Hot Seat Huw IrrancaDavies
HAVE you ever stopped to appreciate the simple act of sharing a meal or drink with loved ones?
It’s something most of us do without a second thought. But for many people, this everyday experience becomes a challenge.
The annual ‘Swallow Awareness Day’ held in March reminds us that eating, drinking and swallowing difficulties are common, and they often occur with other health conditions such as following a stroke, or a diagnosis of Parkinson’s or dementia. Swallowing difficulties, or dysphagia to use the medical term, can affect people at every age and stage of life.
Some of the signs and symptoms of eating, drinking and swallowing difficulties are: food getting stuck in the throat, difficulty chewing or controlling food or fluids in the mouth, recurrent chest infections or pneumonia, food or drink coming out of the nose when swallowing and anxiety when eating, drinking or swallowing.
Dysphagia can have potentially life-threatening consequences. It can result in choking, pneumonia, chest infections, dehydration and malnutrition, resulting in avoidable hospital admission and in some cases, sadly, death.
Speech and language therapists have a unique role to play in the assessment, diagnosis and management of swallowing difficulties. I recently visited speech and language therapists at the Princess of Wales Hospital in Bridgend to learn more about their work in this area and was struck by their expertise and compassion. They explained the far-reaching breadth of their work from speech and language therapy to mental health work, working with patients whose swallowing is affected and much more.
I was also pleased to attend a “Swallowing Cafe” at the Senedd which was hosted by the Royal College of Speech and Language Therapists Wales in conjunction with the Senedd catering team, where we learned first-hand the impact of eating, drinking and swallowing difficulties and the vital role of the therapists in supporting people to live well.
There’s much more to be done to support and protect these essential support services so they can continue reaching people who need their help.