RCSLT responds to NHS England’s updated post-COVID guidance

This follows the publication of NHS England’s national commissioning guidance for post-COVID services and the NHS plan for improving long COVID services. Without increased access to speech and language therapy, the vision to increase access to diagnosis and treatment, will not be realised.

Specialist clinics dedicated to people with post-COVID syndrome, backed by £90 million of funding, aim to improve access to services for people with ongoing symptoms from COVID-19. This is the conclusion from guidance published by NHS England.

However, we have some way to go to ensure that any person with post-COVID syndrome and speech and language therapy needs can access the vital rehabilitation they need.

Of the 90 specialist post-COVID clinics and 14 hubs for children and young people, variation exists in access to speech and language therapy. It is critical that these specialist post-COVID clinics are staffed by the entire breadth of the multidisciplinary team (MDT), including speech and language therapy.

Unidentified and unmet speech and language therapy needs can lead to poorer outcomes. It also has an impact on someone’s mental health and wellbeing, participation in work or education, and the ability to engage with family and friends.

The RCSLT has been calling for investment (PDF) in post-COVID syndrome treatment, rehabilitation and research for some time.

The RCSLT are, therefore, delighted to see that in response to a parliamentary question, the UK government has put on the record that: “Speech and language therapists are recognised as integral to the multi-disciplinary workforce delivering care and support to people with post-COVID-19 syndrome.”

Whilst NHS England’s national commissioning guidance for post-COVID services highlights pathways from post-COVID services to speech and language therapy, it fails to recognise the integral role of speech and language therapy.

People with post-COVID syndrome should not struggle to access the vital speech and language therapy they need. Speech and language therapists should be embedded in all post-COVID services so community health teams do not have to absorb this extra demand, at a time when thousands of people are already on waiting lists for speech and language therapy.

The RCSLT is calling for urgent action, recommending that:

National and local policy makers should:

• Recognise the significant impact of speech and language therapy needs of individuals with post-COVID syndrome
• Acknowledge speech and language therapists as integral to post-COVID syndrome core MDT services

Service commissioners should provide better support to individuals with post-COVID syndrome by:

• Ensuring that all post-COVID services include the full breadth of the MDT to provide the best care and support for individuals with post-COVID syndrome
• Fund dedicated SLT roles as part of the core post-COVID team to meet individuals’ needs
• Ensure that early identification and support for speech and language therapy needs is integral to COVID-19 planning