Speech and language therapy
What we do
Speech and language therapy manages speech, language, communication and swallowing disorders. We assess, diagnose and develop a programme of care to maximise the communication and swallowing potential of children and adults referred to our service.
Speech and language therapists (SLTs) are allied health professionals. They work closely with parents, carers and a range of other professionals such as teachers, nurses, occupational therapists and doctors.
Our SLTs offer a comprehensive range of inpatient and outpatient services, and work as part of number of teams across the Trust at King’s College Hospital, Princess Royal University Hospital, and Orpington Hospital:
- our Acute Team supports the trauma, emergency, acute medicine and surgery wards, as well as elderly care wards.
- our Neurosciences Team supports the Trust’s regional neurosciences centre and hyper acute and acute stroke services
- our Paediatric Team supports the Trusts’s children’s service. It sees children on neurosurgical, neonatal, liver and intensive care units, and on general children’s wards. It also provides specialist neuro-rehabilitation for children.
- our Neuro-rehabilitation Team is based at Orpington Hospital and provides specialist care to patients over 16 years old who have complex needs requiring intensive rehabilitation.
SLTs are based in a range of offices and wards across King’s sites. If you need to contact a specific therapist, please contact the SLT main reception on the number below.
Location
Ground floor, Willowfield Building, King’s College Hospital, Bessemer Road, SE5 9BG
Contact Details
- Main Reception: 020 3299 8042
We assess, manage and treat disorders of speech, language, communication and swallowing in children and adults. Our teams provides a comprehensive set of inpatient and outpatient services across the Trust.
We see outpatients who have been referred to a range of multidisciplinary consultant-led clinics, as well as patients referred to our specialist outpatient service.
Booking a patient at King’s
Hospital outpatient service
GPs can refer adult patients with communication and swallowing difficulties to the specialist neurology outpatient service. To make a referral, email: [email protected].
Community and home options
Patients who would prefer to be seen at home or in their local community should be referred to their local community therapy service:
- Southwark and Lambeth patients: refer to the GSTT Neuro conditions team: [email protected]
- Princess Royal University Hospital or Bromley outpatients: refer to Bromley Healthcare: [email protected].
Key Clinical Staff
| Name | Role |
|---|---|
| Deborah Brown | Clinical Lead Speech and Language Therapist (Neurosciences) |
| Jenny Clark | Clinical Lead Speech and Language Therapist (HAU & Medicine IP) |
| Zoë Garstang | Clinical Lead Speech and Language Therapist (Critical Care) |
| Alice Howard | Clinical Lead Speech and Language Therapist (Neurology OP & Stroke) |
| Kirsty Jones | Clinical Lead Speech and Language Therapist (Paediatrics) |
| Justine Vella | Head of Speech and Language Therapy |