Assistant Practitioner - AAC | Bristol NHS Foundation Trust

Job description

About

AAC WESTis a specialist Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC) service commissioned to provide comprehensive AAC assessments and specialist communication equipment for individuals with complex communication needs.

The multidisciplinary team (MDT) at AAC WEST supports both children and adults across the South West region who present with severe communication difficulties, often alongside physical, sensory, and cognitive impairments.

Working as anAssistant Practitionerwithin the team offers a unique opportunity to combine direct, face-to-face work with patients and their families with the use of innovative communication technologies. Assistant Practitioners play a key role in the team enabling individuals to communicate more effectively, participate in everyday activities, and achieve greater independence.

The role of the Assistant Practitioner within the AAC WEST team is to

- Prepare equipment as directed by the MDT for assessment and loan

- Programme specialist AAC software as directed by MDT

- Deliver software training sessions to those using AAC

- Deliver 1:1 support sessions to patients as directed by MD

Bristol NHS Foundation Trust brings together more than 28,000 staff to deliver over 160 clinical services across thirteen hospital locations, operating from three main sites at Southmead, Bristol city centre and Weston.  

With an annual turnover of £2.3 billion, we are now one of the largest NHS trusts in the United Kingdom. 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. 

Bristol NHS Foundation Trust values all people as individuals. As an equal opportunities employer actively working towards a diverse workforce we aim to recruit andretain 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. 

During Assessments

·       - Input into the assessment planning sessions by sharing knowledge of the software, hardware and vocabularies contained within the various AAC devices used

- Prepare equipment as requested by the MDT in equipment planning sheets

- Programme equipment with relevant information as directed by MDT

- Provide basic technical support during assessments to support MDT

- Write clinical observations during assessments to feed back to MDT

- Support the MDT with admin during assessments

- To contribute in the driving to and from patient visits with MDT 

 

Equipment Programming

·       -With guidance, prepare equipment for use during trial loan period. This will involve personalising AAC vocabularies and occasional programming basic EAT operations

- Liaise with local teams to collate relevant vocabularies 

·  Training 

- Provide training to patients and their carers on the care and programming of communication aids prior to the short term loan of equipment.

- Contribute to the rolling programme of software training in conjunction with departmental peers

- Support in the admin of delivering a rolling programme of AAC training bespoke training on AAC where requested 

 Support

- Support patients and their carers through the assessment process and provide feedback to the MDT re: the progress of targets.

- Provide basic technical support to individuals during an equipment evaluation loan period.

-Where required, partake in communication partner work to model good practice

- Independently run support clinics either face to face or via remote platforms

General 

·   - Pasticipate in and attend departmental meetings

- Participate in appraisal process in line with Trust policies

- Identify own training needs and to participate in appropriate training accordingly

- To assist with the planning and delivery of awareness raising events and training courses to professionals and members of the public as appropriate

-Bring to the attention of the AAC WEST lead clinicians any issues appropriate to the post and the department

- Bring to the attention of line manager any service improvement suggestions

- Maintain up to date and accurate case notes and records in line with Trust Policy, as needed.

- Gather activity data accurately and to record this in line with Trust Policy

This advert closes on Thursday 19 Nov 2026