For Patients and Visitors
What is the Service?
Speech Pathologists at Northern Health work as important members of the health team in acute care, rehabilitation, aged care, community and paediatric services. Speech Pathologists work with people who have difficulty communicating or experience difficulties swallowing food and drink safely. These difficulties can be due to different causes, including developmental delays, learning disability, intellectual disability, stroke, brain injuries, progressive neurological diseases and dementia.
What can I expect from the service?
Speech Pathology provide a variety of inpatient and outpatient services across Northern Health sites. These include (but are not limited to):
- Working with children:
- Helping babies and children with feeding difficulties (e.g. problems with swallowing, fussy eating)
- Assessing and providing therapy to children with delays in language, speech, play, and cognition.
- Educating and involving family/caregivers to facilitate the development and learning of children.
- Speech Pathologists working with children are based at The Northern Hospital and Craigieburn Centre.
- Working in Acute Care, Rehabilitation and Community:
- Assessing and providing therapy for disorders of swallowing, communication and/or cognition.
- Assisting in the provision of a diagnosis for those with cognitive impairment indicative of dementia, therapy and family assistance for those diagnosed with dementia.
- Performing instrumental swallow assessments to guide swallowing management, including Videofluoroscopic Swallowing Studies (VFSS) and Fibreoptic Endoscopic Evaluation of Swallowing (FEES).
- These services are based at The Northern Hospital, Bundoora Centre, Broadmeadows Hospital and Craigieburn Centre.
Enquiries:
Allied Health General Enquiries: alliedhealthenquiries@nh.org.au
Contact us:
Speech Pathology Departments:
- Northern Hospital Epping – 8405 8599
- Bundoora Centre – 9495 3162
- Broadmeadows Hospital – 8345 5256
- Craigieburn Centre – 8338 3000
For Health Professionals
Service Overview
Speech Pathologists at Northern Health work as important members of the health team in acute care, rehabilitation, aged care, community and paediatric services
- The Speech Pathology team provide assessment and intervention for:
- Swallowing difficulties when eating and drinking
- Difficulties managing saliva or oral care
- Language changes, including word finding difficulties and understanding others
- Speech and voice difficulties
- Cognitive-communication difficulties, including changes in memory and attention
- Specialised Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC) service, including using technologies such as iPads and eye gaze devices
- Strategies and education for clients, their family and carers
- Comprehensive reports on swallowing and communication needs
- Performing instrumental swallow assessments to guide swallowing management, including Videofluoroscopic Swallowing Studies (VFSS) and Fibreoptic Endoscopic Evaluation of Swallowing (FEES).
The paediatric Speech Pathologists provide inpatient and outpatient services including:
- Helping babies and children with feeding difficulties (e.g. problems with swallowing, fussy eating)
- Assessing and providing therapy to children with delays in language, speech, play, and cognition.
- Educating and involving family/caregivers to facilitate the development and learning of children.
- Speech Pathologists working with children are based at The Northern Hospital and Craigieburn Centre.
Speech pathologists provide services to patients in the locations listed below:
Northern Hospital Epping (NHE)
Speech Pathologists provide a 7-day service for adults admitted to all inpatient wards, including:
- Stroke and Neurology
- Intensive Care, including tracheostomy care
- Respiratory
- Emergency
- Oncology and Haematology
- Aged Care and General Medicine
- Palliative care
- Adult Mental Health Inpatient Units
- Outpatient Dysphagia Clinic
The paediatric speech pathologists provide inpatient and outpatient services at NH-E, including:
- Special Care Nursery (SCN/NNU)
- Children’s unit
- Speech Pathology and Dietetics Feeding Clinic
Craigieburn Centre (CC)
CC Speech Pathologists service the following areas:
- Paediatrics (0-6 years):
- Paediatric feeding outpatient clinic (Speech Pathology and Dietetics Feeding Clinic)
- Speech and language outpatient clinic
- For more information about paediatric allied health services at Northern Health see here: https://www.nh.org.au/service/paediatric-allied-health-outpatients/
- Adults
- Adult Community Therapy Service (CTS)
Broadmeadows Hospital (BH) & Bundoora Centre (BC)
- Inpatient services
Speech Pathologists service the following areas:- Rehabilitation
- Geriatric Evaluation and Management (GEM) including GEM@Home and GEM@Kilmore programs
- Acute medical and surgical unit
- Bed-Based Transitional Care Program
- Adult and Aged Mental Health Inpatient Units
- McClellan House Residential Care
- Outpatient services offered at both BC and BH include:
- Adult Community Therapy Service (CTS)
- Cognitive Dementia & Memory Services (CDAMS)
- Early Stroke Discharge Program (ESD)
- Bed-based Transition Care Program (BBTCP)
- Home and Community Care Program for Younger People (HACC PYP)
- Commonwealth Home Support Program (CHSP)
- National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS)
- Hospital Admission Risk Program (HARP)
Community Therapy Service can see clients in the centre, their homes or in low-level residential care facilities. Please see relevant service program for inclusion and exclusion criteria.
All community referrals can be sent directly to Community Access:
- Fax: 8405 8616
- Phone: 9495 3443
Alternative service options:
Speech Pathology Australia
https://www.speechpathologyaustralia.org.au
My Aged Care Contact Centre
Phone: 1800 200 422
https://www.myagedcare.gov.au/
National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS)
Phone: 1800 800 110
https://www.ndis.gov.au
Director/Head of Unit:
Kym Patterson
Associate Director Speech Pathology, Audiology & Orthoptics
Enquiries:
Allied Health General Enquiries: alliedhealthenquiries@nh.org.au
Contact us:
Speech Pathology Departments:
- Northern Hospital Epping – 8405 8599
- Bundoora Centre – 9495 3162
- Broadmeadows Hospital – 8345 5256
- Craigieburn Centre – 8338 3000
- Locations offering this service
- Northern Hospital Epping
- Craigieburn Centre
- Broadmeadows Hospital
- Bundoora Centre
