Speech and Language Therapy teams
Inpatient team
The Inpatient team provide assessment, advice and support for children on the wards who have difficulties with eating, drinking and/or communication. They contribute towards multidisciplinary decision-making to optimise children’s feeding and communication. The caseload is diverse, with an age range between 0-18 years. Liaison with community speech and language therapy services is essential to ensure smooth transition and consistency of provision.
Contact
0121 333 9382
Cleft Lip and Palate team
The team work as an integral part of the multidisciplinary Regional West Midlands Cleft Lip and Palate Service. They assess and monitor the speech, language and communication development of all children within the West Midlands born with a cleft lip and/or cleft palate at nationally-agreed age points.
Management might include supporting children and families with decision-making regarding further surgery for speech; providing therapy for speech difficulties related to the cleft or training and advising speech and language therapy colleagues in the community to provide intervention. Members of the team also work alongside the cleft nurse specialists with some patients who have eating and drinking difficulties, to provide additional advice and support if needed.
Children are seen from birth to 16 years of age and the team also provide a speech and language therapy service for adults with a cleft lip and/or palate at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital, Birmingham.
Contact
0121 333 9382
Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS) team
Three speech and language therapists work across three psychiatric inpatient units to support the communication needs of young people admitted with severe mental illness. The majority of patients have complex needs often liked to underlying forms of autism, usually undiagnosed prior to admission. Most patients are able but their communication difficulties have made them vulnerable to the development of mental illnesses. The specialist speech and language therapist works with them to help them and their families understand their Autism and enable them to support their recovery using ASD-friendly means.
Contact
0121 333 9955 ext 6930/6931
Craniofacial team
The Craniofacial team at our Children’s Hospital is one of four specialist centres in the UK. The speech and language therapists are present at the multidisciplinary craniofacial clinics to give informal opinions about children’s communication development/feeding skills. They also see children for more formal assessments according to nationally agreed protocols. The team work with community speech and language therapists to ensure patients are followed up locally where necessary. They also provide a service for adult patients with a craniofacial condition at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital, Birmingham.
Contact
0121 333 9382
The Voice Team
The Voice Team provides compassionate care, expert assessment, therapy, and support for children facing challenges with their voice (dysphonia). Our dedicated team of speech and language therapists contribute towards ENT-led multidisciplinary voice clinic where thorough assessment including nasendoscopy is provided. Management discussions with children and their families inform patient-centred decision-making to ultimately improve children’s voices. Outpatient care is available through 1:1 and group therapy sessions, both in-person and online. There is a suite of online resources in development to support patient care and motivation outside of therapy sessions, and our dedicated therapists are also available to advise other professionals in supporting children.
The team is committed to helping children from 4 to 16 years of age achieve the best voice outcomes, to support them to communicate effectively and confidently across all contexts. With a personalised approach tailored to each individual's needs, our speech and language therapists work closely with patients, their families and other professionals to educate and encourage behaviour change, empowering the child to improve their voice and thrive.
Contact
0121 333 9382 or email bwc.bchvoiceslt@nhs.net