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About Vertis Health
Vertis Health is a federation of general practices delivering high-quality NHS services across Worcestershire. We were founded by local primary care clinicians and are owned by the practices we serve. As a purpose-led limited company, the money we generate is reinvested into the local healthcare economy, helping to strengthen services, support innovation and improve patient care.
Our neurodevelopmental services are being built around clinical quality, meaningful outcomes and strong governance. You will join an organisation that understands NHS systems and values while giving experienced clinicians the opportunity to influence, develop and improve services.
Depending on the role, our benefits include access to the NHS Pension, structured learning and development, clinical leadership opportunities, career progression and genuine flexibility.
Why this role exists
To contribute specialist speech, language, communication and social interaction assessment expertise within the Adult ASD diagnostic pathway, supporting safe, timely and evidence-based diagnostic decision-making through structured assessment, communication profiling, MDT discussion and high-quality reporting. The postholder will provide specialist insight into social communication differences and their impact on daily functioning.
Communication and social interaction differences are key diagnostic domains within adult autism assessment. This role embeds specialist SLT expertise within the MDT pathway, improving diagnostic quality, consistency and defensibility while supporting meaningful outcome recommendations for adults.
About the Service
The Adult ASD service is one of four Mental Health & Neurodevelopmental Services offered by Vertis Health:
Adult ADHD – assessment and ongoing clinical reviews, with medication titration delivered under appropriate prescribing governance and shared care with GPs where agreed.
Adult ASD – diagnostic assessment pathway delivered through an MDT model.
Children and Young People (CYP) ADHD – an assessment and diagnosis pathway (with onward treatment and medication pathways subject to commissioning and wider system arrangements).
Children and Young People (CYP) ASD – a diagnostic assessment pathway delivered through a multidisciplinary model, aligned to national guidance and local commissioning arrangements.
The postholder will be working primarily within the Adult ASD service and its commissioned scope and agreed clinical governance arrangements, contributing to pathway improvement without over-promising provision outside current remit. From time to time however, you may have opportunities to collaborate with colleagues elsewhere across these four services. ADHD diagnostic assessments are delivered face-to-face at our Redditch HQ or a similar Worcestershire location. The service is open to eligible patients aged 16 years and over who are registered with a Worcestershire GP.
The end-to-end pathway includes referral screening, pre-assessment questionnaires, initial contact, face-to-face clinical assessment, MDT diagnostic decision-making, report production, support planning and post-diagnostic signposting, with clinicians contributing to all aspects of the assessment process.
Key responsibilities
Contribute specialist speech, language, communication and social interaction assessment within the Adult ASD diagnostic pathway, working within NICE CG142, Vertis Health SOPs and agreed governance arrangements.
Review referral information, screening questionnaires and supporting evidence, applying SLT-specific clinical reasoning to support pathway readiness and assessment planning.
Conduct structured adult communication and social interaction assessments, using validated tools and professional judgement within competence.
Explore social communication differences across relationships, employment, education, healthcare access and community participation.
Review developmental communication history where available, including early language, peer relationships, social reciprocity and pragmatic language development.
Gather and integrate evidence from service users, carers, partners, support workers, historical documentation and collateral informants where available, consented and clinically relevant.
Contribute SLT-informed evidence to MDT diagnostic discussion, including social communication, pragmatic language, interaction style, masking and communicative adaptations.
Identify co-occurring communication, language, social interaction, mental health, safeguarding, risk or capacity needs and escalate through agreed governance routes.
Produce high-quality SLT assessment summaries and MDT report contributions within agreed timeframes, using clear, accessible and neurodiversity-affirming language.
Communicate communication assessment findings sensitively to service users, and to families, partners or carers where appropriate and consented.
Contribute to personalised support plans describing communication strengths, interaction preferences, reasonable adjustments and onward signposting.
Provide practical recommendations relating to communication strategies, healthcare communication adjustments, workplace or study adjustments and environmental supports within service remit.
Ensure accurate and timely EMIS records, coded activity and correspondence in line with service templates and documentation standards.
Contribute to the co-production of personalised support plans describing strengths, areas where support or reasonable adjustment may be required, and appropriate signposting.
Provide advice and recommendations within the commissioned service remit, without over-promising interventions outside the scope of the assessment service.
Support seamless signposting to local post-diagnostic autism support, Talking Therapies, crisis services, social care, substance misuse services or voluntary and community sector support where clinically indicated.
Person specification
Qualifications and registration: Speech & Language Therapist with HCPC/RCSLT registration and graduate/postgraduate training in Speech & Language Therapy
Experience: Recent UK adult ASD assessment experience.
Knowledge and skills: Working knowledge of ADOS-2 ASD guidance, local formulary, risk and safeguarding; strong written communication and clinic time management.
Values: Person-centred, fair, improvement minded, committed to equality, diversity and inclusion.
Location(s)
Vertis Health
38 Kenilworth Close
Crabbs Cross
Redditch
B97 5JX