Speech therapy: Covid had ‘devastating’ effect on children

The first lockdown was “devastating” for some children who needed speech therapy in North Wales, according to a new report.

An investigation by the North Wales Community Health Council (NWCHC) found that some children’s progress was being lost in their speech.

The therapy sessions for children were almost completely stopped in March 2020 and only resumed in September 2020.

Betsi Cadwaladr’s health board, who runs the NHS in North Wales, has apologized for the disruption.

It said staff were working hard to help anyone who missed out.

The report found that some youth had exited the system entirely and were only able to resume sessions later than September 2020, when their parents raised concerns with the health authority.

Speech therapy and speech therapy sessions are offered to children and adults to help them communicate.

Therapists also work with people with learning disabilities and adults who have had a stroke, and help people who have trouble eating and swallowing.

Ed, six, from St Asaph in Denbighshire, said: ‘Speech and language therapy is when people help you make sounds like ‘th’ and ‘n’.

“I need help making the ‘s’ sound because when I do it it doesn’t come out right.”

Ed’s mother Karen said: “When the pandemic started there was no contact at all.

“Lockdown has been difficult for all of us but something could have been offered at this early stage.

“I’m hopeful the problem can be fixed, but what happens as he gets older is other kids have started commenting.”

Karen was concerned that her son’s confidence might be affected.

She said: “That was something we wanted to avoid by intervening early, but now it’s a matter of wait and see.

“He’s now scheduled to start speech therapy and speech therapy sessions again in April, but I’ve had to push hard to get them.”

Many parents told the Health Council they understood the March 2020 lockdown was difficult for everyone.

But they also said more could be done to keep in touch with children via videoconferencing.

NWCHC chief Geoff Ryall-Harvey said many parents felt their children were losing services at a crucial time and this was compounded by not seeing other children.

“Some parents felt that their children had lost all the progress they had made over the past few months and that the impact on their child’s development was devastating,” he said.

“Parents acknowledged that the pandemic has presented everyone with extreme challenges and that it has been necessary to redeploy staff to deal with vaccinations and the care of sick patients in hospital.

“However, they also felt that more could be done to maintain contact with children using the service, albeit on a limited basis, using video conferencing and digital technology.”

Gareth Evans, acting executive director for therapies and health sciences at the Betsi Cadwaladr Health Board, said: “We acknowledge the disruption and apologize for the disruption inflicted on our patients during Covid-19.

“To ensure the safety of patients and staff, we have followed the Welsh Government’s guidance to suspend planned supplies at critical peak times during the pandemic.

“A third of our speech and language therapy staff were redeployed during the first wave of the pandemic to support essential services such as Covid ward staffing.”

Once the “participate anywhere” technology was available, Mr Evans said essential outpatient language services, either in person or virtually, have resumed.

“We have established the highest level of virtual patient activity in the health department, and pediatric patient helplines have also been established to provide families with a direct connection to professionals,” he added.

Mr Evans said a Covid recovery plan was being implemented that included expanded and flexible clinics, more distant appointments and prioritizing patients affected by the pandemic.

He added that speech and language therapy was recognized as a shortage profession in the UK and they were redoubling efforts to hire new staff, including Welsh-speaking therapists.

“We’re also working hard to retain our valued employees with flexible working arrangements to support work-life balance and the adoption of wellbeing champions,” he said.

The Royal College of Speech and Language Therapists (RCSLT) said the pandemic has created other problems for children who missed out on daily interactions with others during the initial lockdowns.

RCSLT Wales’ Philippa Cotterill said: “For a while children were really disrupted in all the activities they do – going to school, seeing extended family, going to different places and doing different activities.

“These are all things that are vital to children’s development, and children who are struggling may be more complicated than before.”