Highly Specialist Speech & Language Therapist

Overview

We want talented and enthusiastic people from all backgrounds to join #TeamMWL, with us you can learn, grow and develop yourself and your career, realising your true ambitions and aspirations. Whatever you're looking for in your career, you'll find it here at MWL.

Highly Specialist Speech & Language Therapist

NHS AfC : Band 7

Main area Speech & Language Therapy Grade NHS AfC : Band 7 Contract Permanent Hours Part time - 15 hours per week Job ref 409-7431960

Site Southport Hospital Town Southport Salary £47,810 - £54,710 Per annum, pro rata Salary period Yearly Closing 10 / 10 / 2025 23 : 59 Interview date 20 / 10 / 2025

After applying via NHS Jobs, your submitted application will be imported into our preferred Third-party recruitment system. All subsequent information regarding your application will be generated from apps.trac.jobs. You will not be able to track the progress of your application or receive messages through the NHS Jobs website, and furthermore, as an employer, we will not be able to respond to any e-mails sent to us via the NHS Jobs website. By applying for this post you are agreeing to "name of trust" transferring the information contained in this application to its preferred applicant management system. If you are appointed to a post information will also be transferred into the national NHS Electronic Staff Records system.

Job overview

A unique and exciting opportunity has arisen for a passionate SLT to join a growing specialist team on the Northwest Regional Spinal Injuries Centre (NWRSIC) and additionally be part of the wider acute SLT services. The successful candidate will work predominantly on the spinal centre, but the role will also provide some input to the acute medical service, including contributing to weekend working. You will have the opportunity to further develop your skills in FEES (Fibre-optic endoscopic evaluation of swallowing) and videofluoroscopy as well as tracheostomy and mechanical ventilation. The successful post holder will work alongside and be managed by a Consultant SLT.

The NWRSIC is one of only 12 specialist centres in the UK & Ireland designated to receive and treat spinal cord injured patients. The NWRSIC houses the largest ventilatory bed base of any spinal centre. You will be part of the ventilation and weaning team and work with spinal cord injured patients who may require mechanical ventilation via tracheostomy. You will be joining an innovative and research active team with a strong commitment to supporting the CPD of our therapists.

Main duties of the job

The primary focus of this role will be within the spinal injury centre, but you will also provide input to the wider SLT team, specifically to our established FEES and VFS services and weekend working on the acute wards. Experience working with spinal injured patients and / or tracheostomy, ventilation is desirable but we would welcome applications from individuals who have worked with complex dysphagia in both a rehabilitation and acute setting. You will be working under the supervision of our consultant SLT.

The post holder will participate in team meetings, complex audit and research projects on a regular basis. They will plan, deliver and evaluate specialist training within the hospital setting to other professionals and patients / carers on all aspects of swallowing, speech, language and communication. They will be expected to participate in instrumental assessments such as videofluoroscopy and FEES; managing patients with tracheostomies and who are ventilator dependent. Although support from your line manager will be provided as required. In order to meet caseload demands and / or to cover sickness absence or other vacancies, you may be required, from time to time, to cover different caseloads or to work across other teams within the MWL Southport Hospital site. Permanent changes to posts will only be made after consultation with the post holder.

Working for our organisation

The Secretary of State has approved the partnership between St Helens & Knowsley Teaching Hospitals and Southport & Ormskirk Hospitals. From 1st July we have come together as a single organisation under the name Mersey & West Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust.

The Trust delivers acute hospital care, intermediate care, community, and primary care services to a population of over 600,000 people with a combined workforce of around 9000 dedicated and skilled staff from 17 locations including Whiston, Southport & Formby, St Helens, Ormskirk and Newton hospitals. The Trust provides regional services for burns, plastic surgery and spinal injuries to more than 4 million people across Mersey and West Lancashire, Cheshire, the Isle of Man and North Wales. Our Vision is to deliver 5 Star Patient Care : CARE that is evidence based, high quality and compassionate; SAFETY that is of the highest standards; COMMUNICATION that is open, inclusive and respectful; SYSTEMS that are efficient, patient centred and reliable; PATHWAYS that are best practice and embedded, but also respect the individual needs of patients.

Our achievements include :

• Trust rated Outstanding by CQC Inspection August 2018
• Top 100 places to work in the NHS (NHS Employers & Health Service Journal)
• Awarded National Preceptorship Accreditation (2023) for our Nursing & AHP Preceptorship Programme

Please see our Wellbeing & Benefits booklet for more information on our staff benefits

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

You will be an integral member of the wider multidisciplinary team, which includes medical, nursing and therapy staff. You will also work as an essential and valued member of the Acute Medical and Surgical SLT Team. The successful applicant will be managed by the Clinical Therapy manager within General Medical and Surgical Therapies team but will receive clinical support and supervision from the wider SLT service.

