To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the Royal College of Speech and Language Therapists report, The Sustained Impact of COVID-19 on Speech and Language Therapy Services in the UK, published in January 2022, what assessment he has made of the implications for his policies of that reports finding that demand for speech and language therapy services had increased since the start of the covid-19 outbreak.
Answered on
11 July 2022
While no formal assessment has been made, NHS England has noted the Royal College’s findings.
From October 2020 to March 2023, NHS England invested £224 million to develop and deliver services for people experiencing post-COVID-19 syndrome. National commissioning guidance for post-COVID-19 services recommends that services should offer an integrated multidisciplinary service from holistic assessments to onward referral to rehabilitation services, including speech and language therapy. Speech and language therapists are recognised as integral to the multi-disciplinary workforce delivering care and support to people with post-COVID-19 syndrome.