When western suburbs resident Rachel Huntly suspected her ten-year old daughter Trinity had autism, she felt overwhelmed at the thought of having to navigate the health system to get a diagnosis.
Ms Huntly was already familiar with the challenges of accessing support when her eldest son received his autism diagnosis years earlier.
“It took away so much from us just being a family. We’d spend hours every week just on the phone trying to organise everything, travelling to appointments, and waiting. It took time away from work, from my other kids, and from just being a family. It was stressful and overwhelming,” Ms Huntly said.
In seeking a diagnosis for Trinity, Ms Huntly was connected with Brimbank Melton Children’s Health and Wellbeing Local at IPC Health in Sunshine, which houses a multi-disciplinary team under one roof.
Within a week of her first call, Trinity had an intake appointment and received an autism diagnosis, occupational therapy, mental health support, and occupational therapy referrals shortly after, all in the same location.
“Having everything under one roof has been a game-changer. We’re not running around to 50 different places anymore. It’s way less stressful and so much easier for our family,” Ms Huntly said.
“IPC Health is out there obviously helping the children, but then they reached out to me and were like, ‘Rachel, do you need support?’ Yes, as a mum, as a dad, sometimes we do. We all have our moments where we’re struggling, and so I really admired that they reached out to give me support too.”
The family has joined Infrastructure Victoria’s recent call on the state government to invest a further $150 million to $300 million into community health infrastructure over the next five years.
Husband Adam Huntly said the funding is a necessity.
“It’s made such a life changing difference and without that funding, we’d still be back at square one, struggling to get help, struggling to have a diagnosis,” Mr Huntly said.
“We’ve got a generation of kids that we can do a lot for with the correct funding…That funding has definitely changed the lives in one household, and it can do it for many.”
