Mrs Heather Roberts1,2, Mrs Erin Gilmore1, Dr Katie Frith1,2,3,4, Ms Maria Said AM1,2,5,6, Dr Sandra Vale1,2,6
1National Allergy Council, , Australia, 2Australasian Society of Clinical Immunology and Allergy, Sydney, Australia, 3Sydney Children's Hospital, Sydney, Australia , 4The Children's Hospital Westmead, Sydney, Australia, 5Allergy & Anaphylaxis Australia, Sydney, Australia , 6The University of Western Australia, Perth, Australia
Biography:
Heather Roberts is the Principal Project Officer for the National Allergy Council. She has a Bachelor of Health Science with Honours in Public Health from the University of Western Australia and 20 years’ experience working on healthcare improvement projects. Heather is the lead project officer for the Shared Care for Allergy Project which aims to improve access to quality allergy care, especially in rural and remote areas.
Abstract:
Introduction:
Allergic conditions affect 30% of Australians. However, access to appropriate care remains challenging due to the limited number of allergy-trained healthcare providers. Long wait times result in delayed diagnosis and management, unnecessary dietary restrictions, preventable hospitalisations and impacted health and wellbeing.
Purpose:
The National Allergy Council Shared Care for Allergy program aims to improve access to quality allergy care. Increasing rural workforce capacity through innovative allergy training models is a key goal.
Main body:
The Allergy Care and Education Nurse Pilot provided rural practice nurses with access to a Professional Certificate in Allergy Nursing with ongoing support from experienced allergy nurses to help them establish and provide an allergy education service within their rural service. The Associateship of Clinical Allergy is a two-year part-time allergy training course training 10 rural GPs and paediatricians to build a rural workforce and network supported by specialist mentors to improve access to local quality allergy care.
Conclusion
By progressively building the rural allergy workforce, patients benefit from more rapid diagnosis leading to correct management and treatment, continuity of healthcare provider, and a reduction in unnecessary travel and missed school or workdays. A national ‘Allergy Care Finder’ website enables patients and referrers to locate recognised allergy healthcare providers.