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Perioperative management of the head and neck cancer patient

The perioperative care of patients with head and neck cancer is complex and requires significant preoperative planning and patient education. The issues include analgesia, antibiotics, stoma and wound care, general and chest physiotherapy, thromboprophylaxis and nutrition. This article provides a...

Stuttering and bullying - everyone’s business

This article emphasises that bullying (distinct from teasing- the former being defined as repeated actions intended as harmful, compared to good-natured interactions enjoyed by everyone) is an issue that can impact significantly on a child or young person’s ability to...

Talking to the animals

People with communication difficulties have an increased risk of mood and anxiety disorders. This often means that speech and language therapists must actively engage in counselling as part of their intervention. It is not surprising, therefore, that the active components...

Inpatient or outpatient thyroidectomy?

This systematic review and meta-analysis discusses the safety of hemithyroidectomy in an outpatient vis-à-vis an inpatient setting. Thyroidectomy has traditionally been performed as an inpatient procedure. Currently, an increasing number of surgeons are performing thyroidectomy in outpatient settings. The main...

How much does it cost to simulate speech and language therapy placements?

The Royal College of Speech and Language Therapists report that 20% of speech and language therapy positions are unfilled in the UK. Consequently, there is an urgent need to offer as many training courses as possible to fill these gaps....

Strengthen your communication: better conversations can reduce the risk of frailty

Our population is ageing and, with this, the incidence of frailty is increasing. Frailty is defined as increased vulnerability to stressors resulting in adverse outcomes. Stressors can include communication and swallowing difficulties, yet these are poorly recognised. Management of communication...

Cascading communication skills to help children with autism

Inadequate workforce resource is an ongoing difficulty across the health professions. This study proposes a train the trainer model, with the ultimate goal of improving the communication skills of children with autism. The study describes an intervention called naturalistic developmental...