A conference to be held next week will shine a light on how physiotherapists, podiatrists, social workers and other allied health professionalsare having a big impact on rural communities by helping to break the service deficit in the bush.
They may be the forgotten part of Australia’s health sector, but allied health providers will share evidence from around Australia ofhow they are bringing more services to the bush, according to Rod Wellington, CEO of the conference organiser, Services for Australian Rural and Remote Allied Health (SARRAH).
The conference, to be held at the New South Wales regional town of Kingscliff, will open on 18 September with a video message from Prime Minister Tony Abbott, followed by an official opening presentation by NSW Labor Senator Deborah O’Neill.
Highlights willinclude:
• How a physiotherapist and occupational therapist in a new job-share role reduced re-admissions of patients at a Toowoomba hospital.
• How a vision screening program for Year One students in rural Victoria found 30% had common eye conditions such as amblyopia (lazy eye) and refractive errors that impair reading and learning.
• How remote Kangaroo Island now has a reliable flow of foot care by introducing a system of brokering of podiatrists from other sites in the region with spare capacity.
• How an innovative screening test successfully identified the suitability of allied health professionalsto work in remote areas of Australia.
Other presenters will share models that break the service deficit, such as the dental Sun Smiles program that now has 1000 children enrolled across rural Victoria and New South Wales. Research shows that more than 80% of enrolled children missed out on preventive dental care prior to the Sun Smiles project.
Mr Wellington said the conference was unique in Australia because of its focus on allied health in rural settings.
“We will bring together the leading minds in rural allied health research and practiceto shine a light on the forgotten part of health care in Australia – the allied health providers who work outside the cities,” he said.
“Without them, many Australians would suffer with worse health outcomes, more hospital admissions and disability – as the presentations at this year’s conference so clearly demonstrate.”
Allied health professions include: audiology, chiropractics, dental and oral health, dietetics and nutrition, diabetes education, exercise physiology, genetic counselling, health promotion, medical radiation science, occupational therapy, optometry, osteopathy, paramedic practice, physiotherapy, podiatry, prosthetics and orthotics, psychology, social work, speech pathology, sonography
Rod Wellington, CEO of the conference organiser, Services for Australian Rural and Remote Allied Health (SARRAH)
