The national standards and criteria stipulate that all patients should be screened by a standardised assessment method to identify any difficulty in swallowing safely. The new swallow screen standard (2016) means this should be carried out within 4 hours of admission to hospital and before the patient is given any food/drink/oral medication. It should be clearly documented that this screen has been carried out and what the results of the screen are.
The graph below shows the results produced in March 2022 from the Scottish Stroke Care Audit. NHS Boards receive monthly reports to monitor performance against standards and where needed instigate changes that ensure the highest quality care is given to patients.
The graph below shows the results produced from the Scottish Stroke Care Audit.
You can see from this graph that the target of 100% of patients having a swallow screen is not currently being achieved in this Health Board. (See ‘Clinical audit’ topic loop at the bottom of this page for further information.)
Topic Loop:
Page last reviewed: 11 Aug 2022
