7 Recruitment and
Retention
“WE HAD ONE CHILD WHO WAS IN AND OUT OF
HOME CARE. THAT CHILD WAS SEEN REALLY
QUICKLY. WITHIN A FEW WEEKS THE CHILD
HAD GONE TO SEE THE ENT AND THEN WITHIN
A MONTH THE CHILD HAD EAR SURGERY. THE
CHILD WAS NON-VERBAL AT THE TIME. AFTER
THE SURGERY, THE CASE MANAGER SAID
THEY HAD SEEN HUGE IMPROVEMENTS.”
Shae Wissell, Team Leader of Outreach
7.3 Outreach
Outreach programs deliver services to ensure people
living in rural and regional areas have access to the
best healthcare available, regardless of their location.
We recruit and support visiting health professionals
to deliver services to these communities.
7.3.1 Maintaining current outreach programs
We have maintained a number of outreach programs
this year, as detailed below. The Rural Health Outreach
Fund supports specialist doctors and allied health
professionals to travel to areas of need to address health
issues, with a focus on maternity and paediatric health,
eye health, mental health and support for chronic
disease management.
The Medical Outreach Indigenous Chronic Disease
program aims to increase access to a range of health
services including expanded primary health for
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in the
treatment and management of chronic diseases, and
works towards ‘Closing the Gap’ in health inequalities
between Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people
and other Australians.
16
Annual report 2015—16
Ear and eye health has been identified by the
Commonwealth as a growing area of importance
for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities.
Over the last year, RWAV has been able to expand the
number of eye and ear services across the state.
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children and young
people have a high incidence of ear disease which
impacts on heal th, social interactions, communication,
language and education including, literacy and
numeracy development. The Healthy Ears – Better
Hearing, Better Listening program aims to reduce
these ear inequalities by increasing access to a range
of ear health services for Aboriginal and Torres Strait
Islander children and youth aged 0-21 years. Since
its establishment in 2014, the program has grown
significantly. In the last year the program increased
service delivery to Gippsland offering ENT consultations
at two ACCHOs; Gippsland and East Gippsland
Aboriginal Co-Operative and Ramahyuck. Smaller
ACCHOs in the region are also able access the services.
Rural Workforce Agency Victoria
The Eye and Ear Surgical Support Services (EESSS)
program aims to reduce the extended length of time
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people are waiting
to access surgical interventions for a diagnosed eye and
ear condition, by removing barriers, such
as, the cost of travel, accommodation, meals and
out of pocket costs associated with the surgery.
The EESSS program has exceeded expectations this year.
In 2015, RWAV was contracted by the Department of
Health as the commissioning agency for the Visiting
Optometrists Scheme (VOS), delivering outreach eye
care services. This year, VOS has played a significant
role in providing services to disadvantaged regions
in Victoria, providing early detection of eye disease
and ensuring appropriate referral for treatment and
ongoing management.
Rural Workforce Agency Victoria
Annual report 2015—16
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