Clinical Lead Speech and Language Therapist – Acute General Medicine Full Time NEW

We have an exciting opportunity for a motivated, highly skilled, creative, and leadership oriented SLT to join the Inpatient Adult Team at John Radcliffe Hospital in Oxford. The post is a Band 7 grade, on a fixed term (12 month), 1.0 WTE (37.5 hrs/week) contract, providing cover for a period of maternity leave.

The successful candidate will be responsible for supporting and managing the Acute General Medicine Inpatient workstream. This workstream provides clinical cover for a large footprint of the John Radcliffe Hospital, including general inpatients, trauma, respiratory, Geratology, and the Oxford Heart Centre, as well as clinical supervision and rota coordination of SLT cover at the Horton General Hospital. The successful candidate will be responsible for maintaining and developing the inpatient provision for Fiberoptic Endoscopic Evaluation of Swallowing (FEES), and Videofluoroscopic Swallow Study (VFS) services. Finally, they will supervise and support professional development of their colleagues.

The successful candidate will receive routine support from the SLT Service Manager and encouraged to work with their Band 7 Clinical Lead SLT colleagues for peer support, who similarly provide operational and clinical leadership across the other SLT workstreams.

Our supportive SLT team is committed to excellence in clinical practice and service delivery. We are excited about the positive impact this post will have on patient care and our continued growth as a department.

The post holder will be the Clinical Lead Speech & Language Therapist for the Acute General Medicine workstream based at the John Radcliffe Hospital in Oxford. They will play a key leadership role in delivering high-quality, person-centred care for patients covered by this workstream, including patients with complex dysphagia and communication needs. The successful applicant will provide direct clinical supervision, coordination, and professional development for SLT colleagues, including SLT support provided for Horton General Hospital (Banbury).

They will be an established and collaborative member of the OUH Adult SLT Department, which includes other specialist workstreams including Acute Stroke, Acute Neurosciences, Voice/ENT, Head and Neck Cancer, and Critical Care. In addition, working closely with SLTs across the Buckinghamshire, Oxfordshire and Berkshire West Integrated Care System.

The post holder will be responsible for leading service developments and innovation in collaboration with the SLT Service Manager and peer Band 7 Clinical Leads, in particular leading on developments to the OUH VFS and FEES inpatient services.

Oxford University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trustis 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 this Delivering Compassionate Excellence, and 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.

In 2023 NHS England launched its first sexual safety charter, and our Trust proudly signed it. We pledge zero tolerance for inappropriate sexual behaviour and commit to theten core principles

Oxford University Hospitalspromotes a safe, respectful hiring environment.

If you want to make a difference with us, come and join our team. Together, we will uphold the highest standards of care and professionalism.

Patient/client care
1. To assess, develop and implement highly specialist speech and language therapy treatment. To make appropriate clinical decisions following assessments, including differential diagnosis on the basis of evidence from assessment. To develop specialist care plans based in best practice and expert knowledge.
2. To use clinical skills to generate written reports reflecting specialist knowledge.
3. To provide appropriate specialist intervention and evaluate outcomes. To use skills and knowledge to generate appropriate strategies for caseload management for complex clinical issues.
4. To provide advice to others regarding the management and care of patients/clients with communication, feeding and swallowing difficulties or with tracheostomies. To provide specialist advice in relation to relevant care group.
5. To work collaboratively and liaise with a wide range of professions across a variety of locations and agencies.
6. To demonstrate clinical effectiveness by use of evidence-based practice and outcome measures.
7. To maintain intense concentration in all aspects of patient management for prolonged periods. In particular, to monitor auditory, visual and kinaesthetic aspects of clients’ communication, adapting and facilitating according to perceived client needs.

Policy/service development/implementation
1. To take delegated lead on the implementation of team objectives or projects in liaison with peers.
2. To develop care protocols for specific clinical issues.
3. To advise line manager on issues of service delivery, including shortfall, service pressures etc.
4. To assume delegated tasks as requested by line manager, including participation in working groups and policy development groups.
5. To develop care protocols/packages relating to specialist area in liaison with Service Manager to improve patient care.
6. To contribute to interagency/multi-disciplinary team building and policy development.
7. To be aware of, adhere to and implement Trust, Service and team plans and policies
8. To use specialist knowledge to inform Service/policy developments as appropriate, and to implement policy within own specialist area.
9. To play a lead role in specialist area in the implementation of Service/Trust Clinical Governance Plan.

Financial and physical resources
1. To monitor stock levels in own service area and request new equipment as appropriate.
2. To be responsible for the security, care and maintenance of equipment, ensuring standards of infection control and safety are maintained – including equipment loaned to clients.

