Swallowing disorders

Professor Sarah Wallace OBE FRCSLT is a Consultant Speech and Language Therapist (SLT) at Wythenshawe Hospital in Manchester, and an honorary Clinical Chair at The University of Manchester UK. Sarah specialises in Intensive Care and has over 30 years of experience as an SLT. Her clinical and expertise focuses on laryngeal complications following intubation and tracheostomy and management of swallowing, communication and weaning. She is the national Lead for FEES (Flexible Endoscopic Evaluation of Swallowing) and set up the first FEES service in Singapore in 1997 and in the UK in 2001 and has been teaching FEES to SLTs for 20 years. She has developed new approaches to laryngeal recovery including Above Cuff Vocalisation, facilitating earlier voice and safe oral feeding. Sarah has published widely and won awards from the Intensive Care Society and British Medical Journal for her research. She is the UK National Tracheostomy Safety Project SLT lead, national RCSLT Specialist Advisor, and sits on the Board of directors of the Global Tracheostomy collaborative and European Society of Swallowing disorders and UK Swallowing Research Committee and numerous expert groups. She contributes to many tracheostomy, critical care and dysphagia policies and guidelines and international conferences. In 2021 Sarah was awarded an OBE from the Queen, an RCSLT fellowship, and honorary Master of Public Health and in 2024 was awarded an honorary Clinical Chair in recognition of her contributions.