Abstract

International institutions have suggested one Speech and Language Therapist per ten critical beds, and possibly even more for high-complexity institutions. However, there are no similar recommendations in Chile, although the Ministry of Health has developed recommendations to calculate the number of professionals required according to the number and type of clinical bed. The aim of this study is to describe the number of Speech and Language Therapists along with the number of theorical working hours per week required for the attention of hospitalised adult patients in high-complexity hospitals in Chile, for which a descriptive, observational and transversal study was performed. High-complexity hospitals were included, excluding psychiatric and paediatric institutions. Microsoft Excel, the “Modelo de Gestión Red de Rehabilitación” guideline from the Ministry of Health, and the updated database of the clinical network beds were also used. This study was previously approved by a Research Ethics Committee from Hospital San Juan de Dios, and a total of 59 out of 188 hospitals were included. According to the analysis based on features of the clinical beds, 269 Speech and Language Therapists are required for 44 hours per week to attend adult patients in high-complexity hospitals across the country. Of the 269 professionals, 104 are needed in the Metropolitan region, approximately 31 in the Bío-Bío region and circa 24 in the Valparaíso region. According to these results, it is suggested the Ministry review its guidelines and undertake a further project in order to identify the current professional gap in Chile.