Service improvement
We continually review and try to improve our services. We do this through specific projects, feedback from and collaboration with people using our services, collaboration with local NHS services and ongoing, regular discussions about equity, diversity and belonging. Some of the recent developments are:
Development of an accessible report template
The aim of this project was to develop templates that could be used by our staff and students that supported them to write reports that were easy to access by everyone using our service, including children and adults with language difficulties.
Who was involved?
- People who had accessed our clinic either for support themselves or for a family member
- University of Reading Speech and language therapy and psychology placement students
- Speech and Language Therapists (SLT) working in the clinic
What we did:
- Review of current report writing practices
- Review of the guidelines for writing accessible reports in healthcare and specifically for SLTs
- Feedback from people who had received reports from our clinic
- Creation of a prototype report
- Workshop with service users, students and SLTs
- Creation of templates with specific guidance
Outcome:
The new templates are now being used across the clinic. Students are benefitting from specific guidance to ensure their reports contain what people coming to the clinic want. There is greater consistency of report writing across service.
What people say about the new reports:
‘Thank you for such a thorough report and also the child friendly one which L absolutely loved. So thoughtful.’
‘I have just shared the child friendly report with K. He was so happy to sit and listen and was beaming with pride as I read it to him. Thank you very much for taking the time to put this together as well as the initial report.’
Development of guidelines for working with people who speak more than one language
This project was run by two final year SLT students, under the supervision of SLTs as part of a student placement. The aim of the project was to produce a set of guidelines and resources to support staff and students to work effectively with families who speak more than one language.
Who was involved?
- People who had accessed our clinic either for support themselves or for a family member
- University of Reading Speech and language therapy students
- Speech and Language Therapists (SLT) working in the clinic
What we did:
- Review of the people coming to the clinic to determine how many spoke more than one language and what languages they spoke
- Review of professional guidelines and best practice documents
- Interviews with people who had accessed the service and speak more than one language
- Feedback from SLTs who work in the clinic
- Feedback from other members of university staff with relevant expertise, such as those working in the Centre for Multilingualism (CELM)
Outcome:
- During the project some immediate changes were made to processes to ensure the relevant information is gathered to inform decision making
- Guidelines are now in place to ensure consistent decision making for families who speak more than one language
- Resources such as checklists ensure steps are followed
