Which elderly admissions are referred for speech therapy? An audit and an intervention

Referrals for speech therapy were monitored in 1781 patients aged over 65 years admitted to medical and geriatric wards during a 10.5 month period, before and after the introduction of an assessment programme. Low referral rates of admissions before (4.1 %) and after (4.7%) the programme, compared to 15.8% during the programme, suggest that ward staff may not perceive disorders of communication and swallowing without regular contact with a speech therapist.

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