Speech Pathology

Services We Offer

The Speech Pathology Department at SCGH provides assessment and management of communication and swallowing disorders for adults.

Speech Pathology Australia

Inpatients

Services are provided to all inpatient areas. General service hours are Monday to Friday from 9am – 5pm. In-patients are seen for assessment and management of swallowing, following referral from the medical team. The medical team, nursing staff and allied health staff are able to make referrals for assessment and management of speech, language and voice disorders.

Outpatients

Outpatient services are available Monday to Friday. Hours of attendance will vary depending on the clinic. Outpatient referrals are accepted for current public patients:

Via a medical doctor in a SCGH based clinic,
From the Emergency Department, or
At discharge from inpatient services.

A domiciliary home visiting service is available, for eligible patients, through the Homelink Program.

Department Contact Details

The department is open Monday to Friday from 8.00am to 5.00pm, excluding public holidays.

Head of Department

Kim Brookes
kim.brookes@health.wa.gov.au

Secretary

Angie Cockram

Phone: 61 8 9346 2044
Fax: 61 8 9346 4103

Physical Location

The Speech Pathology Department is located on the third floor of A block (western end).

About Us

The speech pathologist works as part of a multidisciplinary team and is responsible for the assessment and management of clients with communication and/or swallowing difficulties. The range of communication and swallowing disorders seen at Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital include those that are mainly the result of stroke, degenerative disorders, head and neck surgery, dementia, debility, head injury, neurosurgery and respiratory disorders.

Staff

The Department consists of 4.9 permanent full time equivalent Speech Pathology positions and a full time secretary. The positions include a Head of Department, Senior Dysphagia Specialist, Senior Language Specialist, Senior Neuroscience Specialist, Senior ENT Specialist and several base grade speech pathologists. Attached to this department is a Senior Fluency Specialist who works for the Australian Stuttering Research Centre and a post-graduate speech pathologist completing PhD research.

Education and Research Activities

The department is involved in a number of research projects and works closely with various Research Institutions and Tertiary institutions.

Research Projects

Videofluoroscopy project
This project looks at inter and intra-rater reliability of videofluoroscopy. It also looks at how efficiently speech pathologists rate findings from the examination.
Fluency project (in partnership with the Australian Stuttering Research Centre): Self-modelling for Adults
This project is investigating a completely different approach to addressing the problems adults have maintaining the benefits of therapy in the long term. This trial is designed for adults who have previously had therapy with prolonged or smooth speech and now continue to have problems controlling stuttering. A video will be made of volunteers speaking fluently and they will be asked to watch it every day for 30 days and to talk as they do on the video.
Pneumonia in Acute Stroke project
This project is a multi-centre research study investigating factors explaining why patients develop pneumonia in acute stroke.
Oral hygiene in acute stroke project
This project investigates oral status in acute stroke and the link between oral care in patients after stroke and the development of complications including pneumonia".

Education

Undergraduate

A significant commitment is made to the clinical education of students completing the Human Communication Science degree course at Curtin University of Technology.

Postgraduate

Community clinicians are provided with second opinion advice and can receive training in specialist clinical skills. Speech Pathologists planning to re-enter the profession may obtain practical clinical experience at S.C.G.H. Speech pathology staff at S.C.G.H. maintain clinical competence via participation in Continuing Professional Development, Quality Improvement activities, departmental education sessions and hospital forums. Staff are bound by Speech Pathology Australia standards of clinical competence and Code of Ethics.

Work Experience

Both school age and mature age work experience is coordinated at SCGH. School age students need to live or go to school in the central Perth area to apply to SCGH. A full week of work experience may be organised at a variety of child and adult clinics.

Patients & Carers'

A variety of educational material is available for patients of the department.

An education booklet for carers of people who have Aphasia - a communication problem of language, has been produced and printed.

Brochure Order Form

Employment

All speech pathologists must hold a professional qualification, which entitles them to be eligible for practising membership of the professional association, Speech Pathology Australia. Senior speech pathologists are required to be in possession of or working towards a postgraduate qualification or have substantial continuing education, independent study or clinical experience in a specialty area.

Locums

Short term locum contracts are intermittently available and interested clinicians should contact the Head of Department.