Specialist Speech and Language Therapist (Stroke)

Job summary
A unique opportunity to shape care across the inpatient stroke pathway - all within a supportive, innovative, and truly collaborative SLT team. Why this role? Why you'll love it.

If you're an SLT who lives and breathes stroke care - and you're ready to take your specialist skills to the next level - this role offers a rare, exciting opportunity to work across hyper-acute, acute and inpatient stroke rehabilitation in a highly regarded 38-bed Stroke Unit.

You'll join a small, friendly, specialist SLT team with the added benefit of being employed by East Coast Community Healthcare (ECCH) - a forward-thinking, staff-owned social enterprise. This means you get the best of both worlds:

• Inpatient hospital experience at James Paget University Hospital offering acute care and rehabilitation in stroke
• Close clinical connection with ECCH's Stroke ESD service
• Exposure to the whole stroke pathway - not just one part of it
• Staff ownership, giving you a real voice in shaping future services
• NHS-aligned terms, benefits & development opportunities

Benefits £3,000 Golden Hello payment, paid in three instalments.

This post attracts a "Golden Hello" payment of £3,000 (taxable): £1,000 will become payable on appointment, a further £1,000 will become payable after 6 months in post and the final £1,000 will become payable after 12 months in post (pro rata if applicable). Please note that the Golden Hello is not available to internal applicants.

Previous applicants need not apply.

Main duties of the job
What you'll be doing:

As the senior SLT on the Stroke Unit, you will:

• Assess, diagnose and manage communication and swallowing difficulties for inpatients following stroke
• Work alongside a Band 5 SLT with ongoing support from experienced Band 7 colleagues
• Provide dysphagia assessment and management, seeking second opinions where appropriate
• Contribute to our well-established Dysphagia Trained Nurse programme
• Deliver tailored therapy plans and evaluate progress
• Support the MDT with expert SLT input, attending regular team meetings and case discussions
• Stay up to date with current research, National Stroke Strategy guidance, and best practice
• Play an active role in audit, data collection and service quality development

What we're looking for:

Essential:

• Dysphagia-trained SLT to at least a proficient level (RCSLT competencies 2025)
• HCPC & RCSLT registration
• Strong experience in acute stroke care
• Excellent communication and MDT skills
• Ability to manage a complex caseload independently
• Ability to work flexibly and compassionately with patients and families
• Offer advice, guidance, and training to patients, carers and colleagues
• To be a clinical educator for SLT students and support volunteers, and assistants

You'll thrive here if you enjoy working in a fast-paced inpatient environment, can balance shifting priorities, and take pride in strong MDT relationships.

About us
ECCH is well established health care provider and has been successfully delivering NHS care within the community since 2011. We provide a range of NHS, community health and social care services predominantly across the easterly region of the Norfolk/Suffolk borders.We are aligned to NHS terms and conditions, and offer many employee benefits, to find out more about us visit our website - We are a social enterprise and staff owned organisation which means staff can opt to be shareholders and have a real say in how ECCH is run and evolves to deliver healthcare for the future.At the heart of our ambition, we work in partnership with and for the community to become the provider and employer of choice for community healthcare.

What you'll get from us:

We are a small team where you will receive a warm welcome, regular supervision, training and development opportunites and a united team approach. We offer good administrative support. ECCH spans the beautiful Norfolk/ Suffolk Coastline and we are less than an hour away from the vibrant university city of Norwich.

This post is advertised as a full time position but may be suitable for a job share. If you would like to know more about what we have to offer and how we work please do contact us. We would welcome visits from interested applicants.

Job responsibilities

• To adhere to National and local standards and guidelines relating it Professional Practice (CQ3 and HCPC)
• To be aware of and adhere to current legislation and employer procedures relating to the post.
• To demonstrate commitment to personal development and acquisition of further skills and knowledge.
• To keep abreast of research in the field of stroke care
• To be responsible for collecting own work statistics as specified in the James Paget University Hospital service level agreement
• To be responsible for managing own time appropriately.
• To be responsible for managing a defined caseload.
• To work closely and effectively with staff on the stroke unit
• To supervise work with volunteers and assistants where appropriate.
• To be responsible for student observation
• To be responsible for assessment, differential diagnosis, formulation of treatment plans, writing assessment reports, providing appropriate intervention and evaluating the treatment outcomes for each individual patient.
• To review and discharge individual patients.
• To seek second opinions when necessary.
• To make onward referrals when necessary.
• To accept support from designated colleagues
• To offer advice to clients, carers and significant others about individual patients, and demonstrate practical procedures when appropriate.
• To attend and contribute to staff and team meetings.
• To contribute to local and national audit and quality measures.
• To highlight and request equipment necessary for caseload management.
• To attend multi-disciplinary meetings on the stroke unit

Indicative Features:

Teaching Training and Clinical Supervision

• Regular access to department supervision system for support
• Attend in-service training
• Assists senior speech and language therapists in training of work experience students, volunteers, assistants, carers, S < students and other professions students by offering example setting by observation and explanation

Clinical Advice and Interpretation or Action

• Recognises own professional boundaries and seeks advice and support
• Provides advice and information on specific clients to Health Service Professional, and staff working with the client (e.g. Social worker).
• Provides information/advice on appropriate clinical matters to Clients/carers, assistants and other individual professionals

Specialist Experience

• On full practice register
• Supported by experienced staff to develop skills in all areas when support is required
• Access second opinions.

