Patients in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU)

The ICU unit cares for general medical, general surgical and neurosurgical patient groups.

What do we do?

Speech & Language Therapists offer a specialised service for all patients who have acquired a communication or swallowing difficulty. We aim to offer a quality, holistic and evidence based service to optimise each individual patient's ability to communicate, while in the ICU. We also provide a swallow screening service for patients who are at risk of dysphagia after breathing tube removal (post extubation).

SLT are part of a multidisciplinary team and participate in our local tracheostomy team. This service provides a forum for discussing the tracheostomy needs of patients both in the Intensive Care Unit and general wards. We are also part of a weekly multidisciplinary ward round whereby the rehabilitation needs and goals are discussed to enable patients to commence their rehabilitation journey while still in the ICU.