In an industry defining agreement, Roper Gulf Regional Council and iAgeHealth have moved to implement a 24/7 virtual allied healthcare platform allowing clients to receive support from the comfort of their own home.
The program, staffed by experienced allied health professionals who are able to assist age care clients recovery following illness or injury and manage chronic health conditions, removes the barrier of remote living for many of the clients.
Due to the current federal funding, clients receive services from clinical and non-clinical service providers, Council will work with local clinics and iAgeHealth to provide a holistic approach to age care in communities and ensure the best possible care.
When a client requires an allied health support, a specialist is required to fly in several times a year to provide the services, which impacts recovery and treatment times, in turn negatively affecting quality of life for age care clients and is costly and time consuming process.
Acting CEO for Roper Gulf Regional Council, David Hurst, is excited to see services commence, providing local communities access to safe, clinical care saying, “We are passionate about finding the right solutions to overcome the tyranny of distance and access to regular, experienced clinical staff.”
"As soon as the Council recognised iAgeHealth's allied health services innovative approach, and its ability to address long wait periods, streamline appointment scheduling, and provide more affordable options for age care client packages, it was evident that these solutions needed to be integrated into our local communities."
“The potential impact on improving healthcare accessibility and outcomes for our residents is undeniable.”
“It is incredibly important that all Australians, regardless of their geographical location or circumstances are offered the same standard and equal access to regular clinical assistance that people experience elsewhere in Australia.”
“We firmly believe that iAgeHealth will play a pivotal role in narrowing the existing gap in healthcare accessibility across our region, ensuring that no client is left behind in receiving the care and support they need.”
CEO of McLean Care, parent company of iAgeHealth, Sue Thomson, is delighted to be able to enable services for some of the most vulnerable people and geographical regions in the world.
“Our intent with developing iAgeHealth was to meet the needs of our own clients across regional Australia and share that with those areas in greatest need.”
“Roper Gulf is a perfect example of an area who continues to work really hard to support local people, but simply cannot offer the same level of support that their counterparts in metro or even regional areas can.”
“Access to high quality clinical care, simply isn’t equitable across Australia – and it should be, iAgeHealth means it can be!”
Initially, services within the Roper Gulf will be focused on providing Occupational Therapy services to conduct home modification assessments, physiotherapy assessments, and treatment plans.
Additionally, dietetic meal planning, assessment, and monitoring will be provided, as these are the areas of greatest immediate need.
It is expected that, once embedded, the partnership in this area will continue to access more of the specialist services that iAgeHealth such as speech pathology and exercise physiologists.
The service kicks off this month and will be available in all Roper Gulf Regional Council age care facilities.
-ENDS-
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Media Contact:
Molly BLAND | Programs Communications Officer | 0438 909 159