06/03/2025
Our Adult Acute Speech and Language Therapy Team (SLT) have been announced as the recent winners of the coveted We Are West Mission Cup. The teams, based at both Altnagelvin Hospital and the South West Acute Hospital, were honoured during a special celebration held at Trust Headquarters this week.
The We Are West Mission Cup is awarded to teams that epitomise the Trust’s mission statement, ‘We are west, caring together, committed to better.’ The new winners were decided upon by the previous recipients, in a true peer to peer recognition manner. The Cup is then presented by the Trust’s Chair, Dr Tom Frawley and Chief Executive, Neil Guckian.
The Adult Acute SLT team support people in hospital with communication and/or eating, drinking and swallowing difficulties. People with neurological conditions, including dementia, brain injury, stroke, Parkinson’s disease, learning disability along with frail elderly people in hospital who may experience swallowing and/or communication difficulties. SLTs provide critical care, not only in assessing and treating communication and swallowing difficulties, but also in enhancing overall patient safety. Their involvement can help prevent life threatening complications such as aspiration pneumonia, and ensure that patients can communicate their needs and concerns effectively, even during their most vulnerable moments.
The Trust’s Adult Learning Disability Liaison Team were the previous recipients of the Cup, they chose the Acute SLT team, speaking about their decision Emer Ferguson, Adult Learning Disability Acute Liaison Nurse said:
“We are nominating our colleagues in the Acute Speech and Language Therapy teams. Our Speech and Language colleagues, demonstrate the ethos of the Mission Cup in their daily work as they are continually striving for a caring together, committed to better approach.
“The Speech and Language therapists working within our acute hospitals face a continually evolving caseload and they balance the needs of their new referrals with their existing caseload with ease and compassion. They demonstrate a balanced approach to patient care, striving for the least restrictive options first and ensuring the outcome is focused on not only patient safety but quality of life. They utilise their MDT colleagues and provide their expertise when required without question. A team that we are proud to work alongside and who deserve the Mission Cup wholeheartedly.”
Presenting the Mission Cup, Western Trust Chief Executive, Neil Guckian, said:
“We have outstanding staff who work incredibly hard to deliver great care every day. The Mission Cup is an important way of recognising those who have achieved something particularly special or who have gone above and beyond in their work. Presenting the Cup is always a real highlight for me.
“It is clear to see the Adult Acute SLT Team is highly valued and respected by their colleagues in Learning Disability. This sentiment is reflected across the Trust’s Senior Management Team and no doubt is also endorsed by their patients.”
Speaking on behalf the Acute Speech and Language Therapy Team, Head of Speech and Language Therapy, Una Isdell, said:
“The Adult Acute SLT team work across Altnagelvin, SWAH, OHPCC and Waterside Hospital from stroke and cancer wards to ED and ICU. This team consistently go the extra mile to ensure that patients and families receive the best care possible. Their dedication, care and compassion shine through in every aspect if their work and their focus on patient safety, choice and quality of life is unwavering.”