[Dysphagia] Influences on swallow assessment decision -making

[AHenry at mncahs.health.nsw.gov.au (Henry, Anna)]

Hi,

I wonder if other Speech Pathologists find in some facilities that they get
quite a bit of pressure occasionally from some nursing staff about making a
decision to allow a patient to have oral intake when assessing someones'
swallow. Have others had experiences of that sometimes being quite extreme,
ie, more like bullying, especially given the pressure that can be brought to
bear by the sheer numbers of nursing staff compared to minority professions
such as Speech Pathology? I'd like to hear what other people find. In
general I don't think it's a problem but a few staff can be far too
pressuring about it at times. I wonder sometimes if that in fact sways
decision making for maybe younger and more isolated therapists. Should it be
noted therefore on a departments Risk Register? Does anyone work in a
culture of really strong  nursing staff pressures that make dysphagia
management decisions more difficult than is reasonable, causing more stress
and working relationships difficulty than is acceptable? If so, how does
your organisation tackle that please? Thanks in advance for your response,

anna

Anna Henry
Speech Pathologist - Adults



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