Speech
and Language Therapy
Hillingdon
Hospital: Speech and Language Therapy Department
Telephone number: 01895 279747
For the Voice Specialist, telephone: 01895 279154
The Speech & Language Therapy Department (SaLT) based at the Hillingdon
Hospital provides a service for adults of all ages with communication,
cognitive, voice, or swallowing difficulties due to stroke, brain injury,
progressive neurological diseases and other medical conditions. The SaLT
team, experienced in all aspects of assessment and treatment, work with
the multidisciplinary
team to achieve the best possible outcome for each patient. Patients with swallowing problems needing a referral from a medic, consultant
or GP, whereas patients with communication and cognition difficulties
can self refer by telephoning the department directly
If you or someone you know has any speech or language difficulties, or if
you have questions, please contact us. See also: How
can you access SaLT services?
Speech & Language disorders:
- Speech may be slurred due
to difficulty producing sounds clearly in words because the tongue or other
facial muscles are slow-moving and discoordinated.
- Voice disorders may be
caused by a variety of health problems (e.g. asthma, stroke, road traffic
accidents, cancer, and degenerative disorders) and vocal strain that may
impact vocal cord closure, affect the pitch, volume, or quality of voice
and distracts listeners from what is being said. Voice disorders may also
cause pain or discomfort for the person speaking. A service is also provided
to those undergoing gender reassignment.
- Language disorders may
be receptive or expressive in nature, or both. Receptive language disorders
refer to difficulties understanding language, whether spoken or written.
Expressive language disorders include difficulty putting words together,
difficulty accessing vocabulary, or difficulty formulating sentences to
convey ideas such as wants, needs, choices, or opinions.
- Cognitive problems include
difficulty with attention, memory, organisation, problem solving, reasoning,
judgement, and the ability to integrate all of these skills to function
independently and safely in every day life.
- Swallowing disorders may
result from brain injury, stroke, dementia or other medical conditions and
involve difficulty in holding food in the mouth, chewing or swallowing.
Chest infection, malnutrition or dehydration can occur if these problems
are not addressed.
How can you access SALT
services?
- Patients with swallowing problems require a written referral from the
Consultant or medic.
- Patients with communication and cognitive (higher level thinking) difficulties
may refer themselves, or be referred by any family member or the multidisciplinary
team by telephoning the department directly.
- Patients with voice problems may refer themselves. It is likely they will
also require Ear, Nose, & Throat (ENT) opinion.
