SPEECH AND LANGUAGE THERAPIST BAND 6

Job Description:

Purpose:

To act as an autonomous SLT practitioner seeing patients with communication and swallowing difficulties.

Main Duties and Responsibilities of the role:

• To deliver specialist clinical work for patients with varying needs in a variety of settings.
• To act as a member of the multi-disciplinary team with support from senior colleagues and to contribute to the coordination of Speech & Language Therapy input in this area.
• To assess and treat own caseload of patients maintaining own records as an autonomous practitioner in working with adults who are parents/cares the needs of their children are assessed to ensure that appropriate services are delivered to these children and families.
• To communicate effectively with patients, carers, and other healthcare professionals.
• To contribute to clinical teams both multi-disciplinary and uni-disciplinary by discussing own and others input around clients needs ensuring a well-coordinated care plan.
• To communicate complex condition-related information from assessment to clients, carers, families, and members of the multi-disciplinary team/other professions.
• To work closely with clients, carers, and families, facilitating decision making relevant to the patient/client management.
• To motivate and reassure clients or carers to engage in the therapeutic process.
• To employ negotiation skills in the management of conflict across a range of situations.
• To deal with initial complaints sensitively, avoiding escalation where possible.
• To form productive relationships with others who may be under stress and/or have challenging communication difficulties and/or who have other psychological / social / developmental barriers to developing relationships.
• To independently provide education and training to small groups and to assist in the delivery of training to larger groups conveying specialist information.
• To provide the Speech and Language Therapy input to patient related meetings.
• To form and maintain excellent working relationships with personnel from partnership organizations and agencies.
• To resolve day to day organizational issues with partners.
• To employ alternative and augmentative models of communication as appropriate, e.g. signing, symbols, communication aids.
• To provide an advocacy role in helping patients and carers express their needs.