Speech and Language Therapist

Overview

NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde (NHSGGC) is one of the largest healthcare systems in the United Kingdom, employing approximately 40,000 staff across a wide range of clinical and non-clinical professions and roles. We deliver acute hospital, primary, community and mental health services to a population of over 1.15 million people, and to a wider population of 2.2 million when regional and national services are included.

The role

The Community Paediatric Speech and Language Therapy service provides pre-referral activity triage, assessment, diagnosis, treatment and advice, guidance and support for parents and families of children with a wide range of speech, language and/or communication needs including Autistic Spectrum Disorder, Hearing Impairment, Phonological Disorders, Dysfluency, Additional Support Needs and Language Disorder. The service will be managed within the appropriate delegated general management structure in HSCPs, with overall responsibility lying with the Head of Children and Families Services who will also retain responsibility for SLT policy development. The provision of speech and language services to local Education Departments will be managed through Service Level Agreements that will be shaped and informed by the agreed NHS GGC SLT Service Specification and Key Performance Indicators (KPIs).

The service focus is to deliver a consistent service across all 6 service areas within NHS Greater Glasgow and incorporating:

• an SLT practice framework underpinned and supported by Care Aims and effective clinical supervision;
• Practice Development (through agreed Practice Development Networks);
• coherent and effective working with other services, particularly with Children and Family Team and with Partner services;
• improving access to the service via an agreed triage model, effective case allocation and case management, and discharge management supporting achievement of agreed waiting times;
• improving the service balance by shifting the balance of work towards more stage 1/pre-referral work, changes in workforce skill mix, and releasing more clinical time;
• Improving service performance through the agreed service specification and related key performance indicators.

Duration, Location, and Working Pattern

Fixed Term, Part time

Base location - The West Centre

Key responsibilities

• Assess, diagnose, and deliver therapy for children and young people with speech, language, and communication needs, including complex cases.
• Plan, deliver, and evaluate specialised, individualised therapy programmes.
• Manage and prioritise an autonomous caseload, assessing risk and need.
• Participate in clinical supervision, peer review, operational management, and Care Aims processes.
• Review referrals with senior staff and redirect cases to other agencies when appropriate (e.g., CAMHS, OT, Physiotherapy, Educational Psychology).
• Use evidence-based practice to evaluate therapy outcomes and progress patients toward discharge.
• Make decisions regarding discharge from the service.
• Maintain accurate, confidential clinical records and produce timely written and verbal reports.
• Work collaboratively with education staff, families, and medical teams to develop and implement IEPs/goals.
• Contribute to multidisciplinary diagnostic assessments, including differential diagnosis (e.g., ASD using ICD-10 criteria).
• Attend and contribute to multi-professional meetings and case conferences.
• Support induction and provide clinical guidance to newly qualified and less experienced therapists and SLT support staff.
• Engage in CPD in line with HCPC/RCSLT and departmental requirements.
• Provide required activity and statistical data to the SLT Team Lead.
• Participate in audits and research projects at local and national levels.
• Work within departmental, national, and professional policies, protocols, and health and safety.

Knowledge, training, qualifications and/or experience required to do the job

The post holder will require:

• Appropriate Ordinary/Honours degree in Speech and Language Pathology.
• Certificate to Practice as a Speech and Language Therapist as awarded by the RCSLT.
• Registration with RCSLT and Health Care Professions Council (HCPC).
• Specialist Speech & Language Therapist able to evidence experience of working with a complex paediatric caseload.
• Demonstrate specialist clinical skills and knowledge, providing documentary evidence in the form of a CPD Log to both RCSLT and HCPC on an annual basis. This is a condition of ongoing registration and License to Practice.
• Understanding of wider service issues, connections and priorities.
• Proven ability to work effectively both independently and with others.
• Excellent presentation skills, both written and verbal.
• Excellent organisational skills and ability to facilitate these skills in others.
• Prioritisation skills - ability to prioritise resources within clinic service area in consultation with line manager.
• Understanding and awareness of national and local policies and procedures relevant to health, social services and education.
• Understanding and awareness of a range of appropriate therapeutic tools (relevant to the service area) and an ability to compare and contrast relative benefits.
• Excellent interpersonal and communication skills.
• High level of reflective practice skills.
• Driver's Licence.

What we offer

We offer a wide range of supportive policies designed to enhance your employee journey, including a comprehensive Employee Assistance Programme, Cycle to Work Scheme, bursary scheme and extensive learning and development opportunities.

As an NHS Scotland employee, you will be entitled to:

• A minimum of 27 days annual leave, increasing with length of service, plus public holidays
• Membership of the NHS Pension Scheme, including life insurance benefits
• Salary Sacrifice Car Benefit Scheme
• Development opportunities including study bursaries, e-learning and classroom-based courses
• Enhanced pay for working public holidays
• NHS discounts on a wide range of goods and services
• Confidential employee support and assistance, including counselling and psychological therapies

Interested?

If you would like to find out more, we would love to hear from you.

For an informal discussion, please contact:

Liz Santos, SLT Manager

Details on how to contact the Recruitment Service and the Recruitment Process: Information for candidates

This post may close early due to the volume of response. Please submit your application form as soon as possible. Due to the volume of applications that we receive, we will not be able to provide shortlisting feedback.