NUFFIELD SPEECH AND LANGUAGE UNIT

Motion Text

That this House notes that the Nuffield Speech and Language Unit at the Royal Free Hospital is a national centre of excellence, providing diagnosis and treatment of hearing, speech and language disorders in children with needs that cannot be properly met by local provision; further notes that the Unit requires only 14 children to remain financially viable; expresses extreme concern that the distinct lack of referrals for the 2006-07 academic year may lead to the Unit's closure; believes that local NHS and neighbouring education authorities have failed to take enough proactive action to ensure the Unit is known about by parents, doctors and speech therapists; and urges the Government to do all it can to support the Unit and promote sufficient awareness to guarantee that the UK does not lose this important national resource.