ABSTRACT
Background: The Community Liaison Speech and Language Therapy (CL SLT) service was established in July 2010. The aim of this new model of care was to provide a fast track home visit service to older persons with communication and swallowing difficulties living in one of the 27 nursing homes in the region. The service facilitates a safer discharge from hospital and admission avoidance with aspiration pneumonia due to rapid SLT follow up in the nursing home. Methods: This is a retrospective analysis of the CL SLT service over the last ten years. Activity data, key performance indicators (KPIs) and staff and service user feedback were reviewed both quantitatively and qualitatively. How the service operated during the COVID-19 pandemic was also examined to explore if new creative ways of working emerged. Results: Analysis of the data showed a total of 5,699 SLT visits over the ten year period. Review of the KPIs showed that priority 1 referrals were seen within the ten working day target which meant that in some incidences residences were not kept on overly modified diets unnecessarily and in other cases the Speech and Language Therapist could respond rapidly to support decision making around quality of life feeding. User feedback showed high satisfaction with the service. Virtual clinics provided an adjunct to the service during COVID-19 and of note, face to face service was only stopped for two 6 week periods in the first and third waves of the pandemic. Conclusion: The CL SLTmodel provides a quality, person centred service for older persons living in a nursing home. The care pathways from the acute hospital have allowed for admission avoidance with effective SLT management decisions, including around end of life feeding being made in the nursing home so that residences receive the right service in the right place and time.