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Job summary

Main area
Speech & Language Therapy
Grade
Band 8b
Contract
Permanent
Hours
Full time - 37.5 hours per week
Job ref
438-PB1869
Employer
Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
Employer type
NHS
Site
Royal Preston
Town
Preston
Salary
£58,972 - £68,525 per annum, pro rata
Salary period
Yearly
Closing
11/08/2024 23:59
Interview date
30/08/2024

Employer heading

Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust logo

Head of Speech and Language Therapy

Band 8b

Job overview

We are looking to recruit an experienced, compassionate and innovative Speech and Language Therapist with the skills, enthusiasm and vision to be the Head of Speech and Language Therapy at Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust (LTHTR).

The Speech and Language Therapy Department is situated at the Royal Preston Hospital site of LTHTR, however, the team also deliver a service to the Chorley site and our Community Healthcare Hub (Intermediate care/step down facility). The team provides inpatient and outpatient services for both the local central Lancashire population and those from across Lancashire and South Cumbria who access tertiary services at LTHTR. 

The department has a strong reputation for delivering high quality person- centred care and the caseload provides complex presentations across dysphagia, communication and voice respectively.  Established FEES and VFS instrumental assessment clinics respectively are in place with in-service training available to provide service sustainability. In addition, the assessment and management of tracheostomy patients is delivered in key areas.

Main duties of the job

The Head of Speech and Language Therapy (SLT) is a combined leadership and clinical role, roughly split into 3 days of leadership and 2 days of clinical activity. You will be determined by their specialist skill set and pervious experience, although flexibility to support the service will be needed. You are required to be competent with complex dysphagia and have a clear understanding of the SLT role in the clinical areas which the service delivers.

As the Head of SLT you will support all therapists to contribute to and lead in research, audit, and service development. You will empower them to challenge traditional boundaries and build upon the achievements of role developments in specialist areas.

You will oversee the education and professional development for all SLTs, ensuring they have opportunities to develop and progress. You will maintain the current strong links with the local HEIs to support delivery of education and training programmes for all trainees.

 In this role you will be responsible for the assurance of high standards of clinical governance and demonstrable best practice across SLT, ensuring high quality outcomes for patients.

Working for our organisation

Personal development is high on LTHTR’s agendas for its senior leaders. There are 3 Health Academy’s across the 2 sites and a dedicated organisation development (OD) team. They provide high quality in house leadership development programmes and many other useful courses. LTHTR is committed to visible AHP leadership and peer support is available from the other 9 AHP Professional leads/Heads of Services, who meet regularly and share learning.

It is an exciting time to join Speech and Language Therapy at LTHTR; we are currently reviewing the services we provide and are on an improvement journey. This provides opportunity for further innovation and for the new lead to drive this forward. This really is an amazing opportunity to lead your profession in a large acute organisation, delivering specialist services both locally and regionally.

You will be well supported within the Division of Surgery, and by the Chief Allied Health Professional (AHP) and their peer group of AHP leaders. Externally, there is a strong network of SLT leaders in Lancashire and South Cumbria, who meet regularly and progress system priorities.

If you feel ready to take on this opportunity, then we look forward to hearing from you. Please make contact for an informal discussion or email with any queries. We are more than happy to schedule a MS teams call or site visit for anyone interested.

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

The Head of Speech and Language Therapy is a senior leadership position at our organisation and critical to service delivery. Therefore, you must be an experienced leader who can demonstrate ability to lead in a compassionate and forward-thinking way, in line with our trust values. You would also provide professional leadership and be accountable for 25 Speech and Language Therapists, as well as support workers and administration and clerical staff, who work within the department.

The team cover the following specialties:
- Medicine and surgery
- Critical Care and Enhanced care
- Head and Neck/Maxillo-Facial
- Oncology
- Neurology, Neurosurgery and Neurorehabilitation
- ENT
- Stroke
- Neonatal and complex paediatric feeding (0-5years)
- Specialist Outpatients (including Motor Neurone Disease)

You must be an autonomous expert and clinically focussed practitioner, capable of using transferrable knowledge and skill to professionally support staff with their clinical caseloads. You will work across professional and organisational boundaries to expand and develop the service; therefore successful experience of networking and influencing are essential.

Please see the separate job description and person specification for full details

Person specification

Qualification and Education

Essential criteria
  • BSc in Speech & Language Therapy
  • MSc in related subject or equivalent experience
  • Evidence of continuous professional development
  • HCPC registration
  • Leadership course/qualification or equivalent experience.
Desirable criteria
  • Formal leadership development qualification

Knowledge and Experience

Essential criteria
  • Extensive, knowledge and post qualification experience within Speech & Language Therapy
  • Extensive knowledge of Speech & Language Therapy interventions and equipment being used in current practice.
  • Demonstrable, recent senior experience in a Speech & Language Therapy role with evidence of leading and managing teams and projects
  • Wide ranging experience of implementing change and project management experience
  • Thorough knowledge and understanding of current professional issues and the national agendas
  • Knowledge of policy context relevant to the commissioning and provision of Speech & Language Therapy services
  • Experience leading clinic audit and research projects
  • Working knowledge of financial processes
Desirable criteria
  • Experience of business case development
  • Senior experience in an Acute Trust
  • Budget management and budget setting experience

Employer certification / accreditation badges

Veteran AwareApprenticeships logoNo smoking policyWorkplace Wellbeing Charter LogoDisability Employment CharterArmed Forces Covenant Gold AwardDisability confident employerInclusive Top 50 LogoStep into healthHappy to Talk Flexible Working

Applicant requirements

You must have appropriate UK professional registration.

This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (Exceptions) Order 1975 (Amendment) (England and Wales) Order 2020 and it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service.

Documents to download

Apply online now

Further details / informal visits contact

Name
Claire Granato
Job title
Chief AHP
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