A profile of aphasia services in three health districts

Abstract

The study examines language rehabilitation provisions for aphasic people and their families in three health districts, as perceived by speech and language therapists. The study is exploratory. Semi-structured interviews were carried out with each District Speech Therapist and with speech and language therapists whose caseloads regularly included aphasic people, and documentary evidence was used where available. Comparison is made of: speech and language therapy expenditure and staffing in the three districts (West Suffolk, West Essex and Newcastle-upon-Tyne); aphasia therapy staffing; caseloads of aphasic people; patterns of treatment (inpatient/outpatient/community; individual/group) and reasons for these; provision for relatives; relationships between speech and language therapy and other services; volunteer involvement; and speech and language therapists' work situations (support from colleagues, post-qualification training, secretarial support and accommodation). Differences are found in levels of provision, with Newcastle having considerably more resources devoted to aphasia services than the other two districts, and modes of service delivery. Some shared concerns are identified (e.g. relationships with other professions, accommodation and transport). Implications of the findings are discussed and areas for further research identified.