Speech-Language therapy staffing for pediatric and adult patient care in high-complexity hospitals in Chile

Abstract

The Chilean Ministry of Health has developed a proposal to estimate how many professionals are required according to the number and type of hospital beds, both for out-patient and in-patient care. This proposal differs from international recommendations, which suggest hiring one speech-language therapist for every 10 beds, with an even higher number depending on each institution. There is only one study in the country on speech-language therapy staffing for the adult population in high-complexity hospitals. The aim of this study is to determine the number of speech-language therapists and weekly hours required for adult and pediatric patients in high-complexity hospitals in Chile. A descriptive, observational, and cross-sectional study was carried out that included all hospital beds available in the country during 2022, for adult and pediatric patient care in high-complexity centers. This excluded psychiatric, obstetric, gynecology, socio-sanitary, and resident beds. Sixty-four hospitals were included in the estimation. It was found that the Metropolitan Region has the highest need for professionals (37.71%), followed by the Valparaíso Region (9.60%), and finally the Bío-Bío Region (9.22%). A total of 19,613.26 weekly hours are required in high-complexity centers in the country to cover the care of adult and pediatric patients. In conclusion, and considering each hospital separately, a total of 504 speech-language therapists are necessary at a national level. This means 445 professionals working 44-hour weeks, 17 working 33-hour weeks, 13 with 22-hour workweeks, and 29 with 11-hour workweeks. It is suggested that the gap in the number of professionals is determined at a national level.