Supporting better life outcomes

Having grown up in rural Victoria, Lucy Joyce is acutely aware of the unique health needs of Mallee locals.

“I grew up on a farm in the Western District, so going into the health sector I was aware of the need for access to health services in rural areas,” says Lucy.

“This opportunity to work across the Mallee came up and I thought it would be a great way for me to increase access to speech pathology in rural areas while developing invaluable clinical skills at the same time,” says Lucy.

Lucy joined the Flying Doctor Speech Therapy team up in the Mallee in January of this year, and works closely with service partners Robinvale District Health Services (RDHS) and Mallee Track Health and Community Service (MTHCS).

From her vantage point in Ouyen, Lucy is able to see more families in a day than a Robinvale- or Mildura-based speech pathologist, who would need to travel much further to the community. In this way, Lucy and the team of allied health assistants ensure that families in the local communities can more easily access speech pathology services.

“Supporting a child’s communication leads to better outcomes in life, including improved literacy skills, quality of life, mental health and job and social opportunities,” says Lucy. “Accessing speech pathology services early in life can greatly benefit these outcomes and build a child’s confidence in communicating with others.

“I have always been passionate about helping people and wanted to choose a career that gave me the opportunity to do this. I really love working with different people, particularly children, and speech pathology has given me the ability to do this and so much more.”

If this service wasn’t available, local residents would need to drive great distances to bigger, regional towns. For instance, families in Underbool would need to travel more than 150km one way to see a speech pathologist in Mildura, which for many may have been a barrier to accessing support. Murrayville families are closer to SA, but COVID-19 restrictions have made it more challenging for residents to reach allied health services, so visits from the Flying Doctor Speech Therapy team have ensured continued access during this time.

Despite the great benefits this service offers, Lucy acknowledges that speech pathology is just the first step in supporting Mallee families to have more positive outcomes in life.

“I hope that by increasing access to speech pathology in these areas, we will see more children in the Mallee have improved quality of life, increased employment opportunities later in life and better overall health,” says Lucy.