East Gippsland children are getting quicker access to paediatric early intervention services thanks to a new model of healthcare.
Implemented by Gippsland Lakes Complete Health, the new model manages demand for services such as speech pathology and occupational therapy.
The program’s success was highlighted at the recent Alliance of Rural & Regional Community Health (ARRCH) by Gippsland Lakes Complete Health (GLCH) executive manager Support, Therapy, Education and Prevention Unit, Ainsleigh Whelan and paediatric allied health coordinator, Kylie Hayes.
Ms Whelan said as early as 2010, GLCH was receiving more referrals for children with issues around language and fine motor development.
In response, the Active Lorikeets program was created to deliver speech and occupational therapy to pre-school children facilitated by allied health assistants. This resulted in reduced waiting lists, addressed workforce issues, empowered parents and enabled children to access more services.
A review in 2012 found children’s readiness for school and fine motor skills had improved, but by 2020, after the introduction of the NDIS, GLCH had returned to issues of long waiting lists, increased demand and workforce shortages.
“We needed to rethink what we were doing so we introduced a new model of care for early intervention, with multiple doors of access,” Ms Whelan said.
“It means children don’t sit on a waitlist in a silo. They are assessed by a key worker and then triaged to where they need, when they need it. We’ve gone from six months on a waiting list to six weeks.”
The positive outcomes have included parents being more engaged in therapy, children achieving their goals and strong partnerships with kindergartens and early years school programs.
“It means we can support those children on their journey into school and as our workforce has changed, we have still been able to deliver the same volume of services while reducing wait lists,” Ms Whelan said.
“Even though we have fewer specialists in some areas, we’re still able to service the children that need support and provide a sustainable model of service delivery during skilled workforce shortages.”
