SSWAHS Disability Action Plan - Sydney South West Area Health ...

SSWAHS DISABILITY ACTION PLAN 2008-20115. ImplementationThe Action Plan in Section 6 identifies timeframes, responsibilities and performance indicators.The following considers communication, governance and reporting structures.5.1 Communication StrategyThe plan will be launched and widely promoted through the SSWAHS newsletter, CommunityParticipation Networks, the SSWAHS website and intranet, and in staff orientation programs.All senior managers have been briefed about this Plan, with further discussions to occurregarding specific initiatives such as employment. Managers and clinical directors will beprovided with the Plan for implementation, and performance agreements of senior staff willinclude responsibilities from the Disability Action Plan.An important part of this strategy will be to maintain the profile of the plan, and to build thecapacity of services to respond to needs on an ongoing basis. This will occur through theestablishment of a Disability focused web-page, and development of strategies to recogniseand acknowledge innovative approaches adopted by services and facilities to improve servicesto people with disabilities.A Disability Action Plan Senior Implementation Officer will be employed to support the initialphases of implementation by developing clinical guidelines, providing training to seniorclinicians and managers in standards to be used in review of clinical policies, and supportingdevelopment of resources and tools to improve care.5.2 Governance and OversightAn Executive Sponsor for the Plan will be identified to ensure that there is Executive support,ownership and oversight of the Plan.A SSWAHS Disability Action Plan Implementation and Advisory Committee (DAPI&AC),chaired by a Senior Executive, will be established to monitor and evaluate implementation andprogress, identify emerging issues, and provide ongoing advice to the Area Health Serviceregarding the needs of people with disabilities. To enhance accountability, the Committee willinclude representation from each facility, consumers, key agencies and disability peak bodies.The agenda of the Committee will include reports on SSWAHS capital works, and majorCommonwealth and NSW Government initiatives, such as EnableNSW. Directors and seniormanagers of clinical services, facilities and area programs responsible for implementation willbe required to report regularly on progress, initiatives and barriers to implementation. Thesereports will be supported by formal presentations to the committee, and provision of informationfrom the SSWAHS Annual Report addressing the Disability Action Plan and Equal EmploymentOpportunity. Information from the NSW Health Incident Information Management System(IIMS) and Patient Surveys will be used to review progress and to set new direction.Evaluation will occur through use of the performance indicators, and six monthly progressreports. Preliminary indicators have been incorporated into this Plan to measure performance.However, the core performance indicators in the new NSW Disability Action Plan Reporting andEvaluation Framework (to be released in 2008/9) will also be used to develop further indicatorsand guide reporting. A reporting template will be developed to assist this process.It is expected that at a local level, hospitals and community health services will develop andbuild on existing organisational structures to support implementation, monitoring and reporting.These structures will also link with quality processes and structures.At the end of the 2011, the Action Plan will be reviewed and updated for the next five yearperiod using the new NSW guidelines on disability planning. As part of the process for review,Page 24