Today the Government has been celebrating significant reduction in waiting lists, with ' waiting lists in 20 areas falling three times faster than the national average '. But behind the headlines lies an uncomfortable question: Who is being counted? And who is being left out? The 'Further Faster 20' programme sits within the Government's elective reform plan which ' covers a broad range of planned, non-emergency services including tests, scans, outpatient appointments, surgery and cancer treatment '. Siva Anandaciva, Director of Policy, Events and Partnerships at The King's Fund has said : "It is a good thing that waiting lists in parts of England are coming down. But the reality check is that the overall hospital waiting list in England stood at 7.5 million last year and has only fractionally fallen to 7.4 million despite a full year of funding, energy and focus from the government and NHS. While progress is happening, it is slow going and the go...
WAIT-UP SLT is a research project that seeks to understand experiences of waiting within children's speech and language therapy services in England, specifically looking at the perspectives of a) speech and language therapy teams, b) parents and caregivers and c) children and young people. I will be using this blog to share views, news and updates, as well as to connect with others who might be interested in this topic. All opinions are my own.