This role is offered on a permanent basis. The hours are part-time, 22.5 hours per week.
We are seeking an enthusiastic and compassionate Assistant Practitioner to join our Adult Community Speech and Language Therapy service. The successful applicant will join our friendly and well-established team, working alongside experienced Speech and Language Therapists.
The role involves working directly with adults with communication and/or swallowing difficulties. The successful candidate will support individuals with a variety of acquired and progressive conditions, helping to maximise communication, participation, independence, and quality of life. You will have the opportunity to work with patients in outpatient settings, in care homes and in their own homes.
We are looking for an individual who has excellent communication skills, is motivated with their development, and flexible in their approach to work. We would welcome applicants with significant prior experience working as a therapy support worker or healthcare assistant, preferably in a community setting.
Responsibilities will include carrying out assessments and therapy programmes, making resources such as communication books, and utilising technology to enable patients to communicate by alternative means.
The community team sits within the wider Adult SLT service, which provides an acute and community service. You will be part of an innovative and supportive team of colleagues. The team are proactive in service development initiatives. We have a strong CPD ethos, access to training is available and you will be supported to develop relevant competencies . Whether you have experience working within Speech and Language Therapy, or are looking to develop your skills in this area, you will be well supported to grow and thrive within the role.
The qualification, training & experience requirements for the role are underlined in the Job Description/Person Specification.
We have a skilled and dedicated workforce of over 5000 colleagues working in a diverse range of services over 55 sites and within people's homes. We strive to enable a welcoming workplace culture that builds and celebrates civility, inclusivity and diversity, while providing a sense of belonging and trust.
Annual staff surveys, regular Pulse surveys and other engagement opportunities provide our people with lots of opportunity to tell us about their experiences of working with us. In the latest staff survey, 61% of colleagues gave us their views. It was great to hear that:
72% of colleagues would recommend the Trust as a place to work, ranking us 1st for Provider Trusts in the South West region on this question.
76% would recommend the standard of care provided in our services if a friend or relative needed treatment, also ranking us 1st in the South West region.
81% said that care of patients and service users is the Trust's priority, compared with an average in comparable NHS Trusts in England of 64%.
This high-level overview shows we are in a healthy position, with higher scores than average for comparable organisations, alongside a great response rate, indicating good staff engagement. However, we also know we have plenty of room for improvement in many areas. To that end, we continue to prioritise and invest in our commitment to genuinely becoming a Great Place to Work with consistent top-quartile performance in the annual staff survey and Pulse surveys.
To independently assess and manage a delegated caseload of patients with communication and swallowing difficulties originating from a variety of aetiologies, including case history taking. This may include reporting back to the qualified Speech & Language Therapy practitioner as necessary.
Work independently in the community with support from qualified Speech and Language Therapists
Identify and appropriately use a range of communication therapy treatments after receiving the appropriate training.
Create and provide alternative and augmentative communication (AAC) support for patients who need low tech communication aids with which to communicate e.g. communication books, charts, communication profiles and accessible information literature.
To support qualified SLTs with assessment of high tech communication aids.
Undertake education and training to patients and families in the use of high tech devices in social settings.
Independently manage service delivery where only voice banking is required, to include completing voice banking, assisting with uploading to a device and providing training to the patient and their family.
To make onward referrals to support organisations
Undertake reviews with patients who have received equipment from specialist AAC Centre (AAC West).
To participate in own continuing professional development (CPD), including supervision, appraisal and training to ensure competency, service quality and meet the clinical governance agenda and organisational goals.
To undertake administrative tasks to support the Therapy team and ensure the ongoing care and rehabilitation of the patient. To include making accurate entries in the Speech & Language Therapy and electronic medical records. To contribute to measuring the treatment outcomes and audit activity related to the service. To contribute to the development of the service, and representing the Therapy service at internal and external meetings when delegated
We provide a Multi-professional preceptorship programme that is aligned to the National Preceptorship Framework for Nursing and have been awarded the Interim quality mark from NHS England. Our programme is provided to all Newly Qualified; Nurses, Nursing Associates, Internationally Educated Practitioners, Allied Health Professionals and Return to Practice Practitioners. In addition to the programme we also offer all preceptees the opportunity of enrolling and completing the level 7 (Masters) 15 credit validated module “Preceptorship for Healthcare” (AP7026).
Newly qualified Social Workers are offered the Assessed and Supported Year in Employment programme (ASYE) which is similar to a preceptorship programme.
This role is not eligible for sponsorship as per the Government’s UK VISA and Immigration Rules and Regulations. For more information please visit https://www.gov.uk/browse/visas-immigration/work-visas
