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

Chief Executive’s MessageIn 2008, the theme for the International Day for People with a Disability is “Justice and dignityfor all of us”. At a time when 20% of our population has a disability and our population is ageingso rapidly, there has never been a better time to think about how we treat, care for and supportpeople with disabilities in our hospitals and community health centres.Within Sydney South West, a major focus to date has been on improving the health facilities inwhich our communities are treated. Old, cramped and technologically dated health buildingswhich are difficult to access have been (and continue to be) replaced by larger modernbuildings. These facilities are increasingly accessible to people of all ages, and to those with awide range of disabilities and health conditions.At the same time, we have been strengthening our clinical services, including services such asmental health, and aged care and rehabilitation, where we know that traditionally there are ahigher proportion of people with disabilities and therefore a greater level of support will berequired. However, it is no longer realistic to assume that people with disabilities will only usedisability specific specialist health services. Disability is a mainstream issue and people with arange of disabling conditions are accessing all of our services. The challenge for all staff,clinical and non-clinical, is to provide for the needs of people with disabilities in a positive andeffective way.The wide-ranging consultations undertaken to develop this Disability Action Plan highlightedhow our assumptions and stereotypes together with a “one size fits all” approach to care andpolicies, can make a disability more disabling and impact on a person’s dignity. Importantmessages for all staff include the need to tailor responses to the individual, to look beyond thedisability and build on “abilities”, to consider the physical, emotional and mental healthconditions that are not part of the individual’s disability, to listen and communicate, and to workwith the patient, carer (if there is one), and other service providers to preserve and improve thehealth and lifestyle of people with disabilities.I commend this Plan to our community and staff as it will help us towards achieving “justice anddignity for all of us”. We will continue to improve our services for patients and carers bylistening and acting upon the feedback we receive and by building and strengtheningpartnerships with our consumers, general practitioners, and government and communityagencies.I would like to thank the many people who contributed to the development of this Plan such asservice providers, carers and staff and in particular, those people with disabilities who sharedtheir personal experiences, voiced their concerns and in doing so helped to broaden ourunderstanding of the many challenges that confront individuals with disabilities on a daily basis.Mike WallaceChief Executive