Dysphagia Support

Full assessment and management of swallowing and feeding disorders (dysphagia)

We are all familiar with the effect of muscle degeneration on tasks such as walking and dressing; this degeneration also affects swallow safety, to the extent where a person’s health and well-being can be compromised. Typical signs of difficulty swallowing (dysphagia) include;

• Coughing when eating or drinking
• A feeling of food getting stuck
• Sneezing or eye watering
• Wet or gurgly voice
• Recurrent chest infections

Clear links exist between aspiration (food and drink “going down the wrong way”) and medical sequelae such as dehydration, malnutrition, respiratory tract infections, pneumonia, and hastened death. At The Speech Centre our goal is clear; to help our clients sustain safe oral nutrition to the maximum of their ability, through diet modification, compensatory strategies, postural changes and rehabilitation exercises.

The Speech Centre offers home and nursing home visits for dysphagia support and assessment.

We provide all equipment for swallow assessments, whether in a hospital, nursing home or residential environment, with detailed recommendations made to care staff following assessment.

We are also proud to offer accredited dysphagia training to nursing and care staff via www.dysphagiacaretraining.com, where you can access practical online dysphagia care training for nurses, HSCPs, HCAs, home carers and AHPs, including full explanation and demonstration of the IDDSI Framework.

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