Speech therapists welcome new stroke service investment

For immediate release 10 June 2008.

The Royal College of Speech and Language Therapists (RCSLT NI) today welcomed the announcement by the Minister of Health Michael McGimpsey of significant investment in NI over the next three years, and calls for some of this money to be set aside to improve access to speech and language therapy.

A recent RCSLT NI survey of stroke survivors with communication impairment indicates that much improvement is needed in NI to ensure they receive timely and adequate speech and language therapy support.

The survey shows that although the stroke survivors speak highly of their speech and language therapy, a third of the 134 respondents had to wait between 2-4 months to receive speech and language therapy provision. This is well outside the RCSLT recommended period of one month within which support should be provided.

A massive 95% of the stroke survivors said they only received speech and language therapy for six months or less. Not surprisingly, more than half of these felt they did not receive enough speech and language therapy.

For many it has been a case of 'too little too late'. Communication difficulties have left them feeling isolated, lacking in confidence and unable to get back into employment, RCSLT NI Country Policy Officer Alison McCullough says.

"We hope the Minister has ring fenced sufficient funding for improving speech and language therapy provision," she adds.

"Speech and language therapists play a crucial role in identifying and managing communication and swallowing difficulties and provide a 'communication lifeline' to stroke survivors to enable them to communicate with health service staff and their family in the early days after their stroke.

"Communication is a basic human right and stroke survivors are often unable to speak up for their rights themselves."

The RCSLT looks forward to the imminent launch of the NI Stroke Strategy and hopes that tangible life changing benefits will be realised for NI stroke survivors.

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Notes to editors

For more information contact: Alison McCullough, RCSLT NI Country Policy Officer, tel: 028 9050 1802, mob: 07867 781 116

The RCSLT represents speech and language therapists and support workers, and promotes excellence in practice and influence's health, education and social care policies. Visit: www.rcslt.org for more details.

The RCSLT is calling for:

  • The Government to recognise that the ability to communicate is a basic human right.
  • Adequate, appropriate and equitable provision of speech and language therapy support for stroke survivors to meet this right throughout NI.
  • Communication support to be fully integrated into the stroke care pathway so that stroke survivors get the help they need to improve their life after stroke.
  • The Government to implement the RCSLT's workforce resource planning guidelines on the level of service necessary to meet this need:
  • One in 10: in an acute ward there must be one speech and language therapist for every 10 people who have had a stroke.
  • Communication lifelines: every stroke survivor must have prompt referral to speech and language therapy to allow the rapid development of methods of communication in the immediate days following their stroke.
  • Community service: every community service team must have a least one speech and language therapist
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