Accessing Children’s Speech and Language Therapy

Children’s Speech and Language Therapy have an open referral system. Referrals can be made by anyone, including parents/carers, schools, GPs, and Health Visitors. This means that anyone can refer a child or young person to the service as long as they have consent from the parent or carer.

To access the service children and young people must:

• have a Doncaster or Bassetlaw GP
• meet the threshold for accessing targeted Speech and Language Therapy care

All referrals to the service must be made using our referral forms and sent to the team at:

• dbth.paediatricsadmin@nhs.net
• Children’s Speech and Language Therapy Referrals, Children’s Therapy Admin Team, Near Orthotics, Doncaster Royal Infirmary, Armthorpe Road, Doncaster, DN2 5LT

If you need support filling out the forms, please call the team on 01302 642633 so we can support you.

Referrals for speech, language, and communication difficulties

The referral form can be downloaded at these links.

• Referral form
• Communication Checklist (age 2-5)
• Communication Checklist (age 5-18)

We can accept referrals for speech, language, and communication difficulties from age 2.

You must complete the communication checklist in order to decide if a referral is required. You must then also complete the full referral form and document parent/carer consent on the form.

Please ensure you have read the instructions before completing the form to ensure your referral is accepted.

Referrals for Special School children and young people

The referral form can be downloaded at these links.

• Referral form

We recommend that referrals come from the child or young person’s school. Please work with the school on the referral or ask them to refer where possible.

Please ensure you have read the instructions before completing the form to ensure your referral is accepted.

Referrals for eating and drinking difficulties

The referral form can be downloaded at this link.

• Referral form

We are only able to accept referrals for children who have difficulties with the mechanics of eating and drinking. We are not able to accept referrals for children who have sensory difficulties or aversion to certain foods.

Please ensure you have read the instructions before completing the form to ensure your referral is accepted.

What happens once my referral has been accepted?

Your referral will be reviewed and the child will be allocated to one of our clinical services. Depending on their needs and age, this might be the outpatient clinic, child development centre, eating and drinking team, mainstream schools team, or SEND/Special schools team. Please click here for more information on our different services.

The child’s parent/carer will be sent a “Partial Booking” letter once we are able to offer them an initial appointment. Their parent/carer will need to contact the team within 3 weeks of the date on the letter or they will be discharged.

The child and/or their parent/carer will be offered an initial appointment. This might be in person at one of our clinics or by phone. We will then discuss and agree what happens next for their child or young person.

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