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from Kay Gibbons who was at that
time, the Manager of Nutrition and Food
Services at RCH. She was responsible
for the supply of teats and bottles to
the wards and was well aware of the
frustration experienced due to poorly
functioning teats. I was an enthusiastic
early recruit to the idea as I was well
aware of the frustration as a speech
pathologist working on the wards and not
being able to rely on the equipment that
you had at hand. One surprising aspect
of the project was the discovery along
the way of the relative dearth of research
into the actual structure and design of
infant feeding teats.
How will other speech
pathologists be able to use the
teat in their own practice? And
will the teats be commercially
available?
Speech Pathologists will be able to use
the teats in their practice, and for those
working in the area of neonatal care
particularly the option of a reliable very
small, very slow flow teat will no doubt
be a boon. The teats are commercially
available through the website www.sepal.
and also at the Kids Health Info
bookshop at RCH. There are plans to
widen the commercial availability but
this is now in the hands of the firm who
manufacture the teats (APS formed a
company SEPAL to produce innovations
and market the teats and bottles).
How long did the project take?
From beginning to end the project took
just on five years.
How long have you been an
SPA member?
I have been a SPA member for 34 years!
That’s a long time!
over to you
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