Speech and Language Therapy Service Provision in Spinal Injury Units Compared to Major Trauma Centres in England: Are Services Matched?

Autor/inn/en	McRae, Jackie; Hayton, Jennifer; Smith, Christina
Titel	Speech and Language Therapy Service Provision in Spinal Injury Units Compared to Major Trauma Centres in England: Are Services Matched?
Quelle	In: International Journal of Language & Communication Disorders, 57 (2022) 1, S.6-20 (15 Seiten) PDF als Volltext Verfügbarkeit
Zusatzinformation	ORCID (McRae, Jackie) ORCID (Smith, Christina)
Sprache	englisch
Dokumenttyp	gedruckt; online; Zeitschriftenaufsatz
ISSN	1368-2822
DOI	10.1111/1460-6984.12671
Schlagwörter	Speech Therapy; Injuries; Trauma; Rehabilitation; Medical Services; Specialists; Patients; Outcomes of Treatment; Clinics; Communication Disorders; Access to Health Care; Barriers; Foreign Countries; United Kingdom (England) + Suchen Sie Ihr Suchwort? Entwicklungsproximale Sprachtherapie; Logotherapie; Arzt; Patient; Kommunikationsstörung; Ausland
Abstract	Background: National UK guidance makes recommendations for speech and language therapy staffing levels in critical care and rehabilitation settings. Traumatic spinal cord injury patients often require admission primarily to critical care services within a major trauma centre prior to transfer to a specialist spinal injury unit but may not receive similar levels of care. Dysphagia and communication difficulties are recognised features of cervical spinal cord injury; however, little is known about access to speech and language therapy services to provide rehabilitation and improve outcomes. Aims: The aim of this study was to compare the workforce and clinical practices of speech and language therapy services in eight spinal injury units and four major trauma centres in England through an online survey. Methods & procedures: An online survey was created with 26 multiple-choice questions across seven sub-sections, with options for free-text comments. These were sent to a named speech and language therapy contact at each of the specified units. Responses were uploaded into Excel for analyses, which included descriptive statistics and analysis of themes. Outcomes & results: Responses were received from 92% (11/12) speech and language therapy services invited, which included seven out of eight spinal injury units and all four major trauma centres. No units met national staffing recommendations. Staff in spinal injury units provided an average of 27 h per week input to the unit compared to 80 h in a major trauma centre. Despite caseload variations, speech and language range of therapy involvement and prioritisation process were equivalent. Access to instrumental assessment varied, with less use of Fibreoptic Endoscopic Evaluation of Swallowing in spinal injury units despite its clinical value to the spinal cord injury caseload. Conclusions & implications: Speech and language therapy services delivering post-acute and long-term rehabilitation to spinal cord injury patients are limited by their resources and capacity, which restricts the level of therapy delivered to patients. This may have an impact on clinical outcomes for communication and swallowing impairments. Further evidence is needed of the interventions delivered by speech and language therapists and outcomes will be beneficial alongside benchmarking similar services. (As Provided).
Anmerkungen	Wiley. Available from: John Wiley & Sons, Inc. 111 River Street, Hoboken, NJ 07030. Tel: 800-835-6770; e-mail: cs-journals@wiley.com; Web site: https://www.wiley.com/en-us
Erfasst von	ERIC (Education Resources Information Center), Washington, DC
Update	2024/1/01