Developing Allied Health Assistants in a rural area using a hub and spoke model

The ‘Hub & Spoke Model’ project was developed and delivered by Anglicare Tasmania.  Anglicare Tasmania provides disability services for people across Tasmania.  Anglicare Tasmania based this project in the Derwent Valley, as it was felt that the sense of remoteness and community knowledge of disability would provide a good understanding of the benefits generally associated with a hub-and-spoke model of allied health service provision. Additionally, support workers in the region are accustomed to working relatively independently and with remote supervision.

The Problem

Clinical staff at Anglicare observed that some people accessing supports in regional areas were not experiencing the best possible outcomes in terms of the goals they identified in their individual plans.

Among the issues that the clinical staff identified was that the lack of allied health therapists based in New Norfolk and surrounding areas often required people to travel to Hobart for therapy services.

In addition, due to the community’s perception of remoteness, many of Anglicare’s clients were not engaged with therapists, or were engaging in therapy so infrequently that they weren’t maximising the benefits of therapy.

Finally, Anglicare recognised that they were having difficulty attracting and retaining support workers in this region. It was thought that this project could enhance the support worker role, thereby making it more attractive.

The Solution

This project proposed the development and implementation of a hub-and-spoke model of allied health therapy. In this model, the therapist holds the appointment in the region where the person lives, and the support worker attends the appointment with the person.

During the appointment the therapist trains the support worker. Between appointments, the support worker takes on some activities associated with the role of an allied health assistant as delegated by and under the supervision of the therapist. With some minor changes, the project was successful in doing this for people who wanted to use the model.

Further information about the project and access to the final report can be found via following weblink.