Foundation spotlight BCH for Speech Pathology Week

IN CELEBRATION of Speech Pathology Week, the Geelong Community Foundation is highlighting the crucial work of Bellarine Community Health (BCH).

BCH is the largest provider of community health services on the Bellarine Peninsula and plays a key role in filling gaps left by the broader health systems in areas such as acute and primary care.

Based in Drysdale, Portarlington, Point Lonsdale and Ocean Grove, the group provide a broad range of health services and wellbeing programs for people of all ages, including speech pathology services to support children and young people to develop their communication skills.

BCH currently has five speech pathologists who provide one-to-one therapy sessions and host group sessions such as Little Talkers, for young children delayed in their talking and early communication, and Minimal Pairs, which focuses on speech sound production for children with difficulty in word clarity.

Sessions are not only delivered in-person, but via telehealth or in community settings such as Early Learning Centres (ELC), schools or even at home.

Over the last twelve months, the BCH speech services has provided over 3,000 appointments and worked with more than 300 families.

Geelong Community Foundation CEO Gail Rodgers said recent census data shows just how crucial the work of community organisations like BCH really is.

“Census data tells us that 43.5 per cent of residents in the City of Greater Geelong and 48 per cent in the Borough of Queenscliffe report long term health conditions, which is significantly higher than the 39 per cent in Victoria.”

Bellarine Community Health Child Health and Development Manager Gus Campbell said the establishment of a senior paediatric speech pathologist role has been made possible through funding from the Geelong Community Foundation.

“The grant enabled us to enhance the speech teams’ skills and capabilities, improve access to speech services, explore new areas of service, and has supported the establishment of an early career position for new graduates or those with limited experience and planning for the return of student placements.

“Attracting speech pathologists to the sector is one of the ongoing and increasing challenges faced by BCH and the Community Health sector more broadly due to workforce shortages.

“Securing additional funding [will] enable us to recruit to respond to the increased demand and provide timely access to much-needed early intervention therapy and support.”