Employer: Gloucestershire Health and Care NHS Foundation Trust
Employer type: NHS
Site: Cheltenham General Hospital
Town: Cheltenham
Salary: £26,530 - £29,114 per annum
Salary period: Yearly
Closing: 10/02/2025 23:59
Speech & Language Therapy Assistant Practitioner
Band 4
We love what we do and we think you will, too! At Gloucestershire Health and Care NHS Foundation Trust (GHC), we provide joined-up mental health, physical health, and learning disability services to people of all ages across Gloucestershire. We run community hospitals and provide care and support in people’s own homes and in a range of other locations across the county. We are on a mission to enable people to live the best life they can and we have a vision to work together to provide outstanding care. We put people at the heart of our services, focusing on personalised care by asking ‘what matters to you’. Our application process aims to understand each candidate's knowledge, skills, and experience. We have found that candidates that use AI to generate their answers can lack specificity and fail to address key criteria outlined in the job description. It is really important to personalise your application to convey your individual skills, knowledge, and experiences effectively and for us to understand why you are applying for this role with GHC. We discourage over-reliance on AI-generated applications as it will lessen your chances of success in securing an interview with us. Job overview
We have an exciting role in our team for an enthusiastic and proactive Speech & Language Therapy Assistant Practitioner. You should have prior experience working as a therapy support worker/rehabilitation assistant, ideally in the clinical area of Stroke. The successful applicant will join our well-established Speech & Language Therapy team, working alongside experienced Speech & Language Therapists and the wider multidisciplinary team. You will be supported to develop relevant competencies and you will receive on-the-job training. We are looking for an individual who is motivated with their development, enthusiastic, and flexible in their approach to work. The ability to work well with all members of the multidisciplinary team is essential. You will need to have excellent communication, listening, and IT skills, be able to work as part of a team, and be able to motivate patients. Main duties of the job
You will have the opportunity to work with patients throughout the acute Stroke pathway, working across both the hyper-acute unit and the acute stroke unit which are both based at Cheltenham General Hospital. This role involves working directly with patients with communication and/or swallowing difficulties. This may involve admin tasks, carrying out communication screens and therapy programmes directed by qualified therapists, making resources e.g. communication books or utilising technology to enable patients to communicate by alternative means and liaising with multi-disciplinary colleagues. Detailed job description and main responsibilities
To assess patients, identifying areas of impairment, potential complications, and contraindications and referring back for assessment by a registered practitioner when necessary. To provide appropriate follow-up treatment within a delegated framework of responsibilities, reporting back to registered staff and referring on to other agencies when necessary. To use clinical reasoning skills to agree functional goals and develop and evaluate the treatment plan. To implement and progress treatment programmes in order to promote optimal communication and swallowing abilities. To exercise autonomy in the management of the caseload in the clinical area. To undertake specific unaccompanied work and organise own caseload. To use verbal and non-verbal communication tools to communicate effectively with patients/carers. This may include education, motivation, persuasion, and empowerment. This will include patients/carers who may or may not have barriers to communication through cognitive or physical impairment e.g. hearing or visual impairment, confusion, and depression. 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. Person specification
Qualifications
GCSE level C or equivalent for literacy and numeracy NVQ level 3/City & Guilds in Health & Social care or equivalent experience in a healthcare setting Length and/or nature of Experience
Experience as a therapy support worker/rehabilitation assistant in the clinical area of Stroke Significant experience of using advanced interpersonal and communication skills with patients and carers Experience of working as part of a multi-disciplinary team within an NHS environment High level of computer literacy e.g. ability to create communication books on Microsoft Publisher/ability to quickly learn new clinical systems Professional/Managerial/Specialist Knowledge
Knowledge about the Speech & Language Therapy profession Awareness of strategies which support speech, language, and communication difficulties Personal skills, abilities and attributes
Ability to recognise and to work within appropriate boundaries of policies, professional standards, and requirements e.g. working with dysphagia Demonstrate an ability to act on own initiative when working independently in challenging environments To produce accurate documentation of treatments To be able to use verbal and non-verbal communication skills with patients and relatives where there will often be barriers to effective communication. To be approachable and be able to work flexibly in response to the changing demands of the service To be able to deal sensitively with patient and/or relatives who have high levels of anxiety/aggression associated with dementia, cognitive or communication difficulties When joining us, as well as becoming part of a team that makes a difference, we also offer: Free car parking at many of our sites 27 days leave plus bank holidays, increasing up to 33 days with long service A broad range of training and development opportunities, including apprenticeships up to Level 7 qualification. Applicants are advised to apply early as if a large number of applications are received for this post, we reserve the right to close the vacancy prior to the advertised date. Good luck with your application.
