MSWA Bulletin Magazine Autumn 18

A MESSAGE FROM THE GENERAL MANAGER
– MEMBER SERVICES
SUE SHAPLAND RN, BN
“Great things never came from comfort zones.” Ben Francia
Welcome to 2018, although its already speeding by! I hope this
year brings us all good health, success, and an opportunity to
enjoy the people and things that are meaningful to us.
Comfort zones feel like that happy place where we are on
familiar ground and generally know how things will go and
turn out. Change challenges our comfort zones, often in a good
way, and allows us to think about new opportunities, review
how things have always been done, make improvements and
set new goals. Of course, uncertainty makes this process a
bit more challenging, however being proactive and embracing
change will help you along your journey.
There has been ongoing change in the Community and
Disability sectors for the last five years at least. The birth of the
concept of a national scheme, the National Disability Insurance
Scheme (NDIS), to improve equity of access to funding for
people affected by disability, has been welcomed by all.
As you know WA has been trialling two versions of the Scheme.
Whilst they had some differences, based on pre-existing
Disability Services Commission advances, they both seek
to deliver more timely access to funding for reasonable and
necessary supports, and give the individual choice and control
over how their funding is used and who provides their services.
Initially, it appeared that we would go ahead with the State
version, however, this decision was under review and in
December we heard that the State Government decided
that WA would now be joining the Federal Scheme. So, after
months of speculation and uncertainty we now have the way
forward. Fortunately, MSWA has not sat back and waited for
a decision, we have continued to plan for our future and get
on with business as usual.
We are very fortunate, through hard work and sound
governance, to have the resources available to us to meet
these challenges and opportunities, to continue to expand
our location footprint, to have our dreams and then see them
come to life.
As you will have heard we are now open in Joondalup,
replacing MSWA Wangara. Our new Butler facility is well and
truly underway and on track for finishing early 2019 - a large
services hub and ten high support accommodation units. We
now have a presence in Mandurah! A leased premise has been
fitted out to provide a services hub for our Members and NDIS
Clients in the region. This is great news and staff now have a
base bringing them closer for home visits. Busselton is next in
our sights, once again fitting out a leased premise to provide a
services hub, bringing our staff together and providing a gym!
I recently visited Albany for a Members Forum and the group
is getting quite excited about our plans to build high support
accommodation in the area. They are also eagerly awaiting
their turn to roll into the NDIS in 2020.
We are also currently undergoing a refit at Wilson. This will
see the physio gym and massage room expanded but will also
provide additional, much needed staff desks. Our staffing
has grown radically to match increased demand under the
NDIS and we have been quite cramped. This fit out will see a
great improvement in the surrounds. Of course, home renos
are never easy and we have had to relocate staff within and
outside of the building, and the Outreach Group has relocated
to Como temporarily. But with our ‘eyes on the prize’ we are
keen to get through the next few months, so we can get back
to normality.
Courtesy of our generous event supporters we continue to
provide essential equipment to benefit people with other
neurological conditions in our local hospitals. Participants
can nominate what condition they choose to support and it’s
our great pleasure to approach the hospitals to see what they
have on their wish lists!
As we face this year of great change and even greater
opportunities, please remember that our Member Services
staff are here to help. Whether it’s information about the
latest research and treatments or you want to chat with one
of the health team about your symptoms or challenges, we
can help you navigate your way through the mountains of
information, much of which isn’t necessarily accurate. Just
telephone 9365 4888 or email get-in-touch@mswa.org.au
The monthly Vitality e-newsletter also has updates on the
various programs and forums that may be of interest.
If you would like to know more about the NDIS, see Nigel’s
update in this addition. We will be contacting Members in the
July roll out areas by letter and arranging local information
sessions and pre-planning advice. These are great ways to
enhance your knowledge about the NDIS and maximise your
opportunity during planning.
Our annual MS Awareness Week Members Forum will be held
in the first week of June and we will confirm the date and
location very soon.
We hope you enjoy this Bulletin. Our staff and contributing
Members have provided some great articles and stories
for your information and enjoyment.
6 | MSWA BULLETIN AUTUMN 2018