Specialist Speech and Language Therapist AAC (Band 6)

This role is for a suitably qualified Speech and Language Therapist to work as part of AAC WEST's experienced multidisciplinary team to provide specialist communication aid assessment services to adults and children within the South West region.
The post is for 33.75 hours per week (0.9 WTE) for a fixed term of 1 year., As a qualified Speech and Language Therapist within AAC WEST you will
hold a mixed caseload of adult and paediatric cases that you will be responsible for assessing and supporting in the implemention of AAC alongside your MDT colleagues. This will involve the following clinical pathway:
Initial Assessment: You will plan for initial assessments assigned to you ensuring all aspects of the patient's clinical presentation are considered. Assessment must be well planned and show no bias towards any suppliers
Equipment Provision session: Competently run appointments to hand over the prescribed equipment to the patient and their local support network. Such sessions will involve setting goals for the loan period and training the patient and their team on the use of the AAC device.
Review sessions: Competently run review sessions to ascertain the effectiveness of the AAC device during the loan period. This will involve observing the patient using the loaned device and drawing appropriate conclusions, reviewing the goals and discussing functional use of the device during the loan period with the patient and their team.
Additional key duties will include:
- Ongoing CPD to stay up to date with AAC technology
- Delivering training sessions for AAC users and their support teams in the south west region
- Supervising therapy assistants within the team
- To work closely with AAC suppliers
- To attend departmental and, if appropriate, national AAC meetings, + To plan and complete thorough assessments of patients' AAC needs in conjunction with other members of the multi professional team. Assessment involves
o Identifying patients' strengths needs
o Assessing functional communication skills and communicative competence
o Assessing patients' competence to use technology
o Assessment of support environment and how this will impact on patients' ability to make long term use of communication equipment.
o Identifying appropriate hardware and software to meet patient's communication needs.
o Identifying appropriate low tech systems to be developed as required.
o Setting appropriate communication goals for trial of equipment
o Prescription of appropriate communication aids for long term use.
+ To manage own clinical caseload to the standards and guidelines set by HCPC and CQC Live.
+ To provide specialist assessment, clinical advice and care plans to patients with communication difficulties
+ To provide support for people using augmentative and alternative methods of communication, and advice and training to carers and professionals.
+ To demonstrate clinical effectiveness by the use of evidence-based practice, clear therapy plans and outcome measures.
+ To negotiate with carers/patients/others around individual case management, ensuring patient involvement.
+ To recognise potential breakdown/conflict when it occurs and seek advice and support to resolve.
+ Where appropriate, to refer patients on to other services and agencies, and to liaise with members of voluntary organisations concerned with the patient group.
+ To produce complex clinical written reports that present specialist clinical information, which is accessible for carers and/or patients and other professional colleagues, following each assessment
+ To attend and actively participate in all departmental team meetings as requested by manager and / or clinical lead.
+ To inform other professionals about suitable resources that they may wish to purchase to suit the needs of their client groups.
+ To provide remote assistance and advice to other professionals within the region and beyond, by answering telephone, written, e mail and website queries as they arise. Also to remotely access communication aids on loan to troubleshoot software problems if required to do so.
+ To contribute to the support of less experienced SLTs, as appropriate
+ To participate in the active process of CPD
+ To comply with resource management processes

If you apply for this vacancy and have not received a communication from North Bristol NHS Trust within three weeks of the closing date, please assume that on this occasion your application has been unsuccessful.
Please note that North Bristol NHS Trust does not reimburse travel expenses relating to interview attendance.
If you feel you meet the requirements of the Disability Act / Two Ticks scheme and require further support/advice, please contact us on tel .
North Bristol NHS Trust are committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people and expects all staff and volunteers to share this commitment.
The successful applicant(s) will normally commence at the minimum of the scale unless they have previous NHS service at the same band. Progression through the scale is by annual increments.
At North Bristol Trust (NBT), we know diverse and inclusive environments lead to happier and healthier teams and improved patient care and outcomes. We are committed to equality of opportunity, to being fair and inclusive, and to being a place where we all belong. We therefore particularly encourage applications from candidates who are currently underrepresented in NBT's workforce at Band 8a and above. These include people from Black, Asian and minority ethnic backgrounds, disabled people and LGBTQIA+ people.
Please note that stringent pre-employment checks are undertaken on all successful applicants prior to commencement in post.