Children’s speech and language clinic to move to new location
Nation.Cymru staff
A children’s speech and language service used by around 90 families at any one time is moving to a new location next month.
Hywel Dda University Health Board will relocate its Paediatric Speech and Language Therapy clinic in Aberystwyth from Pantyfedwen, Market Street, to Canolfan Rheidol, Rhodfa Padarn, from mid-October.
The health board is now asking families, service users and staff for their views on the potential impact of the move.
The clinic supports children and young people from birth to the age of 18 with speech, language and communication needs.
These include speech and language difficulties, stammering, developmental language disorder and social communication difficulties.
The service has to leave its existing premises because the lease on the Market Street building is coming to an end and will need to have moved by October 12.
Canolfan Rheidol, which houses Ceredigion County Council’s offices, is around a mile from the existing clinic and already hosts a number of health services.
The health board said there would be no reduction in services, staffing or appointments as a result of the move.
Andrew Carruthers, chief operating officer at Hywel Dda University Health Board, said: “It’s important to highlight that this move will not involve any reduction in services, staffing levels or clinic appointments. Our clinics will continue to run as they do now.
“We want to hear from children, young people, parents, carers, staff and anyone with an interest in the service about how the change may impact you. Your feedback will help us understand any such impact and how we can address them.
“If families have an appointment with the Speech and Language Therapies team, we will be contacting you to let you know if the location of your appointment has changed.”
The health board said Canolfan Rheidol offered improved accessibility, on-site parking and access to public transport, including the T1 and T5 bus routes.
It will also bring the speech and language team closer to other services supporting children and families.
The service will continue to cover Aberystwyth and north Ceredigion.
People can give their views through the health board’s online survey, by returning a paper copy during an appointment or by post to FREEPOST HYWEL DDA HEALTH BOARD.
The consultation closes on October 11.
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