A collaborative approach to the assessment and management of dysphagia

An inter-disciplinary approach to the assessment and management of dysphagi a is essential. A partnership between speech and language therapists (SLT) and nurses combines in-depth experience of dysphagia with the holistic know ledge of the patient. Nurses in acute, rehabilitation and mental health set tings are trained by SLTs to use a locally-developed screening tool. This a llows the nurse to carry out a basic screening assessment when dysphagia is identified start an interim feeding regime and monitor the patient's progr ess. Simple or short-term dysphagia can be managed by the dysphagia trained nurses (DTNs). Experience, qualitative and quantitative measurement has sh own benefits. Audit results enable us to share our experiences and to plan for future development of the project including a formal validation of the tool.