Embedding safe transport: From learning to action

Major disability support provider Noah's Ark is leading the way by embedding learnings from Mobility and Accessibility for Children in Australia Ltd (MACA)’s online training course into the organisation’s day-to-day processes and practices.

MACA launched Transporting Children with Disabilities and Medical Conditions in mid-2022 to build the knowledge and confidence of allied health professionals responsible for assessing and prescribing for children’s motor vehicle transport needs.

The course features contributions from esteemed experts in child restraints, research, road safety and health, and participants develop a professional practice plan for embedding safe transport planning into day-to-day practice. Participants receive a copy of the MACA Guide, Australia’s leading prescribing resource.

Five Noah’s Ark staff members completed the training course during 2022 and immediately began developing a plan to disseminate safe transport information across the organisation’s 150+ staff who provide paediatric intervention.

The training highlighted the need for education about restrictive practice relating to motor vehicle transport. A working party was established to identify how to provide Noah’s Ark staff with a clearer understanding of the process to access support, particularly when there were identified safety concerns and the family were yet to engage with a Registered Specialist Behavioural Support Service.

This was followed by a ‘Lunchbox Webinar,’ which focused on:

• safe transport – what does the research say?
• knowing when and how to have conversations with families about safe transport.
• scope of practice/scope of experience – when to seek support.
• restrictive practices in relation to safe transport.
• Australian Standards – best practice prescribing approaches and tools.
• importance of good documentation.
• where and how to access further support.

The webinar generated discussion about the importance of early and regular conversations with families about their child’s transport needs, and ideas about how the leadership team supports staff in achieving this. This included adding safe transport to team meeting and organisation Community of Practice (discipline specific meetings) agendas, to facilitate more in-depth conversation to apply webinar content to practice.

MACA commends Noah’s Ark’s leadership in taking a proactive, whole of organisation approach to embed safe transport into the organisation’s day-to-day practice and processes.

This will not only ensure Noah’s Ark professionals feel more confident, equipped and supported in their clinical decision-making, but ultimately improves road safety outcomes for children and their families.

In this rapidly evolving field, MACA is further supporting allied health professionals to keep up to date and build competency and confidence through its new MACA Hub.

Open to MACA trained professionals, the MACA Hub offers a range of exclusive resources, templates, professional development and professional development opportunities – as well as the option to be listed on MACA’s new ‘find a MACA trained health professional’ Lookup.

This will continue fostering a community of allied health professionals who share knowledge, experiences and learnings to support the motor vehicle transport needs of children with disabilities and medical conditions.

To find out more about MACA’s online training course Transporting Children with Disabilities and Medical Conditions, visit MACA's website.