Speech & Language Therapy in Crisis: 100 job vacancies and cuts to tertiary funding looming

Who will speak up for our speechies??

A looming funding cut to the Speech Language Therapy department at Massey University will not only put more pressure on practicing SLT’s, but it will further exacerbate issues of inequity and diversity within the profession - according to Tracy Karanui-Golf, who posted a plea for help via Facebook today.

In her six minute video, Karanui-Golf introduced herself as one of only five māori communication assistants in the country, adding that of the 1141 registered SLT’s in Aotearoa, only fifty identify as māori.

“A handful of us practice from a matauranga māori lens; a smaller handful can practice in fluent te reo māori.”

She explains that the majority of our SLT’s are “white middle class women,” with only a small number of men, pasifika and other “minority” groups identified in the profession.

Currently there are over ONE HUNDRED job vacancies for SLT’s in Aotearoa

In Australia there are only 40 SLT’s per 100,000 people.

In Aotearoa there are even less: 20 SLT’s per 1000,000 people.

These stats are shocking, even to my jaded, battle-weary ears. If you or a loved one have ever required intervention from a SLT, you know how dire it is in Aotearoa. The ‘postcode lottery’ ensures that you are less likely to be able to access life changing interventions, the further away from a main centre you live. Inequities influenced by ethnicity, age, income, school setting, ableist attitudes etc ensure that some, not all people requiring speech language therapy can access the service.

Families can be waiting in excess of a year to see a SLT on the public waitlist… Probably longer via the Ministry of Education. Hell, my ORS funded daughter is yet to see a MoE SLT and she has been in her secondary school for two years. We have a private speech therapist who does group sessions for two terms a year, which I can not afford, but I make it work.

Private speech therapy is expensive (approx $150 per hour), and considering we are in the middle of a cost of living crisis, out of reach for many families.

The four year Bachelor of Speech and Language Therapy is currently only offered face-to-face in Auckland and Christchurch. To address issues of inequity and a dire need for more māori medium SLT’s, Massey University offer a distance learning option, with promising initial response, attracting six new students who identify as māori, the “most ever” according to Karanui-Golf. And on review of current student numbers (one in year two, zero in year three and four) this is a great start.

“The program could be a solution to the issue we have around the lack of diversity. [It] could help us train more SLT’s so the workload for current therapists isn’t so high, and [your] children aren’t waiting so long.”

The cut to funding could put an end to this option, and any chance of greater diversity in the workforce being nurtured.

The Massey University SLT Facebook page made a statement today, saying “our programme is in jeopardy, yet we are the only university to offer a distance option making our programme accessible to those who could not move to Auckland or Christchurch.”

You don’t have to look very far on social media to see that many SLT’s share these concerns.

Polly Newton founder of Speech Teacher illustrates in a Facebook post how varied her role is as a SLT.

“I am currently the only private SLT in the region and I’m always fully booked.

I see children privately for all sorts of communication challenges,

I see children with head injuries under ACC,

I support people in the justice system as a Communication Assistant for Talking Trouble Aotearoa NZ,

I see children with Down Syndrome for Upside Down Trust,

I work with a multidisciplinary team at the local Child Development Service doing best practice assessments for Autism diagnosis,

I create video courses teaching parents how to work on speech, because I know how hard it can be to access Speech Language Therapy support,

I create constant free resources and tips, to help overcome the cost barrier to accessing a private Speech Language Therapist.”

Polly also supports one of the six new māori students on the Massey course.

“Our region needs her. I cant see how she’d do this training any other way than the distance learning that only Massey University is offering, as she lives in Wwairarapa with her partner and three small children.”

This is a complicated issue with many layers. A drop in tertiary enrolments means that cuts to government funding will occur. Massey University has been proactive in creating ways to attract students, which has shown promising results, and with time and support, could help ease the pressure on the workload of SLT’s as well as shorten wait time for services for people with communication challenges.

We need a diverse and well trained SLT profession to reflect the diverse needs and population of Aotearoa. We need māori SLT’s who understand the unique cultural needs of tangata whaikaha and whānau. We need to protect the mana and the rights of tangata whenua to access their indigenous language, whatever form it comes ins, in accordance with te tiriti obligations.

Tracy Karanui-Golf’s message is clear: “The government needs to help us. We need government to help fund the training program so that we can keep the distance learning alive.”

“I fear the program will be closed or that it will be so reduced in funding we won’t be able to produce the (same) high quality of students.”

More to follow…