Understanding discharge pathways and access for speech pathology input following inpatient admissions at Monash Children’s Hospital.

Abstract

Background: Speech Pathology and Allied Health at Monash Children's Hospital has evolved since the opening of the new hospital in 2016. Since COVID-19 particularly there has been additional pressure on Victorian tertiary level care for children, with services stretched at RCH, and increased local community need for better coordinated care within the Monash Health service area. With these changes in need and expectation, services have not yet adapted to be able to ensure that infants and children may access the right care at the right time at the right location. There are many barriers to accessing local Speech Pathology services for complex medical needs, and challenges in determining where to allocate services, and what will be the right care to provide at the Monash Children’s Hospital as services grow. Decision-making regarding best options for children can also be variable between clinicians as a result of these challenges. Currently Speech Pathologists at MCH are asked to support local community Speech Pathologists in providing secondary consultation, continue to see children where they have been declined by their local service, at times due to reduced support structures for clinicians. MCH SP hold patients due to long waitlists for NDIS services. This further reduces existing limited capacity to provide necessary care for acutely unwell children. Aim: This project aims to understand the needs of patients discharged from Monash Children’s Hospital inpatients and the barriers for them reaching the appropriate services. Method: The data will be collected retrospectively from physical and electronic medical notes, outpatient files, and related communication contact between services. Results: No results collected yet – to be done over the next month. Conclusion: N/A