What consideration has the Welsh Government given to the need for speech and language therapy through the medium of Welsh?
The Welsh Government fully recognises the importance of ensuring that people are able to access speech and language therapy services through the medium of Welsh. Through our Welsh language plan for health and social care – More than just words – people accessing speech and language therapy are identified as one of the priority groups for whom language can be a matter of clinical need and a key component of person-centred care.
Health boards have a responsibility to ensure people can access services in Welsh, including through the consistent delivery of the Active Offer.
We are supporting the development of Welsh-medium provision across speech and language therapy through a range of measures, including workforce planning, training, and service improvement.
For example: We have supported the development of a bilingual speech and language therapy degree programme at Wrexham University, commissioned through Health Education and Improvement Wales (HEIW) which helps ensure opportunities for students to train through the medium of Welsh, and directly supports the future Welsh-speaking speech and language therapy workforce in Wales.