Speak Out April 2016 low res

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Speak Out April 2016 11
our coffee helper gets coffee ready at the start of the group. The
group hosts an annual poetry recital – a wonderful afternoon
shared with family, friends and staff. We choose a theme for
poems and spend several weeks in the lead up practising. The
residents love it and they always talk about it fondly for months
afterwards.
How has the club benefitted residents and the
organisation?
The group has fostered a real sense of belonging and
friendship – valued by all. Feedback from members has been
overwhelmingly positive. For example, one member stated “A
family attitude is established. It is like a big family. Feels like
belonging to a family.” Residents and staff perceive benefits
for the residents’ speech, communication, and wellbeing.
For the organisation, it has also meant greater awareness of
communication needs in residents, with staff now identifying
which residents are at risk of a communication difficulty and
referring them on to the club.
Winning the Better Practice Award has given great publicity
to the service, with media coverage. This has strengthened
commitment from senior levels of the organisation to continue
to fund the program. Also, due to the success of the club, the
facility is now very happy and excited to allow me to be a clinical
educator for six undergraduate speech pathology students from
the Australian Catholic University.
Why do you think the group has been such a success?
For all of the above reasons! Mainly I think because it is truly a
person centred group. The individuals are totally accepted and
supported for who they are and encouraged to communicate
in whatever way they can. No one is excluded. This creates a
feeling of being seen and appreciated for who they are, which
can be lacking in an aged care environment due to the many
demands on staff. This is an hour where each resident receives
attention and feels a true sense of belonging. The support of the
aged care service staff is also essential, helping with set up and
some of the group logistics.
What tips would you have for other speech pathologists
considering a similar innovation?
Don’t be afraid to be innovative! Have ideas, think big, and
then approach management with your ideas, backed up
with evidence. Start up a conversation club, or working with
the recreation officer to create a supportive communication
environment for residents. Funding will always be an issue, but
you never know until you ask!
Ruth, thank you so much for sharing your insights and this
wonderful achievement. Celebrating the success of aged
care clinical innovations like this plays an important role in
showcasing to the sector the vital importance of communication
and the role of speech pathology in aged care. Congratulations
once more and we look forward to hearing how the
Conversation Club continues to evolve into the future. I’m sure
this fantastic achievement will inspire and assist many other
speech pathologists to undertake similar innovations.
Please contact Ruth if you would like more information about
the Conversation Club and the Uniting Wesley Heights award.
Email:
Jade Cartwright
National Advisor Aged Care
The Australian Government Department
of Health recently released a statement regarding
recruitment of Allied Health Professionals from self-
regulating professions, such as speech pathology, in
the aged care sector.
The statement included comment that services
provided by both registered and self-regulating
professions should be valued equally, and reiterated
that entry to the National Regulation and Accreditation
Scheme (NRAS) is based on potential risk to
the public, not on the quality or standards of the
profession.
The statement in part read, "The review of the NRAS
recognised that there are unintended consequences
of registration where non-regulated AHPs are treated
differently to regulated professions. In August 2015,
all Health Ministers agreed to encourage the fair
treatment of all health care professionals to ensure
that the absence of registration is not the sole factor
for exclusion."
This is an extremely positive message for speech
pathology as it affirms the standards of our profession.
To read the full statement go to:
ef333bc1956686&id=8f4b0eb0eb
In Focus - Aged care
Speech pathology
professional
standards affirmed