Principal Speech and Language Therapist

Job summary

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. The Team also works closely with wider SLT services both within the Trust and the wider Buckinghamshire, Oxfordshire and Berkshire West Integrated Care System (BOB ICS).

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.

Main duties of the job

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. They will have the responsibility for providing focussed clinical leadership and direct patient care across these workstreams, and work in conjunction with the SLT Service Manager to coordinate and deliver these services to a high standard.

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.

About us

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. We call thisDelivering Compassionate Excellenceand its focus is on our values of compassion, respect, learning, delivery, improvement and excellence. 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.

Job description

Job responsibilities

CLINICAL

1. To coordinate and deliver highly specialist SLT care relevant across the clinical specialism areas, at any point in their treatment journey. 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.

2. Contribution to Trust instrumental dysphagia services for both inpatient and outpatient procedures ( VFS, FEES).

3. 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 via Tracheostomy Management Group

4. Management of communication and swallowing problems for patients with disease processes of the head and neck (both malignant and benign). 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.

5. Comprehensive management of communication, voice, stoma care and swallowing in laryngectomy patients.

6. 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.

7. 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.

8. Assessment and management of adult clients with upper airway disorders resulting from a wide variety of respiratory aetiologies. This includes advanced knowledge of assessment methods for respiratory symptoms, advanced knowledge of laryngeal airway control techniques. In addition, the use and interpretation of continuous laryngoscopy and provocation testing, and the ability to respond appropriately during patient respiratory distress.

9. To demonstrate expert knowledge and use of high and low technology communication aids with patients in a range of settings

10. To write comprehensive reports reflecting highly specialist knowledge, and evaluate patient outcomes

11. To co-ordinate and participate in relevant MDT clinical meetings regarding patient care, contributing expertise to support decisions diagnosis, prognosis, treatment options and management plans.

12. 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.

13. To demonstrate clinical effectiveness by use of evidence based practice and outcome measures and to develop care protocols/packages relating to clinical specialist areas

14. 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

15. 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

16. To set, maintain and monitor a high standard of clinical practice including identifying appropriate outcome measures and service impact measures which accurately evaluate patient response.

17. 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.

18. To manage patients where safeguarding is an issue and ensure referral of patients to other agencies where necessary

ADVANCED CLINICAL PRACTICE

1. To make X-Ray referrals in adherence with Trust guidelines

2. To supply certain medications under Patient Group Directives

3. To pass transnasal catheters for the purposes of air insufflation tests

CLINICAL GOVERNANCE

1. To develop a working knowledge of the principles of Clinical Governance, to apply them to professional practice, and to represent the team within multi-disciplinary systems of clinical governance within the Trust

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

3. To uphold principles of evidence based practice, and to monitor, evaluate and adapt clinical practice as required in response to new published guidance

4. To foster a culture of transparency, accountability, blame-free investigation and continuous improvement when dealing with incidents

5. 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

6. 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.

7. To participate in peer review as requested

8. To identify areas of risk and act on these as required

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

EDUCATION AND TEACHING

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

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

3. To evaluate the outcomes and impact of training delivered.

4. 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.

5. To provide full student placements, including assessment, to SLT students. To provide support to students from other allied health professional groups as appropriate. In addition, support other workforce initiatives Apprenticeships, return to practice, and work experience.

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

7. To critically assess own learning needs and service needs, and create personal/professional development plan. This to be developed through self-reflection and yearly appraisal mechanisms, and evidenced by maintenance of a CPD portfolio.

8. 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.

9. To enhance clinical expertise through self-reflection and analysis of own clinical practice and professional behaviours. To demonstrate the ability to reflect on practice with peers and mentors, and identify own strengths and development needs

TEAMWORK, LEADERSHIP AND MANAGEMENT

1. To maintain productive relationships with other professionals at all times.

2. 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 BOB ICS and Network meetings

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

4. 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

5. To monitor stock levels in own service area and request new equipment as appropriate ( SVR equipment including prosthesis, cleaning devices, HMEs).

6. To be responsible for the security, care and maintenance of equipment ( electrolarynxes, voice prostheses, nasendoscopy equipment), ensuring standards of infection control and safety are maintained, including equipment loaned to patients.

7. To be aware of new resources available within specialist clinical area, and to critically evaluate, prioritise, and seek funding for service acquisition

8. To ensure staffing provision and resources meets service needs and demands.

9. 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.

10. To assume delegated service and operational management tasks as requested, and to advise SLT Service Manager on issues of service delivery including shortfall, service pressures etc. To deputise as required.

Person Specification

Qualifications

Essential

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

Experience

Essential

Extensive experience working within adult SLT, a significant amount of which should be within H&N, ENT/Voice and/or Airways Extensive experience in H&N, which may include tracheostomy, laryngectomy, and SVR Extensive experience in specialist ENT/Voice, which may include independent use of EEL Experience in airway disorders, which may include CL/CLE Independent use and interpretation of advanced VFS and FEES skills relevant to service area Experience of delivering education and training to others, including clinical supervision, appraisal, student placements, and training programmes Mind-set of shared leadership, growth and development of services and other members of staff Working knowledge and application of principles of clinical governance Experience working as a member of the MDT across multiple clinical areas

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