Speak Out February 2018

Aged care

The Aged Care Working party met at National Office at the end of November with a focus on identifying the key issues facing members working in ageing and aged care services. The working party thanks the membership for their continual advocacy of the role of speech pathology in aged care and alerting the Association to key issues. In 2018 the working party will be focusing on a number of key activities including: • Presenting an abstract at the Elder Abuse Conference in February, • Developing a dedicated resources and a web page for members working in ageing and aged care, • Establishing links with key consumer advocacy organisations to raise the profile of speech pathologists in the sector, • Ongoing advocacy through the National Aged Care Alliance (NACA) and submissions to government including relating to ongoing aged care reform, • Advocating to DVA for streamlined processes for SPs working with veterans. Aged care working party

Elder Abuse Conference − February 2018, Sydney The Aged Care Working Party was successful with an abstract submitted to the Elder Abuse Conference in February, to be held in Sydney. The conference theme is “Together making change” and the abstract is titled “Communication impairment: The effects on access, wellbeing and participation”. See the link to the conference website: togethermakingchange.org.au Training (Regional Assessment Service) RAS Assessors − Victoria In December, Speech Pathology Australia had the opportunity to present to future My Aged Care Regional Assessment Service assessors. SPA had a 15-minute time slot to present on key messages around the role of speech pathologists in ageing and aged care, including the “red flags” for referral. SPA is pleased to advise that the invitation has been extended for sessions in 2018. This opportunity was made possible through continued lobbying with the Department of Human Services (DHHS) following the successful RAS Training Pilot delivered by volunteer SPA members across Victoria and New South Wales. Without the positive feedback from these sessions, and the time taken by the Aged Care Working Party in developing the content, key activities such as this would not be possible. Aged care reform update The most recent submission completed by the aged care team were around dementia specific consumer supports and the National Screening Assessment Form (NSAF). Through our membership to NACA, advocacy around changes to the ACFI (Aged Care Funding Instrument) has also been submitted. Speech Pathology Australia is also being represented in forums around workforce review and design in aged care. For more information, please feel free to contact Jessica Hayward, Aged Care Project Officer at National Office on 1300 368 835 or via email at agedcare@speechpathologyaustralia.org.au . Information and case examples from members are important in presenting a real world voice to government. Facebook Ageing and Aged Care Member Community Be sure to join the SPA Ageing and Aged Care Facebook member community page. Latest aged care information, articles and resources are shared regularly and it’s a great way to network and share with other speech pathologists in the aged care sector.

Aged care working party members at National Office.

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February 2018 www.speechpathologyaustralia.org.au

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