Transition of Children's Speech and Language Therapy Services

Effective Date: 1 April

We are pleased to announce that from 1 April, the Children's Speech and Language Therapy services will be transitioning from Chesterfield Royal Hospital to Derbyshire Community Health Services. This change is designed to better align our services and improve the overall quality of care for our patients.

Why the Change?

The transition aims to enhance the quality of care provided to our patients by streamlining operations and improving service delivery. By aligning with Derbyshire Community Health Services, we can ensure a more cohesive and efficient approach to children's speech and language therapy.

Key Considerations:

Quality of Care: Our primary focus remains on maintaining and enhancing the quality of care provided to our patients. We are committed to ensuring a seamless transition with minimal disruption to services. Service users will not experience any change to their care, therapist or overall experience. This is mainly an administrative process.

Approximately 28 colleagues will be moving to Derbyshire Community Health Services. We are working closely with all staff members to support them through this change and ensure they have the necessary resources and information.

We are taking all necessary steps to ensure that digital and information governance standards are upheld during this transition. This includes the secure transfer of relevant information and maintaining patient confidentiality.

As service users you don’t need to do anything and nothing will change for you. We will keep you informed of any changes to referral methods or other processes.

We will be issuing updates to GPs through Joined Up Care Derbyshire, the Local Authority for schools and education, and other partners. Parents will be communicated with directly to ensure they are aware of the changes and how it may affect them.

We will ensure that relevant information, such as the repository of information currently available on the Chesterfield Royal Hospital website, will be transferred to Derbyshire Community Health Services to support the transition.

This transition will affect approximately 2,600 patients who currently receive Children's Speech and Language Therapy services. We are committed to providing continuous support to these patients and their families throughout the transition period.

We expect to have more information by 1 April 2025, at which point we will issue further updates. In the meantime, if you have any questions or require additional information, please contact Louise Oram, Head of Therapies and Dietetics at louise.oram@nhs.net.

We appreciate your understanding and cooperation during this time. Should you have any questions or require further information, please do not hesitate to contact us.