Speech Therapy Emergency Procedure

---
name: speech-therapy-emergency-procedure
description: |
  Respond to emergencies in clinics, schools, hospital wards and homes calmly, in role and in the right order.
  TRIGGERS - Use when a speech and language therapist needs a emergency response procedure for children and adults with communication or swallowing difficulties in clinics, schools, hospital wards and homes.
category: Speech & Language Therapy
license: MIT
version: 1.0
---
# Emergency Response Procedure — Speech & Language Therapy

Respond to emergencies in clinics, schools, hospital wards and homes calmly, in role and in the right order. The deliverable is an emergency procedure card: recognition, first actions, escalation and recording.
This skill is written for a speech and language therapist working with children and adults with communication or swallowing difficulties in clinics, schools, hospital wards and homes.

## When to use
- You are a speech and language therapist preparing, delivering or reviewing this part of your work in clinics, schools, hospital wards and homes.
- You need a defensible, repeatable approach that produces an emergency procedure card: recognition, first actions, escalation and recording.
- A colleague, auditor or client asks how this was done and what evidence supports it.

## Key Concepts
| Term | Meaning |
|------|---------|
| Dysphagia | difficulty swallowing |
| AAC | augmentative and alternative communication methods and devices |
| Expressive language | using words and sentences to communicate |

## Workflow
1. **Step 1** - Recognise the emergency early: know the presentations that matter for children and adults with communication or swallowing difficulties, especially aspiration risk not identified
2. **Step 2** - Take the immediate actions a speech and language therapist is trained and authorised for, using assessment test kits as drilled
3. **Step 3** - Call for help with a structured message: location in clinics, schools, hospital wards and homes, situation, what has been done, what is needed
4. **Step 4** - Keep children and adults with communication or swallowing difficulties and bystanders informed and safe while help arrives; hand over with a concise summary
5. **Step 5** - Record the event fully in communication assessments afterwards, debrief the team, and update the procedure with lessons learned

## Profession-Specific Components
| Component | Details for Speech & Language Therapy |
|-----------|-------------------------------|
| Core documentation | communication assessments; swallowing assessments; therapy plans; progress reviews |
| Core tools & equipment | assessment test kits; communication aids; videofluoroscopy access; AAC devices |
| People involved | children and adults with communication or swallowing difficulties; the speech and language therapist; colleagues and other services in clinics, schools, hospital wards and homes |
| Primary record | communication assessments — keep it current, dated and attributable |

## Output Format
**Context:** [Situation in clinics, schools, hospital wards and homes] | **Objective:** [What this must achieve] | **Audience:** [children and adults with communication or swallowing difficulties and other stakeholders]

The finished output is an emergency procedure card: recognition, first actions, escalation and recording, structured as:
1. Summary of position and evidence
2. Detail, following the workflow above
3. Decisions, actions, owners and dates
4. Review point and escalation route

### Action Plan
1. **Immediate:** Confirm scope, consent and the evidence available in communication assessments.
2. **Short-term:** Complete the workflow steps and record outcomes against assessment waiting times.
3. **Medium-term:** Review results, close actions, and update local procedures in clinics, schools, hospital wards and homes.

## Success Metrics
| Metric | Target | Method |
|--------|--------|--------|
| assessment waiting times | Agree a local target and track the trend | Measured from communication assessments and reviewed on a set cycle |
| goal achievement rates | Agree a local target and track the trend | Measured from communication assessments and reviewed on a set cycle |
| swallowing safety outcomes | Agree a local target and track the trend | Measured from communication assessments and reviewed on a set cycle |
| review completion rates | Agree a local target and track the trend | Measured from communication assessments and reviewed on a set cycle |

## Guardrails & Quality Checks
- Never let this happen: aspiration risk not identified.
- Never let this happen: communication needs overlooked.
- Never let this happen: delayed referral.
- Work only within the competence and authority of a speech and language therapist; escalate or refer anything beyond it.
- Record facts and observations, not speculation, and keep records confidential to clinics, schools, hospital wards and homes's rules.
- Verify names, dates, figures and measurements twice before anything is issued or signed off.
- Use only real, verified information from the case in hand — never invent results, credentials or evidence.

## Example (illustrative)
A speech and language therapist in clinics, schools, hospital wards and homes applies this workflow for children and adults with communication or swallowing difficulties: they open
communication assessments, work through the five steps using assessment test kits, and close by recording
the outcome against assessment waiting times and agreeing the next review date. (Illustrative example only —
replace with the real details of the case in hand.)