What to expect
When we receive your referral, we will triage the referral and decide the most appropriate pathway for your care.
Based on the referral information, you may be offered one of the following:
- A priority telephone assessment (within 10 working days of referral)
- A routine telephone assessment (within 8 weeks of referral)
- A face to face appointment in a clinic (within 8 weeks of referral)
Priority Telephone Assessment Appointments
If you live in your own home, we will get in touch with you by text message or phone call to arrange an appointment for you.
Care home residents will be added to a waiting list, and we will contact care home staff for the assessment.
Routine Telephone Assessment Appointments
If you live in your own home, we will send you a letter offering an appointment for a telephone assessment. For swallowing referrals, we may ask you to complete coughing charts whilst you await your appointment and these will be discussed with you at the telephone assessment.
Care home residents will be added to a waiting list, and we will contact care home staff for the assessment.
At the telephone assessment we will gain more information about your swallowing and / or communication difficulties and decide the priority of your referral.
After your telephone assessment
Following your telephone assessment, you may be:
- Offered a face to face appointment
- Added to a waiting list for a face to face appointment
- Given some advice, and we may agree to monitor your progress
- Discharged from our team if a face to face appointment is not needed. We may transfer your referral to Advice on Request which enables you to contact us directly if you need further support within the next six months.
Face to Face Assessment Appointments
You may be offered a face to face appointment following your telephone assessment, or you may have been sent a letter asking you to contact us to arrange an appointment.
This will be with a speech & language therapist who is trained to assess your swallowing or communication difficulties. It will take up to one hour and include a detailed assessment of your swallowing or communication difficulties, which will help us create a plan.
If you are housebound, we will arrange to see you at home.
If you are not housebound, you will be offered an appointment at one of our clinics. We run clinics in:
- Beverley Health Centre
- Bilton Grange Health Centre (Diadem)
- Bridlington Hospital
- Goole Health Centre
- Hessle Health Centre
- The Orchard Centre
We may offer you a home visit instead of a clinic appointment if you were referred for a swallowing assessment and a meal observation is needed.
