Job Description

An exciting opportunity for an enthusiastic and experienced Speech and Language Therapist to join the Greater Manchester Specialist Support Team as a job share, up to 22.5 hours per week to cover Monday, Tuesday and one other weekday.



The Greater Manchester Specialist Support Team (GMSST) is a multi-disciplinary team providing a service across Greater Manchester to service users with a learning disability and/or autism who present with risk of hospital admission, placement breakdown or forensic risk.



You will be expected to work in all areas of Greater Manchester and liaise with the local Learning Disability, Mental Health and Autism services to develop proactive and preventative risk mitigation support, informed by specialist assessment. We also offer advice and consultation and training to external agencies.



To provide high quality consultation, specialist assessment and intervention of speech, language and communication needs. To support the development of the Speech and Language Therapy service and strive for continuous improvement. To take a lead on and provide evidence-based Speech and Language Therapy assessment, treatment and intervention to service users who have complex needs.



This role will be integrated in the therapy team and will work with the team to develop person centred care.



Supervision will be provided within the trust as applicable.



Mersey Care is one of the largest trusts providing physical health and mental health services in the North West, serving more than 1.4 million people across our region and are also commissioned for services that cover the North West, North Wales and the Midlands.



We offer specialist inpatient and community services that support physical and mental health and specialist inpatient mental health, learning disability, addiction and brain injury services. Mersey Care is one of only three trusts in the UK that offer high secure mental health facilities.



At the heart of all we do is our commitment to 'perfect care' - care that is safe, effective, positively experienced, timely, equitable and efficient. We support our staff to do the best job they can and work alongside service users, their families, and carers to design and develop future services together. We're currently delivering a programme of organisational and service transformation to significantly improve the quality of the services we provide and safely reduce cost as we do so.



Flexible working requests will be considered for all roles.



1. Line Management responsibility for team.



2. Full management responsibility for managing and prioritising caseload including delegation to other speech and language therapists in the team.



3. Supervise other speech and language therapists and support workers in the team.



4. Contribute to the pre and post qualification teaching of speech and language therapy.



5. To provide clinical leadership and training to the wider staff team with regards to speech, language and communication.



6. To provide strategic leadership to within the Service in the development of the things such as the clinical model.



7. To provide advice, consultation and training to staff working with the client group across a range of agencies and settings where appropriate.



8. To provide in depth specialist speech and language therapy assessments for the more complex service users referred to the team.



9. To formulate and implement support plans as part of the MDT.



10. Evaluate the impact of a support plan / intervention and use outcome measures to inform future practice.



11. Develop effective outcome measures both for SLT and the wider team to build on the existing evidence base.



12. To provide clinical and strategic leadership across the health and social care network for the geographical area.



13. Represent service both nationally and locally as appropriate.

14. Research:

To utilise theory evidence-based literature and research to support practice and to contribute to the evidence base by leading and participating research and audit.



15. Advising team manager about capacity / gaps in service delivery / operational issues.



16. Being involved in recruitment of other speech and language therapists or other staff within the teams.



17. To provide clinical and managerial supervision to junior members of staff.



18. To act as supervisor, assessor and mentor for students, Speech and Language Therapists and junior staff.



19. To facilitate the education of service users, relatives and other agencies concerned with provision of learning disability services in the community.



20. To be involved in the development of training / information resources for partner agencies



21. To ensure Safeguarding requirements are upheld.



22. To provide statistical information as required by the Trust.



23. To undertake duties as may be delegated by the Team Manager or the Clinical Lead.



24. To utilise theory, evidenced based literature and research to support practice.



25. To contribute to the evidence base by leading and participating in research and audits whenever possible.



26. Promote health and reduce inequalities for all patients accessing the speech and language therapy service, so that they may be able to maximise their potential in terms of health education and social well-being.



27. To lead on training and development programmes as appropriate to the knowledge and skills of the individual, delivering to other professionals and service users.



28. Participate in the Mersey Care NHS Foundation Trust (MCFT) PACE review process ensuring business priority objectives are met and a personal development plan is maintained and evaluated. Cascade the PACE process to departmental staff as appropriate.



29. Be responsible for own continuing professional development and maintaining own professional registration and meet HPC registration requirements, maintain a professional portfolio and demonstrating evidence of reflective practice.



30. Use highly developed skills to convey complex and sensitive clinical information, using a high level of persuasive and motivational skill to enable others to follow swallowing/therapy plans. Communicate clinical formulations and interventions to service users and carers in an understandable manner based on a person-centred approach, which inspires hope to the service user and carer.