Specialist Speech & Language Therapist

Central and North West London NHS Foundation Trust

The closing date is 24 May 2026

An exciting opportunity has arisen for a motivated and enthusiastic Band 6 Speech and Language Therapist to join the Adult Community Speech and Language Therapy Service in Hillingdon on a permanent basis. This role is ideal for a therapist looking to develop clinical expertise in the assessment and management of adults with dysphagia, acquired neurological conditions, and complex communication needs within a community setting.

The post holder will provide assessment and intervention for adults with speech, language, communication, and swallowing difficulties across a range of settings, including patients' homes, intermediate care services, and community clinics. Working closely with multidisciplinary colleagues, you will support rehabilitation and deliver patient centred care within the community.

This role offers strong opportunities for professional development within a supportive team. You will contribute to service improvement, audits, and quality improvement initiatives, while receiving regular clinical supervision, peer support, and access to continuing professional development.

Applicants must hold a recognised qualification in Speech and Language Therapy and be registered with the HCPC. The ability to travel independently across the borough is essential, and access to a car is required. Flexible working may be considered.

The successful candidate will work as part of the Adult Community Speech and Language Therapy team to deliver high quality rehabilitation and support for adults within community settings. The post holder will assess and manage adults with speech, language, communication, and swallowing difficulties within domiciliary and community settings, delivering evidence based interventions tailored to individual patient needs. They will work closely with multidisciplinary colleagues across the Hillingdon Community Rehabilitation Service and wider community teams, including Early Supported Discharge, care home services, and specialist nursing teams, to provide coordinated patient centred care. The role also includes maintaining accurate clinical records, contributing to care planning and risk management, participating in audit and quality improvement activities, and supporting students and rehab assistants where appropriate.

The community Speech and Language Therapy service forms part of the wider Adult SLT department, which also includes outpatient, specialist voice, and videofluoroscopy services. Opportunities to develop knowledge and experience in videofluoroscopy may be available within the service, alongside additional training opportunities relevant to the role.

Central and North West London NHS Foundation Trust is committed to delivering compassionate, high quality healthcare across community and specialist services. We believe in putting patients at the centre of everything we do and are dedicated to supporting our staff to thrive professionally and personally.

We offer a wide range of development opportunities and support career progression across a variety of specialist services. Joining our organisation means becoming part of a diverse and forward thinking workforce that values collaboration, inclusion, and continuous improvement.

The post holder will provide a Specialist Speech & Language Therapy service as an autonomous SLT working with the Community Adult Rehabilitation Team (which includes other SLTs), for clients who require domiciliary visits.

The postholder will be part of a community SLT service providing specialist assessment and treatment to adults with communication and swallowing difficulties within the areas of stroke, progressive neurological conditions, and older people within clients own homes, residential homes and nursing homes.

The postholder will provide comprehensive assessment and treatment of in and outpatients and ensure a seamless pathway from inpatient to outpatient status and where appropriate in long term conditions follow up in the Community setting. The post holder will demonstrate efficacy of this service to stakeholders with appropriate liaison and relevant audit. The post holder will access support from other members of the SLT team, and supervision from the band 7 SLT and the Adult SLT team lead.

• Computer literacy/IT skills and a willingness to update these

• Recognised Speech and Language Therapy Degree Qualification or equivalent
• Health Professions Council - Licence to Practice
• Registered Member of Royal College of Speech and Language Therapist
• Evidence of successful completion of specialist short courses up to Master's degree equivalent
• Membership of relevant Clinical Excellence Networks

• Excellent presentation skills, both written and verbal
• Excellent organisational skills
• Excellent caseload management skills, including the ability to prioritise caseload and work independently
• Demonstrates ability to be a good team member and assume leadership responsibilities
• Well established knowledge of a broad range of assessment tools relevant to adult acquired communication and swallowing disorders
• In depth knowledge of national policies and procedures relevant to specialist patient group
• In depth knowledge of a range of appropriate therapeutic interventions relevant to communication and dysphagia in specialist patient group and an ability to compare and contrast relative benefits
• In depth knowledge of the principles of clinical governance /audit / record keeping
• Knowledge of up to date advances in clinical management relevant to specialist patient group and application to own clinical practice
• Knowledge of high and low technology communication aids and their use with adult neurological patients

• Substantial experience working with adults with acquired and progressive neurological disorders in a variety of settings.
• Experience within an appropriate specialist area (adult acquired and progressive neurological disorders, dementia)
• Relevant highly specialist experience post qualification in assessment and management of acquired communication/swallowing disorders of neurological aetiology
• Involvement in multi disciplinary working
• A significant proportion of post graduate experience should include community setting
• Independent in videofluoroscopy
• Experience of supervising and appraising more junior therapists
• Experience working with interpreters
• Experience of developing and providing specialist training to nursing home staff, carers, and other members of the MDT

This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (Exceptions Order) 1975 and as such it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service (formerly known as CRB) to check for any previous criminal convictions.

Central and North West London NHS Foundation Trust

£45,953 to £54,254 a year per annum incl. HCAS