Bites: June and July 2002

Disability Services

DPA believes that every person with a disability, and every family which includes a member with a disability, should receive whatever services and other support or assistance which may be needed to reduce the disabling effects of impairment and the handicapping effects of disability. Services should be designed to make possible for each person a full, meaningful and constructive life of their own choosing.

Consultation too important to ignore

The recent furore earlier this year over proposed changed contract arrangements for government-funded home-based disability support services in Manawatu has highlighted the importance of consultation with service users, DPA believes.

It also showed how effective DPA can be.

When the Ministry of Health decided that they wanted to improve the level of services for home-based support services from providers in the lower North Island, they called for a Request For Proposal (RFP) from the existing provider organisations, says DPA chief executive, Gary Williams.

At the same time the Ministry also wanted to make the administration, monitoring and auditing of the disability service contracts easier. They Ministry wanted to reduce the number of providers down from five to two. The Ministry decided on the criteria that they would use. They believed that this was going to improve services. However, during the process, none of the service users were consulted, Gary says.

That meant that the service users were not given the information they needed to decide what impact this would have on them. This was where we came in.

The upshot has been that the Minister for Disability Issues, Ruth Dyson, called a halt to the whole process and the Ministry of Health has had to try again, this time involving service users in working out the new arrangements.

Clearly, disabled people must be an integral part in any decisions in relation to changes to disability services.

Contracts roll over

Eight out of 15 current providers of home care services in Hawkes Bay, Hutt Valley, Manawatu / Horowhenua / Tararua, Wairarapa and Wellington / Kapiti had not had their contracts renewed by last month. They've been rolled over while the Ministry sorts out the new arrangements.

And the Minister has directed the Health Ministry to develop the contracting process in partnership with providers, caregivers and clients to achieve:

high quality, reliable and secure services
a stable workforce with appropriate training
monitoring provisions which include client satisfaction
open and informed complaints procedures, and opportunity for improvement of services in response to any complaints
co-operation between the Ministry of Health, District Health Boards and ACC on provision of services;
constructive partnerships and working relationships between all parties — the ministry, providers, clients and caregivers.

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