Speak Out August 2016 Low Res

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16 Speak Out August 2016
Continuing Professional DevelopmentP licy & Advocacy
Following the April meeting of the COAG Health
Council (all the Health Ministers in Australia), Speech
Pathology Australia wrote to every Health Minister and
Shadow Health Minister seeking meetings to discuss
including speech pathology in the National Registration and
Accreditation Scheme. A media release was also distributed.
The move followed the announcement that the Health Council
is progressing the inclusion of the paramedic profession into
the National Scheme.
As members will be aware, Speech Pathology Australia has
twice submitted applications for the profession to be included
in the National Scheme. Every state and territory health
minister needs to agree to include speech pathology in the
National Scheme for it to occur.
Throughout June and July, representatives from Speech
Pathology Australia met with a range of elected officials in
different states and territories to discuss the issue of national
registration. The SP2030 conversations made it clear that this
continues to be an important issue for the profession, and
that members wish to see the Association actively pursuing
national registration.
In general, discussions with Shadow Ministers have been
supportive of inclusion of our profession in the national
registration scheme. Some have committed to raising the
issue in their Parliaments, and/or considering it as a formal
policy position of their Shadow Cabinets. In general, meetings
with Ministers have also been productive but with no firm
commitments to take the issue to the COAG Health Council
even if some are supportive of our inclusion.
We have also received written responses from a number of
state Ministers for Health in reply to our requests to meet
with them. Some of these responses have indicated that the
National Code of Conduct for Health Workers and the state/
territory Health Care Complaints Commission processes are
considered to be sufficient protection of the public from any
risks posed by speech pathology practice. We vehemently
disagree with this. The Code of Conduct is a bare minimum
expectation of health workers and our profession holds itself
up to considerably higher standards of conduct. Furthermore,
the formal complaints processes are difficult to access for
those with communication impairment.
Speech Pathology Australia continues to argue to the Health
Ministers that the protections of public safety afforded by
national registration needs to be extended to people receiving
speech pathology services in Australia.
Our recent conversations with elected officials have indicated
that work is underway by the COAG Health Council to
revise the application criteria used to assess if a profession
should be included in the National Scheme. This is a positive
development, as it is the view of the Association that the
existing selection criteria is seriously flawed, overly focused on
immediate and acute clinical risks and without consideration
of long term repercussions of poor practice or vulnerability
of clients. This work is anticipated to be completed by the
Talking ‘National Registration’
with Governments
“The SP2030
conversations made
it clear that this
continues to be an
important issue for
the profession, and
that members wish to
see the Association
actively pursuing
national registration.”