Introducing AHANA: Australia’s National body for Allied Health Assistants’.
Benjamin Turnbull1, Emily Hoyne1, Susan Nancarrow1, Tara Intarapanya1, Andrew Richardson1, Angela Teasdale1, Nerida Volker1, Lucy Whelan11Allied Health Assistants’ National Association Ltd, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia
Abstract
Aim:
AHANA was established to enable Allied Health Assistants (AHAs) to support Allied Health Professionals (AHPs) to meet the increasing demands on the health, disability and aged care systems in the public, private and not-for-private sectors.
Background:
AHANA was incorporated in 2022 and a board was established to oversee the governance, policy development and membership structure. Consultation with industry, professional bodies and training organisations helped to shape the membership structure of AHANA. This presentation will outline the processes of establishing AHANA, consultation results, the current structure and areas requiring further development.
Project results:
Stakeholder consultation identified widespread support for AHANA but highlighted the challenges of unifying a highly variable workforce. The lack of standardised qualifications or employment awards for AHAs nationally presented challenges for establishing membership rules. The greatest areas of concern for allied health stakeholders were the delegation and supervision structures for AHAs.
Outcomes and implications:
We will discuss the ways that AHANA has addressed the challenges of establishing AHANA as a self-regulating workforce, the membership structure, and the concerns about workforce autonomy and delegation. Our presentation will also discuss areas requiring further input – specifically the approach to developing discipline specific competencies for the AHA workforce.
Conclusion:
The establishment of AHANA has the potential to improve the quality of care for patients and clients in the health, disability, and aged care sectors, as well as benefit both AHAs and AHPs who delegate and/or supervise AHAs. AHANA’s establishment marks a significant milestone in the development of allied health services in Australia.
Biography
Ben is founding CEO of AHANA and an Allied Health Assistant. He required extensive allied health rehabilitation following a vehicle accident in 2011. After completing his Certificate IV in Allied Health Assistance in 2014, Ben formed the NSW AHA Network (2019) which then collaborated with the AHA Victorian Network to develop AHANA.
Emily, studying a Master’s Degree in Occupational Therapy, is an AHA within Perth’s forensic mental health sector and has a health informatics and public health background. Emily works to improve healthcare systems, promote the essential role of AHAs and elevate the standards of care within the AHA workforce.