Speech and Language Therapists Experiences of Delivering Interventions Across Disability Services in Ireland: The Move to Child Disability Network Teams (CDNTs)

Background Speech and language therapy services for children with disabilities in Ireland have undergone a significant change in the recent past. There are many reports of parent views about access to interventions, but to date the perspectives of SLTs on their role has not been established. Objective This study aimed to gather the experiences of SLTs working in CDNTs regarding their ability to deliver interventions. Method We circulated an online survey to Irish clinicians and invited them to attend online focus groups or interviews to discuss their perspectives and experiences in delivering services and interventions within reconfigured services. The results were analysed quantitatively using descriptive statistics and qualitatively via thematic analysis. Results Twenty eight SLTs completed the full survey and five people took part in the focus groups/ interviews. The clinicians reported to be spending just a quarter of their time providing interventions, and most were not satisfied with their intervention provision. They discussed the challenging working environment, including large and varied caseloads, unclear policies, and a lack of clinical supervision which were impacting on their ability to provide a range of interventions, their relationships with parents and colleagues, and overall job satisfaction. Conclusions The study paints a picture of a very challenging work environment for SLTs in CDNTs. There remain significant challenges for how services are configured and delivered to retain staff and best serve families of children with disabilities. These need to be considered by those responsible for planning and organising disability services as a matter of urgency.