The RFDS in VIC

Flying Doctor Speech Therapy

RFDS Victoria is working with local health services to provide children aged 0-12 years with easy access to free and local speech pathology services.

After a successful two-year pilot across the Mallee, we now support kids speech services in the towns of Robinvale, Ouyen, Sea Lake, Murrayville and Underbool. We have also expanded across the Buloke and Loddon regions, servicing the communities of Inglewood, Wedderburn, Bridgewater, Charlton, Donald, Wycheproof, Birchip and Dingee.

Why the Flying Doctor offers this service

Learning to speak is a critical life skill, but unfortunately some children have difficulty or delays with their speech and language development. This can create problems in a child’s ability to communicate and learn from others. Early intervention with speech therapy services is important as it can have a positive impact on a child’s ability to master speech and language.

Across Victoria, there is a growing need for child speech pathology services. The introduction of Flying Doctor Speech Therapy ensures that there is a dedicated service available for families with young children to access this service. With increased appointments available, reduced wait times and shorter distances to travel to access speech services, children’s speech and language needs will be more efficiently addressed.

Meet our patients

Watch the video below to find out more about the real impact this service has on Victorian communities.

You can also read more Flying Doctor Speech Therapy patient stories here.

What to expect from a Flying Doctor Speech Therapy session

Via an initial appointment at a local health clinic, our speech pathologist assesses the child’s needs and develops a plan to support their speech development. Ongoing appointments are then held via both face-to-face and our secure Flying Doctor Telehealth service.

Early intervention often leads to improved outcomes, so accurately identifying children with speech and language needs is a crucial part of the process. To assist with this, the program also provides training for early education workers at local schools and centres to assist in identifying children with speech and language needs.

We believe that people living in rural and regional areas shouldn’t be at a disadvantage when it comes to receiving health care. Programs delivered in partnership with local health services make a tangible difference to the lives of many children, and it is services like these that RFDS Victoria is proud to help deliver to rural communities.

How to contact our team

Contact Robinvale District Health Service for Robinvale | Manangatang

T: (03) 5051 8160
F: (03) 5026 1600
E: primarycare@rdhs.com.au

Contact Mallee Track Health and Community Service for Ouyen | Sea Lake | Murrayville | Underbool | Tempy

T: (03) 5092 1111
F: (03) 5091 0272
E: serviceaccess@mthcs.vic.gov.au

Our communities

See below the Victorian communities that accessed Flying Doctor Speech Therapy in the last financial year.