Human resources
1. To provide regular specialist training on a range of topics.
2. To facilitate the development of others’ problem-solving/negotiation skills within peer review/support.
3. To provide mentoring, advice and support to junior Speech and Language Therapists, assistants, students and volunteers. To supervise the work of unregistered staff, volunteers and other professionals.
4. To take responsibility for appraisal of junior SLTs/unregistered staff.
5. To provide full student placements, including assessment of the placements as appropriate.
6. To participate in the recruitment process, including interview and induction.
7. To provide second opinions to less experienced colleagues, and expert opinions to others.
8. To have an overview of the clinical service delivered by staff working in the specialty, ensuring co-ordinated delivery of an equitable and quality service.
9. To explain the role of Speech and Language Therapists to visitors, students, volunteers and other professionals.
10. To assist in the support of students from other professional groups as appropriate within the specialty.
11. To identify the training needs linked to the specialty for wider service.

Information resources
1. To maintain up-to-date and accurate case notes in line with RCSLT professional standards and local Trust policies.
2. To share information with others, observing data protection guidelines.
3. To gather and update activity data accurately and regularly, ensuring the provision of such information promptly within local Trust guidelines.

Research and development
1. To participate in and develop innovations in areas of risk management, quality standards setting and clinical effectiveness.
2. To initiate and undertake research/clinical governance/audit projects within area of expertise.
3. To represent the Team within multi-disciplinary systems of clinical governance and research within the Trust.
4. To participate in departmental research and clinical governance/audit projects.
5. To collect and provide research data as required.
6. To participate in National trials requiring GCP registration as required.

Freedom to act
1. To provide leadership within appropriate specialist area.
2. To manage a complex and specialist caseload independently.
3. To monitor and evaluate own highly specialist service delivery and provide progress reports.
4. To be accountable for own professional action and recognise own professional boundaries, seeking advice as appropriate.
5. To work within defined departmental and national protocols/policies and professional code of conduct.
6. To work independently accessing appraisal within an Individual Performance Framework at pre-determined intervals.

Knowledge and Skills
Communication and relationship skills
1. To contribute to clinical teams, both multi disciplinary and uni disciplinary, by discussing own and others’ input around clients’ needs, ensuring a well co-ordinated care plan.
2. To present and communicate complex condition-related information in such a manner as to motivate and inform clients, carers, families and members of the multi-disciplinary team/other professions, agreeing decision-making relevant to patient/client management.
3. To use good interpersonal and advanced communication skills to listen well and counsel patients and carers, who may be highly distressed, or receiving bad news, so providing support and empathy without prejudice.
4. To use negotiation skills in the management of conflict across a range of situations.
5. To deal with initial complaints sensitively, avoiding escalation where possible.
6. To form productive relationships with others who may be under stress and/or have challenging communication difficulties.
7. To maintain sensitivity at all times to the emotional needs of adults who are acutely ill and medically unstable with communication impairments and swallowing disorders, and their carers, in particular when imparting potentially distressing information regarding the nature of their difficulties and implications of the same.

Knowledge, training and experience
1. To demonstrate highly specialist knowledge in clinical specialism underpinned by current evidence-based practice.
2. To make highly specialist clinical decisions following assessment of complex cases.
3. To identify personal/professional development evidenced by Personal Development Plan/Professional Portfolio developed within an appraisal framework, including objectives relating to clinical specialism.
4. To participate in the development of local clinical guidelines informed by evidence for clinical specialism.
5. To participate in Appraisal ensuring that the objectives set reflect the Service and Trust plans, including specific objectives relating the clinical specialism.
6. To attend relevant training and development in order to maintain and develop skills and knowledge required of a highly specialist SLT working in this field to keep up to date with new techniques and developments for the promotion and maintenance of good Speech and Language Therapy practice within Oxford University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust.
7. To maintain up to date HCPC and RCSLT registration.
8. To demonstrate knowledge of, and adhere to, RCSLT Professional and Clinical Guidelines and National and Local Clinical Guidelines.
9. To develop and deliver specialist training (formal and informal) to others in area of clinical expertise.
10. To provide advice to non-specialists and other specialists/professionals within clinical field.
11. To maintain a working knowledge of relevant procedures/statutory requirements including: Working with Vulnerable Adults and other legal frameworks.

Analytical and judgmental skills
1. To recognise potential breakdown and conflict when it occurs, and seek advice and support as necessary to resolve it.
2. To use specialist knowledge and clinical expertise to analyse complex cases in order to inform sound clinical judgements/decision making for case management, and to design appropriate treatment from a range of options.
3. To analyse and interpret complex information relating to patients and to service provision in order to plan patient care and service development.
4. To actively participate in reflective clinical supervision with peers/clinical supervisor in order to develop and enhance practice.
5. To target training (formal and informal) appropriately to the needs of course participants and reflect on and evaluate training provided.

Planning and organisational skills
1. To manage and prioritise own caseload independently.
2. To manage and prioritise own workload.