- Target:
- Local Government
- Region:
- United Kingdom
Cleft Speech and Language Therapy in Edinburgh will no longer have trained staff from 28th October 2010. Leaving all children in Edinburgh, Fife, the Borders and Highlands who require the services of this vital department without the chance to receive the deserved care and treatment that may be required in order for them to lead a better quality of life.
Patients with clefts require regular specialized assessment and care from birth to adulthood, by multidisciplinary teams that include specialist speech and language therapist (SALTs), cleft clinical nurse specialists, audiologists, geneticists, psychologists, orthodontist, paediatric dentists, restorative dentists, paediatrician and plastic, maxillofacial and ENT surgeons.
Without the services of the SALTs many children will not be referred to any of the above services.
In contrast to Scotland, all aspects of care of patients with clefts are centrally funded in England and Wales. This has resulted in better resourced multidisciplinary cleft services in England and Wales. We are concerned that this postcode lottery, our children's health and well-being will be affected.
We the undersigned ask that the specialist services of the Cleft Palate Speech and Language Therapist in Edinburgh be continued after 28th October 2010 to allow children and adults in Scotland the same care to that of those in England and Wales.
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The Support Cleft Palette Speech Therapy in Scotland petition to Local Government was written by Jennifer Watson and is in the category Health at GoPetition.