MSWA Bulletin Magazine Summer 17

A DAY IN THE LIFE
OF AN MSWA NDIS
TEAM MEMBER
The MSWA National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) team
are responsible for providing a smooth and easy NDIS journey
for our Members and non-MS Clients. They are always ready
to answer all your questions, help assess your eligibility, and
guide you through the application process.
We asked Pranjal Pawar, NDIS Client Relationship Coordinator
based in our Wilson office, to describe a typical day to illustrate
how she helps our Members transition to the NDIS.
8am: Early start; I arrive in the office and make a quick coffee
while chatting with my colleagues in the team.
8.15am: I phone a Member regarding eligibility for the NDIS.
It’s important to confirm they are under 65 and an Australian
citizen. The NDIS has yet to roll out throughout the State so I
also check he lives in a current NDIS site; it’s Armadale and
that is a live site!
I confirm I will submit his eligibility form online on his behalf;
his NDIS journey has begun.
8.30am: Phone call from a Client with Parkinson’s wanting
to know if we can provide a range of domestic services
including meal preparation and home cleaning. I also clarify
that gardening services can be funded by the NDIS.
8.45am: Off to a home visit with a Client to help prepare her
for a planning meeting with the WA NDIS Local Coordinator.
She has recently had a stroke.
Many of our Members and Clients like to involve our NDIS
team before their planning meeting as they are not sure what
questions to ask the Local Coordinator. As the Client mentions
to me when we meet: “I don’t know what I don’t know.”
Over a lovely cup of tea we discuss the barriers she faces
in her everyday life and the kind of supports and services
she needs to overcome them. Above all, her goals are the
desire to live independently and safely in her home and fully
participate in community life. She questions whether she
really deserves these kinds of supports and I stress the NDIS
is an entitlement for anyone with a permanent disability. She
doesn’t have to ‘muddle through’ any more.
She is very happy with the plan we develop together, and we
confirm the planning meeting appointment time.
10.30am: I return to Wilson in time to talk about the NDIS
with a group of new MSWA Care Support Workers. There is a
lively Q & A session after my presentation. They are especially
interested in the fact that their Clients have total choice and
control over their NDIS budgets.
For example, they can move to another service provider if
they are unhappy with the services they receive. This makes
these training days especially relevant to maintaining our high
service delivery standards.
11.15am: I meet a new Client to discuss what the NDIS can
offer her. She is under the impression that she won’t be eligible
as she is working full-time. I stress that the NDIS is keen to
ensure people can remain in employment if possible. I outline
some of the services she can receive. For example, if fatigue
is an issue when she returns home in the evening, NDIS
funding can help with home cleaning and meal preparation.
This will help her successfully maintain her role as a great
mum for her three children.
The NDIS can also help her with funding to access a fatigue
management program. I mention our OT Department has
helped many Members and Clients manage fatigue and they
can also advise on reconfiguring their workplaces, so they are
fully aligned with their needs. I also recommend incorporating
a transportation/taxi allowance into her plan; there are some
days when she may not feel like driving home from work.
She is very impressed the NDIS is tailored for people like her
with an emphasis on early intervention. You don’t have to have
a severe disability to be eligible and benefit from the NDIS.
12.00pm: Chatting with two of my colleagues in the NDIS
team, we agree it can be difficult to fully convey the functional
disability that many of our Clients often face. Neurological
conditions can be variable and changeable, and people
sometimes present at the planning meetings with no apparent
issues. We agree that a good strategy is to ask our Clients
to describe how their worst day looks when they meet the
NDIS planner. This enables the planner to better understand
the variable and debilitating nature of their condition.
1.00pm: Off to lunch. Lunch is also a great opportunity to
share experiences with my colleagues in the physiotherapy,
occupational therapy, counselling and speech therapy
departments. It’s important for me to understand the full range
of services they can offer and the challenges they also face.
20 | MSWA BULLETIN SUMMER 2017