Autism Diagnostic Clinician Team Lead

Are you an experienced clinician or who enjoys working with children and young people? Do you want to be involved in an excellent example of collaborative working? We are looking for an experienced colleague who has experience of supporting children with autism diagnosis, including skills around ADOS assessment.
As an Autism Diagnostic Clinician you will be responsible for the provision of a qualified SALT Autism assessment service for children aged 0-16 referred to the Community Paediatric team at Mid Cheshire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust.
You will work collaboratively with the Community Paediatricians and the Diagnostic pathway navigators to provide a multi-disciplinary approach to ASC diagnosis. Our team currently completed standardised assessments to contribute directly to the diagnosis of ASC, and work directly with the community paediatricians in MDT meetings to discuss cases & meet NICE guidance.
This role will also have a leadership element, which will include supervision and coordination of the team, triage, and extensive opportunities to contribute to service development. You will be employed by Mid Cheshire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, and receive peer support from our excellent Paediatric Speech and Language Therapy Team in CCICP. Our existing therapists will provide excellent peer support, and offer a significant amount of experience in this area, and so personal and professional development will be provided.

Main duties of the job

1. To provide a high standard of assessment and diagnostic service for children with social communication difficulties/autistic spectrum disorders .

2. To contribute to the development of appropriate diagnostic assessment protocols for the ASD service.

3. Experience in using the ADOS or other play based assessments as part of multidisciplinary diagnosis is desirable.

4. To work autonomously as a highly specialist clinician providing specialist assessments for children with diverse needs and varying presentations.

5. To independently manage and make differential diagnoses for clients with delays and disorders of social communication and autistic spectrum disorders.

6. To make appropriate and evidence-based recommendations for children and their families.

7. To communicate in a skilled and sensitive manner, information concerning the assessment, formulation and treatment plans of children under their care and to monitor progress during the course of both uni- and multi-disciplinary care.

8. To provide comprehensive feedback to children, families, and professionals.

9. To prepare comprehensive assessment reports detailing formulation, recommendations and diagnostic evidence that would contribute to the multiagency assessment process.

Mid Cheshire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust (MCHFT) provides good quality, safe and effective healthcare to the people of Cheshire and beyond. The Trust, which manages Leighton Hospital in Crewe, Victoria Infirmary in Northwich, and Elmhurst Intermediate Care Centre in Winsford, was established as an NHS Trust in April 1991 and became a Foundation Trust in April 2008.
We employ almost 5,000 members of staff, provide around 540 hospital beds, with a range of services including accident and emergency, maternity, outpatients, therapies, and children's health.
The Trust is also part of Central Cheshire Integrated Care Partnership (CCICP), a unique local health partnership that provides a range of community services for people across South Cheshire and Vale Royal.
During the Coronavirus pandemic, the Trust was recognised nationally for its 'Be Safe Be EquiPPEd' campaign, which aimed to make the Trust as safe as possible for staff and patients, through supporting the correct use of PPE.
The results in the 2020 national NHS Staff Survey showed improvements in all elements of the safety culture theme, with 92% of respondents feeling their role made a difference to our patients. We were also recognised nationally for our workforce health and wellbeing initiatives.
At Mid Cheshire, we value our staff and appreciate that in order to give our patients the best quality, compassionate care, we also need to look after our colleagues.

The main responsibilities for this role are all located within the attached job description and person specification
Key Messages
· Please let us know if you require an adjustment to our recruitment process.
+ We are a flexible working employer, so please talk to us about any flexible working requirements.
· All correspondence will be sent to the email address you have registered as your TRAC account.
· Selection is based on the Trust's values, and the criteria outlined in the Job Description for the role.
· Secondments will be considered for fixed term positions when both parties agree. Candidates should seek approval from their current line manager before application.
· Appointments are subject to a 6-month probationary period. LED Doctors are subject to a 3-month probationary period.
· Please provide a contact email address for referees. We will not request references until after you have been made a formal job offer.
· You will be required to pay for your DBS disclosure (where the post requires one). This will be done via 3 monthly instalments from your pay. We encourage applicants to join and remain registered with the DBS update service.
· We do not reimburse travel to interview expenses.
· Some posts may have implications on existing NHS Pension Scheme arrangements. For further information please visit the NHS Pensions Agency website: https://www.nhsbsa.nhs.uk/nhs-pensions
· Employers have a legal responsibility to ensure that their employees have a "right to work" in the UK. If you intend to seek permission to work in the UK via a Skilled Worker visa, please be aware that the UK Government set eligibility requirements e.g. minimum salary requirement and skill levels. Not all NHS roles are eligible for sponsorship. We recommend that you use the information on the Home Office website to check if this role will be eligible.