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Speech Pathology Australia is a member
organisation of the National Aged Care Alliance (NACA). NACA
is a representative body of peak national organisations in aged
care including consumer groups, providers, unions, and health
professionals, working together to determine a more positive
future for aged care in Australia. Speech Pathology Australia
has representation on a number of NACA and department
advisory groups and working parties. This includes current
representation on the Department of Health’s Quality and
Compliance Standards Technical Advisory Group and Aged
Care Funding Instrument Technical Reference Group.
In 2014, Speech Pathology Australia provided budget support
to the WA branch to produce the Communication Matters
video. The video highlights the importance of communication
in residential aged care facilities and is a useful resource for
supporting advocacy and education activities.
SPA represents the interests of the profession in the area
of Aged Care through actively responding to government
inquiries and discussion papers. Recent submissions
include responses to: the Victorian Parliament’s Legal and
Social Issues Committee Inquiry into End of Life Choices,
the Australian Government Department of Social Services’
Commonwealth Home Support Programme and Good Practice
Guide consultation feedback, the NHMRC Partnership on
Dealing with Dementia and Related Functional Decline in
Older People Draft clinical guidelines for dementia, and the
Senate Community Affairs Reference Committee Inquiry:
Furure of Australia's Aged Care Sector Workforce. Successful
outcomes of these submissions have included a requirement
that speech pathologists funded under the Commonwealth
Home Support Programme must hold the Speech Pathology
Australia Certified Practising Speech Pathologist credential.
These submissions can be found on the SPA website: www.
SPA has a dedicated National Advisor in Aged Care, Jade
Cartwright, based at National Office.
The aged care project officer position was established to refine
SPA’s strategic response to the My Aged Care reforms currently
underway in Australia. This demonstrates SPA’s commitment to
aged care. Aims of this project include increasing recognition
and understanding of the speech pathology role in aged care
and ensuring an adequately prepared and supported speech
pathology workforce. Strategies to increase recognition of
communication as a basic human right will also be explored.
The aged care advisor is supported by a newly established
Aged Care Working Party (ACWP), bringing together a panel
of speech pathologists with clinical and research experience in
the area of aged care. The ACWP will assist the identification
of priority areas and key issues facing the profession, while
promoting evidence based services and models of care for
older Australians. The ACWP is currently developing a speech
pathology training package for the newly established Regional
Assessment Services.
SPA’s Find a Speech Pathologist search function includes aged
care in the area of clinical interest search function.
For further information and/or to join this community, please go
to:
th
How does SPA
advocate for aged care?
Jade Cartwright
National Advisor Aged Care
In Focus - Aged care