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Band 4
We love what we do and we think you will, too! At Gloucestershire Health and Care NHS Foundation Trust (GHC), we provide joined-up mental health, physical health, and learning disability services to people of all ages across Gloucestershire. We run community hospitals and provide care and support in people’s own homes and in a range of other locations across the county. We are on a mission to enable people to live the best life they can and we have a vision to work together to provide outstanding care. We put people at the heart of our services, focusing on personalised care by asking ‘what matters to you’. Our application process aims to understand each candidate's knowledge, skills, and experience. We have found that candidates that use AI to generate their answers can lack specificity and fail to address key criteria outlined in the job description. It is really important to personalise your application to convey your individual skills, knowledge, and experiences effectively and for us to understand why you are applying for this role with GHC. We discourage over-reliance on AI-generated applications as it will lessen your chances of success in securing an interview with us. Job overview
We have an exciting role in our team for an enthusiastic and proactive Speech & Language Therapy Assistant Practitioner. You should have prior experience working as a therapy support worker/rehabilitation assistant, ideally in the clinical area of Stroke. The successful applicant will join our well-established Speech & Language Therapy team, working alongside experienced Speech & Language Therapists and the wider multidisciplinary team. You will be supported to develop relevant competencies and you will receive on-the-job training. We are looking for an individual who is motivated with their development, enthusiastic, and flexible in their approach to work. The ability to work well with all members of the multidisciplinary team is essential. You will need to have excellent communication, listening, and IT skills, be able to work as part of a team, and be able to motivate patients. Main duties of the job
You will have the opportunity to work with patients throughout the acute Stroke pathway, working across both the hyper-acute unit and the acute stroke unit which are both based at Cheltenham General Hospital. This role involves working directly with patients with communication and/or swallowing difficulties. This may involve admin tasks, carrying out communication screens and therapy programmes directed by qualified therapists, making resources e.g. communication books or utilising technology to enable patients to communicate by alternative means and liaising with multi-disciplinary colleagues. Detailed job description and main responsibilities
To assess patients, identifying areas of impairment, potential complications, and contraindications and referring back for assessment by a registered practitioner when necessary. To provide appropriate follow-up treatment within a delegated framework of responsibilities, reporting back to registered staff and referring on to other agencies when necessary. To use clinical reasoning skills to agree functional goals and develop and evaluate the treatment plan. To implement and progress treatment programmes in order to promote optimal communication and swallowing abilities. To exercise autonomy in the management of the caseload in the clinical area. To undertake specific unaccompanied work and organise own caseload. To use verbal and non-verbal communication tools to communicate effectively with patients/carers. This may include education, motivation, persuasion, and empowerment. This will include patients/carers who may or may not have barriers to communication through cognitive or physical impairment e.g. hearing or visual impairment, confusion, and depression. 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. Person specification
Qualifications
GCSE level C or equivalent for literacy and numeracy NVQ level 3/City & Guilds in Health & Social care or equivalent experience in a healthcare setting Length and/or nature of Experience
Experience as a therapy support worker/rehabilitation assistant in the clinical area of Stroke Significant experience of using advanced interpersonal and communication skills with patients and carers Experience of working as part of a multi-disciplinary team within an NHS environment High level of computer literacy e.g. ability to create communication books on Microsoft Publisher/ability to quickly learn new clinical systems Professional/Managerial/Specialist Knowledge
Knowledge about the Speech & Language Therapy profession Awareness of strategies which support speech, language, and communication difficulties Personal skills, abilities and attributes
Ability to recognise and to work within appropriate boundaries of policies, professional standards, and requirements e.g. working with dysphagia Demonstrate an ability to act on own initiative when working independently in challenging environments To produce accurate documentation of treatments To be able to use verbal and non-verbal communication skills with patients and relatives where there will often be barriers to effective communication. To be approachable and be able to work flexibly in response to the changing demands of the service To be able to deal sensitively with patient and/or relatives who have high levels of anxiety/aggression associated with dementia, cognitive or communication difficulties When joining us, as well as becoming part of a team that makes a difference, we also offer: Free car parking at many of our sites 27 days leave plus bank holidays, increasing up to 33 days with long service A broad range of training and development opportunities, including apprenticeships up to Level 7 qualification. Applicants are advised to apply early as if a large number of applications are received for this post, we reserve the right to close the vacancy prior to the advertised date. Good luck with your application.
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