PRESIDENT’S PIECE
It is that time again and who can believe it has been a month already since our virtual conference. Once again the board has been working tirelessly - left, right and centre so here we go......
We recently had ‘think tank’ about how membership may need to change to meet the strategic goals of the association. A number of members have stated that they would like to be acknowledged as a health professional and recognised through AHPRA. For this to occur, a number of steps need to be considered first including the number of types and levels of membership, continuous professional development and the competencies demonstrated by health care professionals. We will soon be releasing a ‘membership criteria paper’ for comment and then incorporating the feedback into the final document, which will then be voted on by ballot. If the changes are passed, they will take effect for new members from January 1st and for all current members on renewal. It is an exciting time of development for the profession, and this recognition will also give us the ability to extend our services in areas specifically requiring AHPRA membership.
The Aged Care Royal Commission have contacted us in the last week to ask for permission to publish our submission regarding COVID-19. They have not said how or in what context it will be used, but at least it has been read and considered by the Commission.
We have been having meeting with a number of organisations on a variety of fronts to both let organisations and business know what we do, but also figure out how we can collaborate together. The following is a summary of what we have met about with different organisations and how we intend on collaborating together.
• Dementia Australia - we have been meeting to discuss different ways we can work together. Some things are still in the pipeline but we are working towards them over the next 12 months. Dementia Australia have some free training available which our members can access. We have discussed having specific training for our profession however for now the training is available in the public forum but we are welcome to utilise it. There are different types of training available and this is advertised later in the newsletter. The member survey done earlier this year identified dementia education as one of the main topics of interest. This can be provided and you can access this free of charge. There is a time requirement and there is also a certificate once the training is completed. We have also talked about developing fact sheets on Recreation therapy and possibly some future research together.
• Community Visitor Scheme - The community visitor scheme is a federal initiative where volunteers are matched with clients that are isolated. Esis, who oversees the referrals coming into the CVS will be running a couple of information sessions for DRTA members to identify how we can use this valuable resource to meet the needs of our clients. We will also be developing a resource to assist the volunteers with suggested activities, that will stay with the client and will also have our logo on it. The training sessions will be in November on Tuesday the 10th November at 6pm and a repeat session on Thursday 18th November at 10am. Both of these are free.
• LGBTI Health - we have had some really conducive conversations with LGBTI Health and looking at how to collaborate together. We are looking at doing some research together by rolling out free training specifically with DRTA and measuring the impact the training has within aged care and our staff that have completed the training. We are also looking at comparing and contrasting this in different states. We are still in early negotiations at the moment, but it is looking really promising.
• Centrium Life is a new app available doing a number of things that can support the leisure and lifestyle program in an aged care facility. One of the benefits of this program is that it has an interactive function between family and the resident. Phone calls can be scheduled within the app and the activity schedule and menu can also be uploaded for more transparency with family members about what their loved ones are doing. The aged care facility would engage Centrium Life, however if the leisure and lifestyle team have a DTRA member, the organisation will get a discount for the time the app is used in the facility. You may even be able to negotiate with them by paying your DRTA membership and they would still be saving heaps.
A very busy month,
All the best
Charlise Bennett
DRTA President