We’re campaigning to protect Parkinson’s speech and language therapy services
Gateshead Health Foundation NHS Trust have removed a speech and language therapist post for people with Parkinson’s with swallowing difficulties. And we need your help to reverse their decision.
How does speech and language therapy help people with Parkinson’s?
Parkinson’s can impact how loudly and clearly people speak, but it can also lead to difficulties swallowing. More than 80% of people with Parkinson’s have difficulty swallowing.
Being unable to swallow can be dangerous, making it hard for people to eat, drink water and take their medication, which makes other Parkinson’s symptoms worse.
The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) recommends that people with Parkinson’s who have difficulties swallowing receive an urgent swallowing assessment within 48 hours of the referral being made. But waiting times are too long.
Speech and language therapy at Gateshead
We funded a post at Gateshead that provided these assessments for people with Parkinson’s. And it reduced waiting times for a swallow assessment from 6 days to 32 hours for people in hospital, and from 6 weeks to 5 days for people not in hospital.
This meant people in hospital were able to go home around 3 days earlier, and the chance of an emergency hospital admission for those not in hospital was reduced.
We thought the trust would fund this post permanently, but they made the decision to close it. The service stopped running in December 2025 and waiting times are already rising.
What have we done so far?
We’ve been urging the trust to share their plan for the future of this vital service. We need reassurance that the care for people with Parkinson’s in Gateshead is not at risk because of this decision.
Recently, Caroline Rassell, our CEO, wrote to the CEO of the trust asking them to meet with us urgently. But they refused.
So we launched a petition calling on them to reverse the decision. Sign the petition and share it with your friends, families and networks.
A huge thank you to:
- the Northumberland Tyne and Wear Active Persons branch
- the Sunderland branch
- everyone else who has already signed!
We'd like to reach 250 signatures before handing it into the CEO of the trust.
How can you help?
We’d also like the support of the local MPs. If you live in or near Gateshead, please write to your MP to ask them to support us. Use our template letter.
To find out more about this campaign, please email Mattie Shannon, Local Campaigns Officer (North East and Yorkshire), at [email protected].
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