Ríona Garvey

I am the Discipline Manager for 25 SLTs across paediatric, adult, and older persons’ services, directly line managing nine staff. I oversee recruitment, submit business cases, liaise with HR, and chair bi-monthly team meetings, ensuring agendas, minutes, and actions are managed effectively.
I develop evidence-based care pathways, provide clinical supervision, and conduct annual performance and learning plan reviews. I submit monthly service data to the HSE Business Information Unit, covering staffing, referrals, waiting times, caseloads, and discharges.
I represent SLT management on committees including the Clinical Referral Forum, RAG, CPCC, SSLD Class Committee, and governance groups. I support student placements with the University of Limerick and oversee quality initiatives, audits, and evidence-based improvements.
I have sat on national and regional SLT interview panels, completed recruitment training, and ensure compliance with HR policies, induction, and probation guidelines. I maintain a risk register, promote CPD by organising training opportunities, and contribute to policy, procedure, and service development across the Mid West. I engage in performance achievement meetings with SLTs I manage and my line manager annually. I also supervise senior SLTs and support new staff induction.

I worked in a Senior Speech & Language Disorder (SSLD) Class for children aged 8–12. I reviewed admissions, screened referrals, liaised with SLTs and educational psychologists, and created a parent flyer outlining the class purpose. I contributed to Individual Education Plans, involving children, parents, and teachers in goal setting. I held parent-teacher-SLT meetings, promoted parental involvement through school sessions, diaries, and telehealth, and supported vocabulary development with Word Walls, Word Charts, and evidence-based programmes including Talkboost, ELKLAN, Word Aware, and Vocabulary Enrichment.

Alongside my SSLD role, I managed a large primary care caseload, triaging referrals and delivering assessment, diagnosis, intervention, and evaluation across speech, language, fluency, voice, and hearing. I prioritised cases by need, worked within care pathways, and supported staff grade SLTs and SLT students through supervision.

I collaborated with multidisciplinary teams, made onward referrals for ASD, ADHD, and complex needs, and supported families via CAMHS, TUSLA, Barnardos, and the Access and Inclusion Model. I documented outcomes, involved families in goal setting, and used therapy outcome measures to evaluate progress. I also developed the SLT database, creating user guides and training resources, and continue to improve it as SLT Manager. I supervised staff grade SLTs and SLT students from the University of Limerick, having completed the HSCP’s four-day supervisor training.

I was responsible for assessment, diagnosis, planning, implementation, and evaluation of treatment programmes for children with speech, language, cleft lip/palate, fluency, hearing impairment, and voice difficulties. I prioritised caseloads using clinical need, departmental pathways, the Kate Malcomess Care Aims framework, and clinical judgment. I triaged under-3 referrals, communicated results to parents and others, sought consent, involved families in goal setting, and provided schools with reports, programmes, and IEP support.
I worked jointly with physiotherapists to link language and physical goals, attended IEP meetings, and documented all clinical work. I collaborated with SLTs in specialist areas, used interpreters where needed, and engaged in supervision. I supervised two staff-grade SLTs, educated UL students, and contributed to language class policy and admissions in Limerick.
I upheld professional, ethical, and legal standards, following CORU guidelines and infection control. I contributed to departmental initiatives, introduced databases, delivered Talkboost training, and trained schools and public health nurses. I co-organised CPD sessions, identified training needs, maintained resources, and completed CORU CPD requirements.
I was a member of IASLT, the QPS committee, and my primary care team, often chairing meetings. I also acted as fire marshal and submitted monthly service statistics

I assessed, diagnosed, and treated children with communication difficulties linked to autism and moderate to severe intellectual or physical disabilities. I delivered speech and language interventions for children under six and supported pupils in a special school, setting goals with teachers and parents at IEP meetings and supplying updated reports and programmes.
I co-facilitated a ten-week It Takes Two to Talk Hanen parent training programme and attended weekly supervision with the SLT manager. I collaborated with OTs, physiotherapists, social workers, and psychologists, including joint sessions, and contributed to intake meetings reviewing referrals.
I maintained accurate clinical notes, created communication passports for non-verbal clients, and applied PECS training to design programmes while supporting parents’ use of the system. I also visited residential homes for adults with ASD or physical disabilities, working with an adult SLT to design visual schedules. I consistently adhered to organisational health, safety, and policy standards.