Here at Portsmouth Hospitals University NHS Trust, we are proud to provide expert, compassionate care for our local population. We are ranked as the third in the country for research, embedding education and training across the organisation. Our main hub is the Queen Alexandra Hospital, which is one of the largest hospitals on the south coast employing over 8,700 staff.

Our patients come from all walks of life and so do we. We hire great people from a wide variety of backgrounds because it makes our hospital stronger. If you share our values and our enthusiasm for getting it right for patients, colleagues, and our community, you will find a home at Portsmouth Hospitals University NHS Trust

This is a great opportunity for an experienced Speech and Language Therapist  (SLT) with strong leadership and clinical skills in stroke to become the team leader for acute stroke SLT.

You will be responsible for meeting national target SSNAP, working closely with multi-disciplinary leads to ensure the delivery of high quality multi-disciplinary care and positive patient experience and outcomes.

You will provide highly specialist clinical expertise in the assessment, differential diagnosis, treatment and management of patients with swallowing and complex communication disorders, supporting  more junior members of the team including B6's, B5's and assistant SLT’s. You will need a good understanding of the Mental Capacity Act and DOLS and be able to support members of the wider multidisciplinary team in implementing this for patients with communication needs.

You should have some experience of working with patients with cognitive and behaviour difficulties. Where appropriate, you will be  required to provide specialist clinical/technical skills for instrumental assessment and interpretation of swallow function using, e.g. video-fluoroscopy, meeting RCSLT competencies and guidelines, including evidence that competency is maintained. Training and support is available if required.

The SLT department at PHU provides a highly specialist service to the hospital and always puts patient safety and quality at the centre of our care. We provide a comprehensive dysphagia  training programme across the hospital working with the simulation suite and have CAUK status. We pride ourselves on our close working relationships with all of our multi-disciplinary colleagues and you will join a well-led and cohesive service of committed therapists and other AHP’s.

You will report directly to the Clinical Therapy Lead on team performance, operational implementation of work streams and service delivery issues. You will help to develop a competency driven, flexible and responsive workforce, and will be responsible for implementing change at team level in line with the Trust’s strategic aims.  We will support you to develop your leadership and clinical skills following the Trust’s Learning and Development programmes and with external training opportunities. You will have a consistent supervisor who will meet you regularly for 1:1 support and there is good Band 7 peer support within the therapies department.

If you have a positive attitude to team working, a passion for stroke care and an integrated approach please get in touch. We pride ourselves on our flexible working policies and would welcome applications for full-time or part-time working.

Pre arranged visits to the department are welcomed and encouraged prior to application or interview. For further information please contact

Kath Lake on 02392 286838  [email protected]

You must have a Diploma or Degree in Speech and Language Therapy

Current HCPC registration

Achieved postgraduate dysphagia competencies.

The post holder will be able to independently manage a range of patients with dysphagia and communication difficulties. Training will be available for tracheostomy and VF competencies if required.

The health and wellbeing of our staff is at the forefront of everything we do. We are proud to be able to offer our staff some fantastic benefits including our on-site Nursery, access to our free Beach Hut for those long summer days, our on-site Wellness Centre including a gym and a swimming pool, access to our fantastic staff networks including LGBTQ, Race Equality and DisAbility, and awards ceremonies to recognise your achievements. We believe we can offer support to all of our staff when they need it the most.

We welcome the unique contributions that you can bring in terms of your education, opinions, culture, ethnicity, race, sex, gender identity and expression, nation of origin, age, languages spoken, veteran’s status, colour, religion, disability, sexual orientation, and beliefs.