A collaborative approach to the assessment and management of dysphagia

An inter-disciplinary approach to the assessment and management of dysphagia is essential. A partnership between speech and language therapists (SLT) and nurses combines in-depth experience of dysphagia with the holistic knowledge of the patient. Nurses in acute, rehabilitation and mental health settings are trained by SLTs to use a locally-developed screening tool. This allows the nurse to carry out a basic screening assessment when dysphagia is identified, start an interim feeding regime and monitor the patient's progress. Simple or short-term dysphagia can be managed by the dysphagia trained nurses (DTNs). Experience, qualitative and quantitative measurement has shown 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.