Speech & Language Therapy

Speech and language therapy provides a service to people who have difficulty communicating and/or swallowing.

A specialist range of speech and language therapy services is available for both inpatients and outpatients in Belfast City Hospital Trust.

Inpatients

It involves assessment, diagnosis and management of communication problems and/or swallowing disorders in adult patients. These may be caused by:

Medical conditions e.g. breathing difficulties
Neurological disorders e.g. stroke, head injury
Surgical intervention
Progressive neurological disorders e.g. motor neuron disease, multiple sclerosis, Parkinson’s disease
Cancer.

All inpatients who require a swallowing assessment, need to be referred by the medical team. Patients who have difficulty communicating can be referred by medical team/relatives/carers/self referral.

If speech and language therapy is required when the patient is discharged from hospital, the Belfast City Hospital therapist will arrange for the patient to be seen by a speech and language therapist in the community.

Outpatients

The speech and language therapy outpatient service is mainly for adults and involves the assessment, diagnosis and management of the following:

Patients presenting with voice disorders (hoarseness/difficulty in using voice).
Patients with fluency disorders (stammering). Teenagers and adults may be referred to this service.
Profoundly deaf children and adults who have had a cochlear implant surgically inserted in the inner ear to enable them to hear.
Patients with swallowing problems.

Outpatients who are attending the Cancer Centre for radiotherapy/chemotherapy may also be seen by speech and language therapy if they have a communication/swallowing problem.

A speech and language therapy domiciliary service is available for patients who are discharged from the cancer centre.

Patients attending the Memory Clinic may also be seen by speech and language therapy as part of their assessment and treatment.

To be seen as an outpatient, the person must be referred to the Speech & Language Therapy Department by a hospital consultant or GP. If a GP is referring a voice patient, the referral must include an up to date ENT report.

Location

Level 7 for Inpatients
Outpatients
Middle Dufferin for Cochlear Implantation.

Mrs Jenny Graham
Speech and Language Therapy Manager
Speech and Language Therapy Department
Belfast City Hospital Trust
17/25 Lisburn Road
Belfast
BT9 7AB

Speech and Language Therapy - Prospectus of Clinical Services 2005

Inpatients

Outpatients

Location