Senior Speech and Language Therapist Care of the Older Person, Frailty Intervention Therapy Team

Position Summary:

This post is initially designated to the FIT team (Frailty Intervention Therapy team) in the Emergency Department in Beaumont hospital. The FIT team is a model of excellent multidisciplinary working which supports patients to receive appropriate assessment and intervention from the beginning of their stay in the hospital. FITT is a full MDT which offers the opportunity for the successful candidate to work with a range of other professionals in a supportive and dynamic environment.

This SLT role is part of the care of the older person service and this currently consists of 5 senior speech and language therapists. Therefore there is excellent support teamworking and development in this service. The post holder will work closely with other senior SLT colleagues in the area to manage and develop the SLT service for Care of the Older Person across Beaumont Hospital and the St Josephs Hospital Campus. The post will involve working with people with both communication and swallowing difficulties. The successful candidates will also be an integral part of the well-structured multi-speciality Beaumont Hospital SLT team with excellent support and opportunities for CPD. All of the Senior SLTs in the care of the older person service rotate through all aspects of the care of the older person services that have senior SLT roles through the means of long rotations. This allows an opportunity to develop skills in all aspects of the care of the older person pathway and allows each therapist to develop a wide range of skills and competencies.

A short panel will be created from this competition from which to fill other care of the older person senior posts that come available in the close future.

Responsible to

The post holder will be responsible to the Speech and Language Therapist Manager Beaumont Hospital.

Principal Duties and Responsibilities:

Clinical & Professional Responsibilities

To develop and maintain clinical competencies in the areas of assessment and treatment of patients presenting with a range of communication and swallowing disorders connected to frailty and other related conditions.
To develop and maintain competency in the area of dementia.
To develop skills in relation to FITT triage of patients who present to ED in conjunction with other members of the team.
To organise and in conjunction with other SLTs provide a comprehensive service to the designated area of the service for people referred from relevant consultants and others. Care of the Older Person services are across ED acute wards Rehabilitation Unit Residential Care unit and Day Hospital.
Whenever possible to work in partnership with those referred to the service with regard to assessment and management of communication and swallowing difficulties related to their condition and where appropriate their family and significant others.
To co-ordinate the identification of potential candidates for St. Josephs Rehabilitation Unit Day Hospital Community Nursing unit in collaboration with other team members and the SLT based in the Units.
To collaborate and liaise with the other Senior SLTs assigned to Care of the Older Person to ensure a seamless and comprehensive service for patients admitted to Beaumont hospital and those being transferred across services i.e wards Rehabilitation Unit Day Hospital Service or the Residential Care Unit.
To collaborate and liaise with Primary care HSE SLTs to ensure a comprehensive service for all patients referred to the service.
To maintain close liaison with all relevant personnel with the objective of providing a quality SLT service that responds to the needs priorities concerns and safety of the individual.
To work with SLT/rehabilitation Assistants where appropriate and to provide support and supervision as required.
To develop and maintain expertise in issues relating to communication and swallowing relevant to people who access the Care of the Older Person service and to ensure that professional standards are maintained.
To develop new initiatives and engage in new services which will be beneficial to patients as appropriate and agreed with the SLT manager
To be involved in instrumental assessment e.g. VFSS clinics as appropriate.
In conjunction with other SLTs to provide a service to other patient groups as required and agreed with the SLT Manager.
To maintain the code of conduct as identified by the speech and language therapy registration board at CORU.

Managerial Responsibilities

In conjunction with other Senior SLTs in the designated area to be responsible for the day to day operational management of the speech and language therapy service to patients especially in the FIT team and the emergency department.
To be responsible for the supervision of SLT staff and assistants as assigned by the SLT Manager.
In consultation with the SLT Manager other senior SLTs in Care of the Older Person services and other relevant personnel to participate and be involved in the planning and development of all services for older persons and to ensure that it meets the needs of patients.
To be involved in Quality Improvement to include involvement in the planning of the overall service incorporating the setting and implementation of short and long term objectives.
To liaise with statutory voluntary and other external agencies as appropriate.
To deputise for the SLT Manager where appropriate and in rotation with other senior SLTs within the department.

Educational Responsibilities

Where appropriate to provide general support to other SLTs in the department with regard to SLT management of older persons.
To be involved in the practice education of SLT students in conjunction with the Senior SLT Practice Tutor and other SLTs within the department.
To be actively involved in the education of all staff and other relevant people on ways to promote safe swallowing and on making interactions documents and environments accessible for people with communication disability.
To attend in-service training and journal club meetings as appropriate.
To be involved in research projects as appropriate.
To maintain continuous professional development.

Administrative and Other Responsibilities

To maintain patient records within HSE hospital and departmental standards.
To co-operate with data collection systems and current administrative procedures.
To attend staff and other relevant meetings.
To participate in Personal Development Planning Professional Supervision Peer Review and Team Based Performance Management.
To adhere to health & safety hygiene infections control and other hospital guidelines.
To undertake other duties appropriate to the office as may be required by the Speech & Language Therapist Manager.

Selection Criteria:

Selection criteria outline the qualifications skills knowledge and/or experience that the successful candidate would need to demonstrate for successful discharge of the responsibilities of the post.
Applications will be assessed on the basis of how well candidates satisfy these criteria.

Mandatory:

1. Registration with the Speech & Language Therapists registration board with CORU
2. At least 3 years experience

Desirable:

1. Experience relevant to the clinical area
2. Membership of the Irish Association of Speech and Language Therapists
3. Knowledge of the Irish healthcare system

Informal Enquiries ONLY to:

Name: Anne Healy
Title: Speech & Language Therapy Manager
Email address:
Telephone: (01)