Referrals for speech therapy were monitored in 1781 patients aged over 65 years admitted to medical and geriatric wards during a 10.5 month period, before and after the introduction of an assessment programme. Low referral rates of admissions before (4.1 %) and after (4.7%) the programme, compared to 15.8% during the programme, suggest that ward staff may not perceive disorders of communication and swallowing without regular contact with a speech therapist.
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