Patients in the North East of England are benefiting from improved health outcomes and reduced waiting times thanks to a specialist service revamp.
The news comes from Northumbria Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust’s respiratory speech and language therapy service. The service is just one of very few in the UK, and even globally.
The service delivers support to patients with upper airway disorders and has been through a series of changes that have improved the overall patient experience.
The overhaul includes the introduction of online records, telephone triages, new patient signposting, a website, and a greater volume of nasendoscopy assessments.
Nasendoscopy assessments are when clinicians insert a flexible tube with a camera to better explore a patient’s nose, throat or voice box for any sign of what is causing an illness.
Such assessments are being offered earlier in the treatment pathway now, and in more rural areas, which has enabled the local health service to deliver more appointments closer to patients’ homes.
“This is a multidisciplinary service where speech and language therapists work with respiratory doctors and physios to really understand what patients are experiencing, and get an accurate diagnosis and treatment plan,” explained Jen Butler, the woman behind the changes.
Butler, who is the clinical lead for the service, continued: “Respiratory nurses, pharmacists, lung physiologists and clinical psychologists also provide invaluable support.”
The trust hopes that the respiratory speech and language therapy service can continue to improve in the future, as the Northumbria Healthcare team collaborate with other regional providers to help them set up similar services.
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