Complexity

• On-going professional support in all areas when required
• May work in more than one location
• Manages own caseload and increased complexity of cases

Resource Management, Planning and Policy Making

• Manages own time efficiently
• Responsible and accountable for own clinic equipment.
• Contributes to discussion on service planning and policy as a member of his/her team

Research, Evaluation and Development

• Keeps professionally up to date in the field/s in which working.
• Ensures own practice is safe and appropriate.
• Evaluates own performance through outcome measures.
• May provide data for others' research.
• Participates in clinical audit activities.

Staff Management and Leadership

• May direct SLT Assistants or volunteers
• To be aware of content of the HR policies and how this applies to their area of responsibility
• All roles within East Coast Community Healthcare CIC (ECCH) require staff to demonstrate our Values and Signature Behaviours in the care and service they provide to patients, service users, stakeholders and colleagues. All members of staff should consider these as an essential part of their job role.
• Our Values outline the core behaviours that we can all achieve and are summarised as an acronym within the word 'CARE'. These stand for: Compassion, Action, Respect and Everyone.
• Underpinning our Values are our Signature Behaviours which highlight by taking the right actions we continue to build a strong culture. Our four Signature Behaviours are: Compassion - We Listen, We Learn, We Lead| Action - My Accountability, My Responsibility | Respect - Respect Our Resources: People, Time and Money | Everyone - Work Together, Achieve Together.

Person Specification

Qualifications

Essential

• Recognised qualification in Speech & Language Therapy
• Registered member of HCPC/ RCSLT
• Dysphagia trained

Experience

Essential

• Broad and varied clinical experience in the field of Stroke

Desirable

• Experience of working on an acute Stroke Unit

Additional Criteria

Essential

• Dysphagia trained
• Highly developed auditory & perceptual skills for use in all areas of practice
• Ability to identify and describe use of appropriate assessments for all client groups
• Demonstrates a passion for Stroke care
• Keeps abreast of stroke research
• Ability to plan treatment packages for clients with communication difficulties
• Ability to apply band 6 knowledge of clinical issues/developments to clinical practice
• Ability to communicate effectively with clients with communication impairment
• Ability to identify own strengths and needs in relation to post
• Ability to form relationships with clients and carers/family
• Ability to work within a team
• Good knowledge of legal requirements/government initiatives which may influence practice
• SKILLS AND KNOWLEDGE
• Awareness of the importance and usefulness of measuring the impact of therapy
• Demonstrates an interest in innovative practice
• Able to work within trust moving and handling guidelines
• Able to demonstrate good understanding of the principles of managing diversity and the implications of this on good Speech and Language Therapy practice
• PERSONAL ATTRIBUTES
• Punctual and reliable
• Able to organise workload and manage time
• Able to maintain intense concentration in all aspects of patient management
• Able to identify when to seek support
• Able to convey complex condition related information clearly to clients and other professionals in written and verbal form.
• Friendly and approachable
• Able to appreciate and use good humour appropriately within work
• Able to manage emotional consequences of working with patients with a range of conditions/needs
• Accepts and follows advice and guidance
• Understands the importance of self-awareness and reflection
• Willing to support colleagues and work collaboratively
• Resilient and has an awareness of the biological and pyscho-social influences
• which may impact on work with clients and may also have an impact on the way the multi-disciplinary team functions
• Ability to embrace our Culture, Values and Signature Behaviours:
• (Compassion - We Listen, We Learn, We Lead| Action - My Accountability, My Responsibility | Respect - Respect Our Resources: People, Time and Money | Everyone - Work Together, Achieve Together).
• Willingness and ability to work across different sites and travel to alternative sites and across the community as required.
• Ability to embrace our Culture, Values and Signature Behaviours:
• (Compassion - We Listen, We Learn, We Lead| Action - My Accountability, My Responsibility | Respect - Respect Our Resources: People, Time and Money | Everyone - Work Together, Achieve Together).
• Willingness and ability to work across different sites and travel to alternative sites and across the community as required.

Desirable

• SKILLS AND KNOWLEDGE
• Has basic counselling skills

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.

Applications from job seekers who require current Skilled worker sponsorship to work in the UK are welcome and will be considered alongside all other applications. For further information visit the UK Visas and Immigration website (Opens in a new tab).

From 6 April 2017, skilled worker applicants, applying for entry clearance into the UK, have had to present a criminal record certificate from each country they have resided continuously or cumulatively for 12 months or more in the past 10 years. Adult dependants (over 18 years old) are also subject to this requirement. Guidance can be found here Criminal records checks for overseas applicants (Opens in a new tab).

Applicants must have current UK professional registration. For further information please see NHS Careers website (opens in a new window).