A pivotal time for the speech and language therapy workforce in Wales  

Caroline Walters reflects on the launch of RCSLT Wales’ second state of the nation report, the challenges facing the profession, and her decade working alongside SLTs across Wales.

I write this blog two weeks away from finishing in my role as External Affairs Manager in Wales. This is the role I have held for a decade and which I have loved. In my ten years in post, I have been fortunate to work on a huge range of clinical areas from early years to dementia through youth justice. As a non-SLT, my policy work has only been possible through developing close relationships with members. It has been an immense privilege to work with SLTs and assistants the length and breadth of Wales who have been so generous with their time and expertise. I am inspired daily by their work and dedication, and the difference they make to the lives of people with communication, eating, drinking and swallowing needs. 

Launching our latest state of the nation report 

On 18 May 2026, RCSLT Wales launched its second state of the nation report on the speech and language therapy workforce. This year’s report, which was created with the support of an advisory group of members, looks in detail at the demand for speech and language therapy provision and the profile of our current and future workforce, including a focus on retention within the profession in Wales.  

For the first time, we have benchmarked speech and language therapy provision against staffing recommendations for clinical areas such as stroke, neonatal care, intensive care and neurorehabilitation.   

Rising demand and workforce pressures  

The report makes for difficult reading.  Demand for speech and language therapy provision remains consistently high and complexity is increasing. In the 2026 RCSLT workforce survey, six of the seven local health boards in Wales reported that the existing number of SLTs is insufficient to meet the needs of the service.  

Our benchmarking exercise shows unacceptable workforce gaps across stroke, neonatal care, intensive care and neurorehabilitation, with potential risks for patient safety and experience.

Yet despite these demands on services, only 57% of graduates from speech and language therapy courses in summer 2025 who were in receipt of the NHS Wales bursary had jobs as of March 2026. We understand that in four of the seven local health boards, qualified speech and language therapy posts have been frozen in the last year.  

Commissioning numbers for speech and language therapy students for 2026/27 have also been reduced from 55 to 38, 31% decrease, threatening the future pipeline for the profession and the future viability of small courses. 

The importance of data and member collaboration  

The creation of the first state of the nation report, back in January 2025, was driven by requests from members for more data and a compelling narrative. I was so pleased that not only did the report garner interest from politicians and the media, but that it was also used widely more locally in discussions around workforce and as part of business plans. This year’s report relies heavily on data from local health boards, and I am hugely grateful to our members for being willing to take part in surveys, share benchmarking data and complete freedom of information requests. It is very powerful to be able to report at an all-Wales level.

Looking ahead  

I hope the 2026 report will invite conversations and action from politicians and key stakeholders at a pivotal time in Wales’ history as Plaid Cymru leads the Welsh Government for the first time. Given the significant challenges facing the profession, RCSLT Wales has a key role to play in advocating for the unique role of the speech and language therapy workforce against many competing pressures. 

RCSLT Wales launch 2026 state of the nation report

Find out more

Read more about our findings and concerns in the state of the nation report. For the first time, we have benchmarked speech and language therapy provision against staffing recommendations for clinical areas such as stroke, neonatal care, intensive care and neurorehabilitation.

You can also visit our latest news story for further background and analysis.

Read the 2026 state of the nation report