Speech Therapy Safety Protocol

---
name: speech-therapy-safety-protocol
description: |
  Work safely in clinics, schools, hospital wards and homes: a practical safety protocol for a speech and language therapist and children and adults with communication or swallowing difficulties.
  TRIGGERS - Use when a speech and language therapist needs a safety protocol 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
---
# Safety Protocol — Speech & Language Therapy

Work safely in clinics, schools, hospital wards and homes: a practical safety protocol for a speech and language therapist and children and adults with communication or swallowing difficulties. The deliverable is a written safety protocol with checks, responsibilities and emergency actions.
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 a written safety protocol with checks, responsibilities and emergency actions.
- 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** - Identify the hazards present in clinics, schools, hospital wards and homes for staff, children and adults with communication or swallowing difficulties and visitors, starting with aspiration risk not identified
2. **Step 2** - Write controls in order: eliminate, substitute, engineer, administrate, then protective equipment such as assessment test kits
3. **Step 3** - Set pre-start checks and stop-work authority — anyone can halt work that looks unsafe, without penalty
4. **Step 4** - Define what happens when something goes wrong: first response, escalation, recording in communication assessments
5. **Step 5** - Review the protocol after every incident and at least annually; brief and re-brief everyone it covers

## 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 a written safety protocol with checks, responsibilities and emergency actions, 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.)