Specialist Speech and Language Therapist; Respiratory & Critical Care

Overview

Go back University Hospitals Bristol and Weston NHS Foundation Trust (UHBW)

The closing date is 11 February 2026

We are pleased to offer a fantastic opportunity within the Adult Speech & Language Therapy Department at University Hospitals Bristol & Weston NHS Foundation Trust on a temporary basis, covering a maternity leave.

We are seeking a passionate and experienced Band 6 Speech and Language Therapist to join our Respiratory and Critical Care pathways. This role involves delivering specialist communication and dysphagia services to inpatients across high-care Respiratory and Cardiology wards, the General Intensive Care Unit, and the Regional Cardiac Intensive Care Unit.

You will work with skilled Band 6 colleagues, Clinical Specialty Team Leads, and a dedicated SLT Assistant, while closely collaborating with the wider multi-disciplinary team (MDT). Your responsibilities will include managing tracheostomised and ventilator-dependent patients and contributing to regular MDT teaching sessions.

Given the nature of this role, we are only able to accept applications from candidates who have current competencies in SLT tracheostomy management.

We are a dynamic team providing an excellent service to our patients and staff. You will be working within a team who enjoy a supportive and friendly working environment, where we encourage participation and learning from one another at all times and focus our efforts towards a patient centred service. You will work as part of the wider SLT Adult service which has Specialist SLTs within Stroke, Older People and Progressive Neurological disorders, Head & Neck, Oncology and Voice.

The department has regular in-service training, peer and line management supervision and weekly Videofluoroscopy and in-patient FEES services.

You can find out more about S&L and the Adult Therapy team here:
Therapies - UHBW Careers

University Hospitals Bristol and Weston NHS Foundation Trust (UHBW) is one of the largest acute Trusts in the country, bringing together a combined workforce of over 13,000 staff and over 100 different clinical services across 10 different sites, serving a core population of more than 500,000 people across South West England. UHBW has been rated by the CQC as 'Good' overall and our staff are proud to deliver excellent care to the people of Bristol, Weston and beyond.

As a forward-thinking multi-award winning Trust and a digital exemplar committed to improving patient care, our world-leading research and innovations are having a positive local and global impact. Our hospitals are spread across Bristol and Weston, join us and you can enjoy the very best of both worlds; city living within a stone s throw of the countryside or beside the seaside, both with easy access to all that the South West has to offer.

UHBW is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, young people and vulnerable adults. As an equal opportunities employer actively working towards a diverse workforce we aim to recruit and retain a workforce which represents the rich diversity of the local population at all levels and are committed to designing our services around the needs of individual patients and those around them.

Anonymous information will be used from your application in order to ensure we re meeting our pledge.

For a more detailed job description and main responsibilities, please refer to the job description document attached to this vacancy.

• Educated to degree or equivalent
• HCPC registered/RCSLT Member
• Recent evidence of CPD in communication and swallowing problems in Respiratory & Critical Care

• Experience of working as core member of MDT
• Knowledge & experience of working with augmentative & assisted communication
• Experience of planning & implementing training to others & / or giving presentations
• Recent experience of working in Adult acute inpatient settings
• Knowledge &/or Experience of managing tracheostomy and ventilator dependent patients
• Recent experience of working with adults within Respiratory & Critical care
• Specialised knowledge & experience of a wide range of therapeutic models of working with communication disorders & dysphagia within Respiratory and Critical Care pathways
• Experience using & interpreting videofluoroscopy / FEES & implementing findings into practice

• Ability to review & reflect on own skills & knowledge, and to lead own CPD in conjunction with supervisors & peers
• Advanced dysphagia skills:
  Independent working with patients with complex dysphagia in a range of acute settings/ with multiple aetiologies including management of patients with Tracheostomies
• Demonstrates highly developed auditory & perceptual skills in the assessment, diagnosis & treatment of adult patients
• Ability to recognise own professional boundaries & accept support/ seek advice as…