Highly Specialist Speech Language Therapist. Neonatal Services

We are seeking a skilled and compassionate Speech and Language Therapist to deliver specialist support to infants and families within the Family Integrated Care model across our neonatal units. This role involves the assessment, diagnosis, and management of early communication and feeding challenges in premature and unwell infants. You will work as a core member of the neonatal multidisciplinary team, collaborating closely with Neonatal Consultants, Nursing Teams, the Infant Feeding Team, AHPs, Psychologists, and families to provide high-quality, evidence-based care., To identify neonates with feeding difficulties, swallow dysfunction, and dysphagia and develop suitable management plans to reduce their risk of stress, aspiration and feeding aversion.

Provide autonomous specialist assessment, treatment and advice to patients on the neonatal unit who present with feeding/swallowing difficulties.

Utilise a range of informal and formal approaches to assess the neonates' early communication and feeding skills; and to support the MDT in identifying these needs in order to inform optimum care planning and intervention.

Bedfordshire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust provides hospital services to a growing population of around 700,000 people living across Bedfordshire and the surrounding areas across two busy hospital sites in Bedford and Luton. Both hospital sites offer key services such as A&E, Obstetrics-led Maternity and Paediatrics. You will be joining a friendly, high performing Trust committed to ensuring the health and wellbeing of staff. As one of the largest NHS Trusts in our region you will have access to a programme of high quality training and development to help you grow your career. The Trust continues to be committed to delivering the best patient care using the best clinical knowledge and technology available.