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Wiltshire to improve speech therapy

9:59am Monday 1st February 2010


Health bosses say speech and language therapy for children will improve following the decision to have one provider for the county.

There are three different providers in Wiltshire but following a tendering exercise Wiltshire Community Health Services will be the sole provider.

Maddy Ferrari, an assistant director at NHS WIltshire, said the new service would deliver speech therapy consistently across the county.

She said: “The waiting list for therapy is unacceptably long. There are between 200 to 300 children waiting for several months. “ The new model of service has been developed with input from parents. Mrs Ferrari said the new service would involve parents, nursery staff and teachers being trained to communicate with children on a day to day basis while therapists continue to work with children.

She added: “The new service will work more collaboratively with parents and education professionals and deliver more timely assessment and support. Parents have told us that they want to work towards self care and management. They want information on how to help themselves and their children.”

The new service will start during the summer and all speech therapy staff in Wiltshire will transfer to Wiltshire Community Health Services with full protection of their pay and conditions.

Mrs Ferrari said the aim would be to recruit more therapists in time.


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Madhatter74, Wiltshire says...
5:40pm Mon 1 Feb 10

wow does that mean our 20 month thus far wait could soon be over!! My child will have started school by the time this is all sorted yet we joined the queue when he was about 2!!

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onthesofa, wilts says...
6:11pm Mon 1 Feb 10

Well when you overhear the way a few parents speak and see those awful dummies stuck in the mouths of these toddlers along with the fizzy drinks given to these young tots that then go on to get teeth rot, it is obvious to see a couple of issues that are to blame.

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Madhatter74, Wiltshire says...
6:49pm Mon 1 Feb 10

Personally speaking i have never used a dummy and my children do not have or indeed like fizzy drinks or sweets - i speak to my children in a "normal" way so not all children with speech or language problems are due to poor parenting. Many of the children i know in the S&LT queue have debilitating and complex language conditions completely out of the control of their parents. As a general rule we are all actively seeking treatments and assistance in order to allow our children to live a normal life without prejudice and people assuming they are simply thick or poorly brought up.

End of rant!

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onthesofa, wilts says...
6:17am Tue 2 Feb 10

All children have the right to get the treatment they need and the quicker they can start the better and i understand your point but as i said there may be a few cases like these where the problem may not of been helped by these few actions not all.

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gailsey, chippenham says...
7:44am Tue 2 Feb 10

in response to 'onthesofa'. Unfortunately, you don't seem to understand the entire role of a speech and language therapist and have shown your ignorance wonderfully. My son is profoundly deaf, and without the intervention of a speech and language programme would not be able to speak or formulate letters that he can't hear. They also help children with social and communication difficulties. Everyone is entitled to their opinion, but it should really be an informed one.

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blamethebiscuits, trowbridge says...
12:13pm Tue 2 Feb 10

They claim the new service will deliver speech therapy consistently across the county. Consistently thinly, I guess. Nowhere is it said there will be more resources. For some users it could mean less help, not more.

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