Mr Patsy McGlone (Mid Ulster): To ask the Minister of Health what actions he is taking to increase the provision of Speech and Language Therapy in each Health and Social Care Trust.
Minister of Health: I am conscious of the vitally important role that Speech and Language Therapists play across health and social care in the management of complex speech, language, communication and swallowing problems.
With demand for speech and language therapy services far exceeding capacity, increasing the provision of the service requires significant investment in the professional workforce. I remain committed to implementing the recommendations of the Speech and Language Therapy Workforce Review 2019 – 2029, which envisages increasing the number of undergraduate training places commissioned each year above the current funded levels by 12 to reach the recommendation of 40.
A budget for Northern Ireland Departments has not yet been set for 2024/25 and accordingly I am unable to make any commitment to expand commissioned places at this time. I will continue to make the case for this essential investment in our future workforce; however I expect that the 2024/25 budget will be extremely challenging.
ENDS
Your MLA 