Who we are
Name:
Beatrice Wood
Craig Cameron
Catriona Mackay
Job Title:
Lead Speech and Language Therapist
Adult Specialist Speech and Language Therapist
Paediatric Speech and Language Therapist
Department: Caithness and Sutherland Speech & Language Therapy
1. Who am I?
The team is comprised of 7 speech and language therapists and 5 speech and
language therapy support workers. We are one team based in 4 locations across
Caithness and Sutherland
2. What do I do? Describe your role?
Members of the team cover different parts of Caithness and Sutherland and have
different specialist skills. Some of us only work with adults, some only work with
children and some work with both.
We assess communication and swallowing difficulties and design and deliver therapy
when appropriate.
We work directly with individuals and with others involved in their care (this could be
parents, teachers, family, other NHS staff, voluntary workers) and tend to do most of
our work in hospitals, nurseries and schools and health centres although we
sometimes work in people’s homes
3. Why is this role important?
2.5 million people in the UK have speech, language or communication needs (SLCN)
5% of children enter school with difficulties in speech and language
Compared to the general public, people with SLCN are more likely to be to be
misjudged in terms of cognitive and educational level and mental health status.
They are more likely to be unemployed or employed at an inappropriately low level;
and to experience negative social interactions e.g. within education, healthcare, the
criminal justice system and in everyday life.
We work with a huge variety of people – from young children who have difficulty
communicating to people recovering from stroke and other brain injuries to reduce
the impact of these often isolating difficulties on people’s wellbeing and their ability to
participate in daily life
We also work with others including parents, carers and other professionals perhaps
providing training to make our therapy and support more effective, and to improve the
recovery or independence of our clients.
The work is very varied and tailored to individual need
4. Most challenging part of my job?
Managing competing demands on my time to ensure that service users get the best
possible service.
5. Most interesting part of my job?
The variety!
6. What qualifications do I need?
To practice as a speech and language therapist, you must be registered with the
Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC).
In order to register with the HCPC, you must successfully complete an HCPCapproved programme in speech and language therapy which is offered by a number
of universities.
These are offered at undergraduate degree (full-time and part-time) and at
postgraduate degree/diploma level.
SLT Support Workers currently require no formal qualifications and are provided with
training locally (there is an HNC available for support workers).
7. Who do I get in touch with if I want to find out more?
Beatrice Wood, Speech and Language Therapist 01408 664071
or
Speech and Language Therapy Department Raigmore Hospital
01463 705424
or
Royal College of Speech and Language Therapy http://www.rcslt.org/