With the introduction of initiatives such as personalised budgets, an increasingly competitive healthcare market leads to the need to develop the profession's evidence base and prove the effectiveness of SLTs to commissioners and patients.

Proposed workforce impact

• This evidence-base development could lead to more joint roles across academia and clinical practice, as well as more training opportunities.
• SLTs may also ally themselves with other professions to provide joint research opportunities.

Sources or references

• https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/what-works-interventions-for-children-and-young-people-with-speech-language-and-communication-needs
• http://www.ukcrc.org/workforcetraining/nursesmidwivesahp/
• http://www.nihrtcc.nhs.uk/cat/
• http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1460-6984.2011.00074.x/abstract

Additional research questions

• Can SLTs learn from other professions that have successfully strengthened their evidence base to respond to challenges?
• Are SLTs keen to take up possible extra training opportunities?

Some of the information in this section is provided by stakeholders and expert groups, and does not necessarily represent the views of the CfWI.