This position presents an excellent opportunity to cultivate your clinical, service development and supervisory skills. The successful applicant will lead on the development and implementation of care pathways, departmental policies, and protocols, and provide training, direct, and indirect support to other professionals relating to communication and swallowing disorders. They will supervise and manage clinical practice as required, including SLTs, SLT students and other staff working in their clinical area.

At Southport Hospital we hold regular Videofluoroscopy clinics and are implementing the MBSImP protocol. We also have an established FEES service. For the right candidate there is potential for development opportunities in this area. Continuing Professional Development is essential and actively encouraged, and there are multiple opportunities to develop and acquire new skills, such as :

See attached job description and personal specification.

We would welcome informal discussions and visits to further discuss this newly created post and the opportunities we can offer as a team. Please contact Heather Woodcock (Lead for Acute Medical and Surgical SLT Team) on 01704 704361 for more information.

Person specification

Qualifications

Knowledge and Experience

Skills & Abilities

Working conditions

Thank you for considering an application to work for Mersey West Lancashire NHS Trust. MWL is an exciting and forward-thinking NHS Trust who are one of the best places to work for in England.

Given sometimes we receive a high volume of applications to work for us, please be aware, that we may close a vacancy earlier than stated should a sufficient number of applications be received from which a shortlist can be confirmed. Therefore, you are advised to apply at your earliest convenience.

The Trust may contact you during the recruitment process for your feedback on your experience. We always aim for continuous improvement in our practice.

Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion

We actively cultivate a professional environment of fairness, equality, dignity, and respect for all individuals. We welcome individuals from all backgrounds and value the unique skills, perspective and experience you bring. We are grounded in the belief that diversity enhances our collective strength, fostering innovation and excellence within our workforce. We welcome all applications irrespective of people's race, disability, gender, sexual orientation, religion / belief, age, gender identity, marriage and civil partnership, pregnancy / maternity and in particular those from underrepresented groups.

As a Disability Confident Leader, we commit to offering an interview to all disabled applicants who meet the minimum criteria for the job (the essential criteria) listed in the personal specification. If you wish to apply under this Guaranteed Interview Scheme, please indicate this on the online application form.

If you are having difficulty completing an online application, or require any disability reasonable adjustments, to the application process, please contact Recruitment@merseywestlancs.nhs.uk

We also commit to offering an interview to all armed forces veterans who meet the minimum criteria for the job (the essential criteria) listed in the personal specification. If you wish to apply under this Guaranteed Interview Scheme, please indicate this on the online application form.

The Trust operates anonymous shortlisting where no personal information about you, including your name or personal details are shared with the recruiting manager. No equality information is shared at any time during the recruitment process with the recruiting manager or other people involved in the decision-making process.

The equality monitoring information you provide is used in the following situations : to review our recruitment practices; where a job is limited to a specific person to verify their eligibility to apply; and to offer disability reasonable adjustments to the recruitment process.

Certificate of Sponsorship

Following the recent update on UK immigration policy for those on a Health and Care Visa or Skilled Worker Visa, please check your eligibility before applying for this post as we may be unable to provide sponsorship.

eVisa Update

For successful candidates on selected work and study visa routes, who have completed and paid for their applications will no longer receive a visa vignette in passport as evidence of their permission to enter the UK. Instead, you will be issued with an eVisa only, which is accessed by creating a UKVI account. Before travelling to the UK, we advise applicants to :

Disclosure and Barring Service Check

If this post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (Exceptions Order) 1975 it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service. Please note applicable DBS costs are deducted from salary following appointment. If you have not already done so, you are encouraged to enrol for the DBS Update Service (small annual fee).

Flexible Working

We actively support flexible working patterns throughout MWL. Changes made to the NHS Terms and Conditions of Service Handbook mean that :

At Mersey and West Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust, we will consider requests for flexible working. We would also encourage you to discuss flexible working options at interview stage.

Working for Team MWL

Staff recognition is important; we offer a generous pension scheme, unsocial hours payments where applicable, 27 days annual leave on commencement (pro rata) and access to NHS discounts. Our Staff Health and Wellbeing programme offers a variety of services. The Trust is non-smoking across all sites.

You must ensure that your application, including personal statements and behavior examples, are truthful and factually accurate. Plagiarism is not tolerated, including AI-generated content. The Trust will not accept AI-generated applications and will check all applications against AI detection software.

Additional Information

Review the Trusts Values and Behaviours : We are KIND, We are OPEN, We are INCLUSIVE. An applicant guide is available in supporting documents. Good luck with your application.

Employer certification / accreditation badges

You must have appropriate UK professional registration.

This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (Exceptions) Order 1975 and it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service.

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