Connecting Tasmanian National Disability Insurance Scheme participants with allied health services: challenges and strategies of support coordinators

The purpose of this study was to explore the challenges andstrategies of support coordinators tasked with connectingNational Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) participants withallied health services in Tasmania, a largely rural and island stateof Australia. Twenty-five registered support coordinators currentlysupporting Tasmanian NDIS participants participated in semistructured interviews, with interview data coded and thematicallyanalysed. Support coordinators unanimously reported difficultiesconnecting NDIS participants to allied health services, with a lackof registered allied health providers and providers with specialistskills and experience with complex disabilities. Support coordinators reported lengthy waiting lists for NDIS participants and compromised service quality, which in some cases led to a loss ofparticipant functioning and future funding. Building positive relationships with allied health providers and persistence were perceived as critical to facilitate allied health service access, as wasleaving no stone unturned and looking beyond the island forallied health services. Support coordinators play a critical role inconnecting NDIS participants to available services through aggressively canvassing local allied health providers, as well as harnessing interstate allied health provider capacity through novelmeans. Broad workforce strategies are needed to recruit andretain allied health professionals to the Tasmanian NDIS registeredprovider market. Policy development is also needed to ensurequality and effective support coordination for NDIS participants