Specialist Speech & Language Therapist

Southport Hospital has the exciting opportunity to advertise a Speech and Language Therapy post which will offer a stimulating and challenging role in the assessment and management of inpatients with dysphagia and who are recognised as living with frailty and ageing., The successful applicant will provide specialist assessment and management of patients living with frailty and ageing at any stage of their hospital journey, including A&E admission, during their inpatient stay, and assisting safe and timely discharge.

This will include specialist SLT input to the Frailty Assessment Unit, working alongside Frailty Practitioners, Medical Registrar and Consultants in Geriatrics.

You will have opportunities to develop skills in areas such as frailty/ elderly care, emergency medicine, respiratory medicine, and neurological disorders, while working closely with SLT and MDT colleagues.

The post holder will independently provide a comprehensive specialist clinical service specifically to adults admitted who are living with frailty and ageing, and who have communication and swallowing disorders. They will provide training, direct, and indirect support to other professionals relating to communication and swallowing disorders and will participate in the development and implementation of care pathways, departmental policies, and protocols.

At Southport Hospital we hold regular Video fluoroscopy clinics and are implementing the MBSImP protocol. We also have a newly established FEES service. For the right candidate there is potential for development opportunities in this area.

Mersey and West Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust serves a population of over 600,000 with a workforce of over 9000 dedicated and skilled staff across 21 sites.

We strongly believe that the communities we serve should all have access to Five Star Patient Care.

Providing emergency and maternity services at Whiston, Southport and Ormskirk hospitals, and medical and surgical specialties across all our sites.

Primary Care

Providing primary care services at Marshalls Cross Medical Centre situated in St Helens Hospital.

Community Services

Providing adult community services for St Helens and a wheelchair service in Chorley, South Ribble, and West Lancashire. Our inpatient unit at Newton Community Hospital is where patients needing acute hospital beds can continue rehabilitation, freeing up space for more unwell patients. We also provide urgent care at our Urgent Treatment Centre located in St Helens town centre.

Specialist Regional Services

We provide the Mersey Regional Burns & Plastic Surgery Unit at Whiston Hospital and the Spinal Injuries Unit at Southport Hospital to more than 4 million people across the whole of Merseyside, West Lancashire, Cheshire, Isle of Man and North Wales.

Achievements:

o Rated Outstanding by CQC Inspection August 2018

o Top 100 places to work in the NHS (NHS Employers & Health Service Journal)

National Preceptorship Accreditation (2023) for Nursing & AHP Preceptorship Programme