Specialist Neonatal and Paediatric Speech and Language Therapist
Kingston and Richmond NHS Foundation TrustHome, community, hospital
Kingston and Richmond NHS Foundation Trust offers a range of fantastic opportunities to grow your career across both hospital and community settings in south London. Whether you're looking to build new skills or take your experience to the next level, we are uniquely placed to provide the right environment to support your professional development. With colleagues working in people’s homes, in community clinics, and in our two hospitals, we have an outstanding breadth of knowledge and experience to draw from.
Our commitment to exceptional care is reflected in being the first trust of our kind in London to achieve an ‘Outstanding’ rating from the CQC for both overall quality and leadership. We exist to provide the best possible care for our patients and we do that by giving our colleagues what they need to be their best at work. We have won numerous awards from the HSJ and Nursing Times for the way we support our colleagues across all our services.
We are proud to be recognised for our outstanding cancer care, children's services, pioneering surgical teams, and exceptional rehabilitation services. Our maternity services have been rated the "Best in London" by women surveyed by the Care Quality Commission (CQC), with parents travelling to Kingston to take advantage of our considerable experience and expertise.
Our Trust values
These words are important reminders, but it’s our behaviours that tell people who we are. We expect all colleagues to bring our values to life in their work.
- Compassionate: We provide care with kindness, understanding, and empathy for all.
- Inclusive: We embrace diversity and respect the unique contributions of every individual.
- Collaborative: We foster teamwork across all levels, working together and with our partners to deliver the best outcomes.
- Inspiring: We are committed to continuous improvement and excellence in patient care, staff development, and innovation.
Job overview
An exciting opportunity has arisen for an experienced Neonatal / Paediatric Speech and Language Therapist to join our friendly team of acute Speech and Language Therapists at Kingston and Richmond NHS Foundation Trust. The post will be based at Kingston Hospital working predominantly on the Neonatal and Paediatric wards.
You will be the sole Speech and Language Therapist for the neonatal unit / paediatric wards, therefore the ability to work autonomously is essential. There is an AHP therapy team, who you will develop strong links with and take part in an AHP-led developmental ward round, and you will gain professional support from the wider Adult Acute Team and Community Paediatric SLT team. A comprehensive supervision structure is in place, and you will be well supported in your role by the SLT department and wider MDT.
Experience of working with neonates and children with feeding, eating, drinking and swallowing difficulties in an acute or community setting is essential. The successful candidate will be responsible for managing and prioritising a caseload of neonatal and paediatric in-patients presenting with a range of feeding / swallowing difficulties. Collaborative joint working with the community teams is strongly encouraged. Occasional attendance at paediatric outpatient clinics may be required from time to
time and there will be opportunities to help develop the service in collaboration with the Principal SLT and paediatric and neonatal teams and community teams.
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At a highly specialist level, you will independently assess, diagnose, treat, and discharge neonates and paediatric patients with suspected or confirmed feeding, swallowing, eating, drinking and communication difficulties within the neonatal unit and paediatric wards. You will work collaboratively as an integral member of the neonatal and paediatric multidisciplinary team, supporting staff and families to identify babies and children at risk of dysphagia and communication challenges to establish safe, effective, and positive oral feeding and supportive communication practices.
You will provide expert clinical advice and/or interventions for complex neonatal and paediatric dysphagia cases and contribute to the development and implementation of evidence-based feeding and communication pathways. As part of the wider neonatal team, you will promote developmental care principles to support optimal neurodevelopmental outcomes for babies and support with advocation of Baby Friendly Initiative principles on the neonatal and paediatric wards.
In addition to clinical duties, you will take a leadership role in service development, audit, education, and training of staff and families, fostering a culture of continuous improvement and family-integrated care. You will also supervise and mentor junior staff and students, ensuring high standards of clinical practice
Working for our organisation
Development and staff wellbeing
Your growth and personal happiness matters to us. After all, we can’t expect the best from you if we don’t invest in your development and nurture your wellbeing. From the moment you join us, we’re committed to fostering your professional and personal development within a supportive, empowering environment. Whether you’re just starting your career or looking to advance further, we provide you with the tools and opportunities you need to succeed. We actively support colleagues to take part in research, quality improvement and innovation, whatever their role or level in the organisation.
To support your wellbeing, we offer an extensive range of resources, including an on-site staff nursery at Kingston Hospital, wellbeing practitioners, regular wellbeing classes, dedicated staff physiotherapist, comprehensive occupational health services, 24/7 employee assistance programme, and a range of other support and activities.
We also take every opportunity to thank and recognise the work our teams do, through weekly ‘shoutouts’ and patient feedback, monthly and annual awards.
Wherever you work across our organisation, we look forward to welcoming you.
Detailed job description and main responsibilities
***Please see the attached supporting document/s which contains more information about the role in the job description and person specification***
Your application: Please ensure your supporting statement aligns with the job description and person specification, as your application will be assessed against these criteria.
Artificial Intelligence: We kindly ask that you refrain from using AI tools to draft your application, as we value authentic, individual responses that reflect your own communication style.
References: Please provide 3 years of employment/educational history with professional email addresses (not personal ones like Hotmail or Gmail). If you cannot supply these, inform the interviewers to avoid delays in pre-employment checks.
Closing date: To keep our recruitment process efficient, some vacancies may be capped and closed early once we receive a sufficient number of applications.
Shortlisting: You will only be contacted by email or SMS from the SWL Recruitment Hub if you are successfully shortlisted. Please check your registered Trac email regularly.
DBS: We are committed to safeguarding children and vulnerable adults at risk of harm. For roles involving direct access to these groups, an Enhanced Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check will be required. All employees, however, hold a responsibility to safeguard children and vulnerable adults as part of their duties and to understand the specific safeguarding responsibilities associated with their role.