and Operational Leads to plan and implement service delivery and service development

If you are looking for somewhere to make a real difference and are passionate about helping CYP access the right support at the right time to help them stay safe, and thrive in their development, a career with us may be just what you're looking for. At HCT we strive to make a difference to the health and wellbeing of our communities.

We are proud to be an organisation which focuses on our people, and we welcome people who share our values to come and work with us.

Our shared values support the development of a strong working culture, guiding and inspiring all of our actions and decisions. They enable us to be better at what we do ensuring we provide the highest quality of care to our patients.

Our patients, their families and carers are at the centre of our vision - Outstanding Services and Healthier Communities

Our staff are proud to be Innovative, Caring and Agile in their work to help achieve the Trust vision

We welcome diversity in our workforce and are interested in applicants from all backgrounds and ages

Interviews will be week beginning 13 May.

Word versions of documents are available if needed to allow for any adaptations to be made i.e. font, colour, background, convert to Read Aloud.

Please see Job Description attached, which details the responsibilities within this post. Also attached is the Person Specification.

You will be joining an innovative and agile CYP Therapies service committed to delivering high quality care and transforming lives. Hertfordshire Community NHS Trust provides Speech and Language Therapy, Occupational Therapy and Physiotherapy Services for families across the county. Our service is jointly commissioned by health and education, allowing us to provide a seamless pathway of care from early years through to schools, specialist provisions and further education settings.

You will be joining a well-established, supportive team of therapists and assistants. CYP Therapies at HCT pride ourselves on the support we provide to staff. Please see below comments from a current member of the team:
“I love working in CYPT/HCT - everyone in the team is super dedicated. There is strong management support, but also space for being flexible and creative to meet children’s needs; innovation & good practice is valued and encouraged. I enjoy & appreciate the robust supervision structures, training in supervision & coaching, and the many opportunities for personal development and learning, including for example in-house training days and tutorials. I have worked in many teams across Hertfordshire, all without exception friendly and welcom