Speech and Language Therapist

Site Guild Lodge Town Preston Salary £32,073 - £48,117 per annum (subject to confirmation) Salary period Yearly Closing 22/07/:59

Our Vision is to provide the best mental health, learning disability, autism, community, and physical health services for the populations we serve.

As an integrated Trust, Lancashire and South Cumbria NHS Foundation Trust (LSCFT) delivers a comprehensive range of services, including:

• Primary and secondary mental health care for children and adults, including specialist inpatient child and adolescent mental health provision, perinatal mental health, and forensic services with low and medium secure care.
• Specialist mental health inpatient care for individuals with learning disabilities, alongside specialist community support for children and adults with learning disabilities and autism, including intensive support.
• Extensive community physical health and well being services for children and adults, covering prevention, treatment, rehabilitation, and long term condition management.

The Trust was first established in 2002 and employs approximately 7,500 staff who provide care from more than 400 sites. The organisation offers opportunities for medics, mental health, general nurses, children's nurses, allied health professionals, psychology, administration and clerical staff, apprentices and volunteers, as well as those specialising in learning disabilities and community physical health services.

Are you passionate about Speech and Language Therapy in mental health care? As a member of the wards multidisciplinary teams you will provide clinical pathways within our mental health wards to meet the speech, language, communication and eating, drinking, swallowing needs of adults accessing the wards to achieve person centred outcomes. Your collaborative work with the MDT will include identifying and enabling skills and knowledge to ensure the SLC/EDS needs of the service users are recognised and accommodated as part of their holistic care.

We currently have a vacancy for a Band 5 Band 6 development post 1.0 FTE Speech and Language Therapist at Guild Forensic Inpatient Hospital. The Unit has 164 beds over 13 wards; the unit undertakes specialist assessments and interventions for both male and female service users. We also have three wards dedicated to men with an Acquired Brain Injury. The hospital is an established service at the forefront of forensic care, within pleasant rural surroundings and a staff group committed to effective multidisciplinary collaboration and the delivery of high quality care to the service user group.

We are looking for a Speech & Language Therapist who is enthusiastic about working in mental health with excellent communication skills to develop sound clinical assessment skills and who strives to work autonomously as well as part of a team. You will have good workload management skills and a compassionate approach to patients.

As a Speech and Language Therapist for Mental Health Services you will have responsibility for delivering evidence based clinical care in this specialty, particularly across the multi disciplinary team within the service. You will be joining an established Speech and Language Therapist in the setting and will have opportunity for shadowing, case discussion and support on a regular basis.

The successful candidate will offer comprehensive SaLT assessments and interventions, provide training opportunities, and enable shared decision making on the wards. Developing a strong understanding of the importance of communication for people experiencing mental health issues and advising the multi disciplinary team will be a key part of this role.

LSCFT values diversity and inclusion, recognising that talent from varied backgrounds creates a flexible, creative, and effective workforce. We actively challenge discrimination and welcome applications from all, regardless of age, disability (including those with experience of accessing or caring for someone who has accessed mental health or learning disability services), ethnicity, gender, religion, belief, or sexual orientation.

Our aim is to reflect the communities we serve, so we particularly encourage applications from under represented groups. If you'd like to discuss your application, please ask.

We also welcome individuals with lived experience relevant to the role or service area, as your insight brings authenticity to our services.

LSCFT support flexible working, we believe that a positive work/life balance benefits NHS employees through improved health and wellbeing. We would consider working patterns such as term time, part time, compressed hours and flexi time.

The wellbeing of our people is at the heart of everything we do. We offer a wide range of resources, tools and support to help you thrive both in and out of work.

• BA / BSc / MSc in Speech and Language Therapy
• HCPC registered
• Licence to practice (RCSLT)

• Knowledge of current key NHS developments and policies and implications for service delivery
• Basic knowledge of clinical assessments that may apply to adults in a mental health setting
• Knowledge of the principles of clinical governance, including record keeping and confidentiality

• Experience of decision making in Speech & Language Therapy contexts
• Show initiative, enthusiasm and motivation for excellence and the development of self
• Experience of working as part of an MDT

• Excellent interpersonal skills including observation and listening
• Well developed presentation skills-written and verbal
• Good IT literacy