UHNM Speech and Language Therapist set to join global effort to improve patient outcomes in Cambodia

A speech and language therapist from University Hospitals North Midlands (UHNM) is set to embark on an adventure to Cambodia to provide training in swallowing difficulties to local medical professionals.
 
Esther Norton, Clinical Lead Speech and Language Therapist, based at Royal Stoke University Hospital, will spend three months working with nursing, medical, and physiotherapy staff in hospitals in Cambodia’s capital city Phnom Penh to help train them in assessing and managing swallowing difficulties for patients who have neurological conditions, a head injury or have had a stroke. 
 
With no existing speech and language therapists in Cambodia, the Charity ‘Speech Therapy Cambodia’ allows speech and language therapists from across the world to get involved with the 12-month long programme with the aim to provide world-class training in speech-language, with a focus on dysphagia. 
 
Dysphagia is the medical term for difficulty swallowing, which can affect a person’s ability to eat or drink safely, potentially leading to health risks such as malnutrition and dehydration.
 
Esther will be providing both hands on training and classroom teaching on dysphagia to staff to help those on the programme gain their qualification in speech and language therapy and be comfortable and confident in managing and treating people with swallowing difficulties independently. 
 
Esther said: “I'm excited about this opportunity as I have always loved travelling and I am very passionate about speech and language therapy and dysphagia management, so to be able to combine all those things together is a dream come true. I have followed the charity and their work for many years, and I have always been interested in healthcare in other countries and cultures so once I saw the opportunity to go and volunteer this year, I couldn’t say no. 
 
“I'm expecting to be challenged in different ways during my time there but I'm also expecting to see lots of exciting things and innovative ways of thinking from other volunteers, so I feel very grateful and fortunate that UHNM are helping to facilitate this trip, it’s a fantastic opportunity.”