The ASLTIP national conference took place remotely on May 20th. The theme of the event was ‘Adapt for Success’. Introduced by Kamini Gadhok (CEO of the Royal College of Speech & Language Therapists – RCSLT) Jo and Diana were invited to talk about heir journey from management roles in the NHS to independent practitioners and business women. The presentation was called…
In their own words
‘In the middle of difficulty often lies opportunity’
Our story is in 4 parts:
From the beginning: which touched on our reasons for leaving the NHS, those early days of trying to convince schools and settings of the value of speech and language therapy (SLT) and the kinds of models of service delivery 10 years ago.
Catalysts for change: the major events (2 huge budget cuts and then the pandemic) which meant that what we had always done would need to change if we were to survive.
The landscape today: how very different things are. Money is very tight. Schools are struggling to cope with the unprecedented demand as more and more children are falling behind (click here to read more – Covid – don’t take your eye off the ball!). They no longer need convincing that SLT is a good idea! Against a backdrop of increasing demand there are capacity issues in SLT services everywhere.
Looking to the future: the last part of the presentation looked at ways independent practitioners might take active steps to work more collaboratively – both with each other and with therapists in NHS services. Resources are so stretched and the need so great that everyone has a responsibility to do the best they can for children, families and our colleagues in Education – to avoid duplication and make scarce resources go as far as they possibly can.
Jo and Diana were invited to join the discussion panel answering practical questions and ‘chewing over’ the ups and downs of running an independent SaLT service.
The event was enjoyable, educational and a pleasure to be involved with.
Written by: Diana McQueen
