JCPSLP Vol 19 No 2 2017

position. The remaining participant reported that the role involved one full-time grade 1 (entry level clinician) and one part-time grade 2 clinician (> 1 year of experience, but not senior level). Participants 14, 71, 78, 88, 89 and 108 also answered the question “Why was the position created?” Responses ranged from developing and maintaining good working relationships with food services, addressing issues pertaining to texture-modified foods and fluids, to providing ongoing representation at food services meetings. All respondents (n = 6) reported that a range of duties were undertaken within this dedicated position. These duties included: auditing compliance of texture-modified diets with national standards, research/quality improvement in texture- modified diet/fluids management, resolving joint SLP and food services issues, and creating links between food services and SLP. In addition, one respondent described working with food services to develop a new patient menu. No respondents reported that their organisation had evaluated the impact of a dedicated SLP role in food services. Speech-language pathologists completing food services tasks within existing clinical roles A total of 85% of respondents (n = 99) answered the question “Do any speech pathologists from your department perform the following food services related tasks within their existing clinical roles?” A large proportion of these respondents (n = 88) reported that SLPs in their department provided education and training to food services staff and worked to resolve clinical issues related to texture-modified diets/thickened fluids (n = 87), such as items of inappropriate texture being provided to patients. They also reported performing audits on texture-modified diets (n = 71) and thickened fluids (n = 87). Of these 99 participants, almost 60% indicated someone within their department attended food services meetings and 64% (n = 64) resolved requests from food services (e.g., issues with texture-modified diets) at a departmental or service level, while 65% (n = 65) indicated that they or someone within their department provided input into development and/or selection of new meals. Twenty-eight per cent of respondents (n = 28) reported participating in state-wide food services networks. Two of the 99 respondents indicated they did not perform any of the aforementioned duties within their department or any other food services tasks. Figure 1 depicts how many hours per fortnight SLPs within their departments reportedly spent on food services tasks, with the most common response (58%) being between 1 and 4 hours per fortnight. However, 15% of respondents (n = 15) indicated that they or someone in their department spent up to 32 hours per fortnight performing these tasks.

8-16hours, (3), 3%

16-32 hours, (0), 0%

0 hours, (6), 6%

>32 hours, (15),15%

4-8 hours, (18),18%

1-4 hours, (57), 58%

Food services meetings As shown in Table 3, the majority of respondents (n = 71) reported their facility or health service had regular food services meetings which mostly occurred on a monthly basis (49%). Figure 2 depicts which members of the team reportedly attended these meetings, with the majority having dietitians, food services managers and SLPs in attendance. One quarter of respondents reported “others” attended food services meetings; these included nutrition assistants, chefs, food service coordinators, kitchen manager, food service assistants and menu monitors. Perceptions of a dedicated speech- language pathology role in food services A total of 77 participants responded to the open-ended question “What are your thoughts on a dedicated Speech Pathology role in food services?” Two major themes were identified: (a) potential benefits of the position and (b) service considerations of such a position. Subthemes within each of these categories are shown in Table 4. Perceived benefits Nine respondents (12%) commented that a dedicated speech pathology role within food services could have possible benefits to patients in terms of safety and quality of meals. For example, participant 51 noted: Figure 1. Hours per fortnight department spends on food- services-related tasks within existing clinical roles Note: differences in sizes between departments unknown; data may be impacted by number of staff within a facility.

Table 3. Food services meetings

Questions

Responses

Yes 71% (n = 71)

No 7% (n = 7)

Unsure 22% (n = 22) Quarterly 18% (n = 12)

Does your health service have regular food service meetings?

Weekly 4% (n = 3)

Monthly 49% (n = 33)

How often do they meet?

Other: 28% (n = 19)

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JCPSLP Volume 19, Number 2 2017

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