Assistant Speech and Language Therapist Full Time

Pennine Care NHS Foundation Trust provides specialist mental health services and community services for more than one million people in Bury, Oldham, Rochdale, Heywood, Middleton, Stockport, Trafford, Tameside and Glossop. The Trust’s Headquarters is based in Ashton-under-Lyne, ten miles north east of Manchester city centre.

In July 2008 we became the 100th NHS Foundation Trust which provides greater freedom to tailor our future plans to best meet the needs of the communities we serve and be more accountable to local people.

The Trust provides support to all new starters, in patient facing roles bands 1 to 4, to successfully complete the Fundamental Care Certificate standards relevant to their role. The certificate provides knowledge and skills to enable staff to perform safely and effectively.

The Trust is committed to improving the working lives of our employees. We actively promote equal opportunities, flexible working & staff support

We are committed to safeguarding & promoting the welfare of children & vulnerable adults & expect all employees & volunteers to share this commitment. Appointments to regulated activities will require an enhanced DBS disclosure

The Trust reserves the right to close this post once a sufficient number of applications have been submitted. It is encouraged that you complete the application at your earliest convenience to avoid disappointment

Service/Ward/Department Summary:

An exciting opportunity has arisen for a Speech and Language Therapy Assistant to join a highly experienced multi-professional health care team working in the Learning Disabilities Directorate within the Specialist Services Division of Pennine Care NHS Foundation Trust.

The post-holder will be based within the Adult Learning Disability Team in Bury.

Bury learning disability team is multidisciplinary working with individuals with a mild/moderate/severe learning disability from age 18. We deliver high quality health focused assessments and interventions to people with complex and challenging needs. The team comprises of community nurses, occupational therapist, speech and language therapist, psychologists and psychiatrist input. The health team is co-located with Bury Councils adult care learning disability social work team based at Pilsworth, Bury in modern open plan office accommodation. The team works across the borough of Bury which has a population of approximately 180,000.

Role Summary:

This is a valuable opportunity to understand more about Speech and Language Therapy and develop skills working within the learning disability population.

The role will allow you to work within our friendly and experienced specialist multi-disciplinary team. You will be a highly valued member of the team supporting the Speech and Language Therapist to develop unique and innovative communication systems and resources. You will work with people with a wide range of communication impairments with the opportunity for lots of face to face contact with clients, paid carers and families within the community. The role will be varied and challenging. You will learn more about swallowing impairment (dysphagia) supporting the Speech and Language Therapist with their dysphagia caseload. There will be an aspect of administration to this role. You will have regular supervision and informal support as and when required, moving towards more independent working as your experience and confidence grows.

Key Responsibilities of the Post

To assist in providing speech and language communication and dysphagia support for individuals with communication and swallowing difficulties under the direction of a Speech and Language Therapist

To support the team with developing and preparing training resources

To use a range of verbal and non-verbal communication tools to communicate effectively with clients, carers, team members, Speech and Language Therapy colleagues and other agencies to progress assessment and treatment programmes. This will include clients with difficulties in understanding or communicating, and may include working with interpreters, and bilingual colleagues to enable service users whose first language is not English to access the service.

To develop and create a range of accessible information in a variety of formats in line with accessible information standards

To carry out therapy programmes with clients including those with diverse or complex disabilities, seeking assistance from a member of the Speech and Language Therapy team as required.

Key Requirements of the Person Specification:

Good general education to GCSE standard

ECDL basic level or equivalent

NVQ Level 3 or equivalent

Knowledge of IT including Microsoft Word, Excel, Powerpoint, Publisher

Car user – please substitute this with the following statement ‘use or access to a car or suitable means of transport’.

INTERVIEW DATES: 28 AND 29 SEPTEMBER 2017

For further details / informal visits contact:

Informal Contact: Karen Prestage

Job Title: Clinical Team Manager

Contact Number: 0161 762 3250

Informal Contact: Michelle Hodson

Job Title: Speech and Language Therapist

Contact Number: 0161 762 3255

All new starters to Pennine Care NHS Foundation Trust who are appointed to a post which requires a Disclosure Barring Certificate check (DBS) will be recharged for the full cost of the check. Substantive staff can choose to spread the cost over their first three months’ salary or pay the full amount from their first months’ salary. Members to the Trust bank must repay the full amount from their first pay. The Trust encourages all staff and bank workers to register with the DBS update service at an annual cost of £13, for bank members this is obligatory. The cost of an enhanced DBS check is £44 and for a standard check £26, both attract an administration charge of £3.50.

• Priority will be given to applications from NHS employees with an at risk status
• This post is on PCFT T&C’s. If you are an internal employee currently on transferred T&C’s and you are voluntarily applying for this post please be aware that should you be appointed the T&C’s of this post will transfer to PCFT.
• Applicants will be informed about the progress of their application following shortlisting. Applicants who clearly demonstrate the criteria listed in the person specification will be shortlisted for interview.
• You will be contacted via email. Please check your spam filter, if any mail goes to your junk folder you will need to mark it as safe. Computer access is available via your local Job Centre & Library
• Applicants applying for the position who want to be considered under the disability 2 ticks scheme will be guaranteed an interview if they meet the essential criteria on the person specification for the post
• If you require reasonable adjustments to our recruitment process please contact 0161 716 3181 at the earliest opportunity to ensure that measures can be put in place to enable your application for this post
• The Trust cannot guarantee the transfer of lease cars or cover the costs of early termination charges
• We have a strict policy on unsolicited contact from recruitment agencies. Please do not contact Recruiting Managers directly

Disclosure and Barring Service Check
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.

To stay safe in your job search we recommend that you visit SAFERjobs ( https://www.safer-jobs.com ), a non-profit, joint industry and law enforcement organisation working to combat job scams. Visit the SAFERjobs website for information on common scams and to get free, expert advice for a safer job search.