8 December 2003

RCSLT hold Gurnsey talks

RCSLT CEO Kamini Gadhok held constructive talks with the President of Guernsey's Board of Health, Deputy Peter Roffey, associated officers and speech and language therapy staff members in December, in response to concerns over the island's current restricted speech and language therapy services.

Ms Gadhok said that at the discussions the President informed College there was an agreement in principle to fund two extra speech and language therapy positions and one assistant as an immediate response to issues and concerns; with an acknowledgement that further work needs to be done to address staffing levels.

"There was discussion on the way Guernsey's services are delivered and models of service delivery that are appropriate to meeting the island's needs. We hope this is the start of a collaborative relationship,' Ms Gadhok said.

Ms Gadhok added that the College acknowledged the hard work of Guernsey's head of speech and language therapy service, Barbara Evans.

Ends

Notes for editors:

The Royal College of Speech and Language Therapists is the professional body for speech and language therapists in the UK and has over 11,000 members.

For more information contact Steven Harulow, email: steven.harulow@rcslt.org tel: 020 7378 3004