Care Opinion

Visit to speech and language therapist

Posted By alphamy88

"Visit to speech and language therapist"

About: Specialist Child Health & Disability / Speech and Language Therapy Services

(as a parent/guardian),

My daughter took a while to settle. 10 day prior to seeing the speech therapist she had cracked a bone in her elbow and had to get a cast on. The experience scared her a bit.

When she entered the room in villa 2 for speech therapy she was crying and wouldn’t settle for a while. I feel this was because of the medical setting, I think it would be so much nicer if the speech therapist were not wearing the medical uniform, possibly polo T-shirt.

My older son is autistic and I find that every experience in a medical setting with him is so stressful and he is always so distressed. It’s like a light switch flick once he walks into the building.

The speech therapy session itself was very pleasant. The speech therapist Lucia was very nice and had loads of tips for me. 

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Responses

Response from Anne McCourt, Operational Lead, Speech and Language Therapy, Children and Young People's Directorate, Southern Health and Social Care Trust 6 months ago
We are preparing to make a change
Anne McCourt
Operational Lead, Speech and Language Therapy, Children and Young People's Directorate,
Southern Health and Social Care Trust

Submitted on 05/06/2024 at 10:03
Published on Care Opinion at 10:04

picture of Anne McCourt

Thank you alphamy88 for sharing your story on Care Opinion and thank you for your patience in awaiting our response. We have been investigating our options for staff uniforms in response to your story.

I fully understand how your daughter could become upset in a medical environment following on from the painful experience of her elbow injury.

We strive to provide a welcoming, relaxed environment for children attending Speech and Language Therapy and I am sorry that our uniform policy has had a negative impact on your daughter's experience.I agree that medical uniforms can be off putting for many young children.

I have raised the issue at a higher level and it has been agreed that we can look into the option of polo shirts for our speech and language therapists who work with children.

Thank you for raising this issue and I am glad that we have been able to make a change as a result of your story.

Thank you also for your kind comments on Lucia. Lucia is a highly valued member of our team and she is empathetic and calm in her manner. I am glad that you found the appointment with her helpful and informative.

We hope that your daughter feels more comfortable at her future speech and language therapy appointments, once the change to polo shirts has been implemented.

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Response from Anne McCourt, Operational Lead, Speech and Language Therapy, Children and Young People's Directorate, Southern Health and Social Care Trust last week
We are preparing to make a change
Anne McCourt
Operational Lead, Speech and Language Therapy, Children and Young People's Directorate,
Southern Health and Social Care Trust

Submitted on 13/12/2024 at 12:57
Published on Care Opinion at 13:23

picture of Anne McCourt

Dear Alphamy88

As some time has passed since your story was submitted,I would like to provide an update.

We are currently in the process of seeking funding to implement changes to our uniform policy.

We aim to provide flexibility between tunics and polo shirts for our Speech and Language Therapists who work with young children.

Once I am in a position to clarify,I will update with a further response

Thank you for your patience.

  • {{helpful}} {{helpful == 1 ? "person thinks" : "people think"}} this response is helpful

Update posted by alphamy88 (a parent/guardian)

Waow that would be amazing, something non clinical looking and fun looking to the eye of a child. I know both my kids (ASD) freak out in any kind of clinical setting. A uniform that looks like clothes would certainly help.

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