Kelly Vincent – Vision Australia Interview on Centre for Disability Health
24/02/2016
On Wednesday 24th February 2016, Dignity for Disability MLC Hon Kelly Vincent was interviewed on radio station Vision Australia to discuss some concerns that have arisen with the Centre for Disability Health in Modbury. Here is the audio and transcript.
Pam Green: Time now to welcome to 5RPH Dignity for Disability MLC, Kelly Vincent. Hi Kelly.
Kelly Vincent: Hi Pam.
Pam Green: Well first off today, the Centre for Disability Health in Modbury, has been under fire. What’s going on there?
Kelly Vincent: Well as you would know Pam, the Centre for Disability Health has operated for some time as a specialist health service for people with disability who can’t access the general mainstream health services because of their disability. Last year the community was really placed on notice that the Centre for Disability will at some point be closed. The former Minister for Disabilities, Tony Piccolo was adamant that the centre would remain open until appropriate alternative solutions are found. Dignity for Disability now understand from the things that we’ve been told, that closure is likely to take place at the end of this year.
Pam Green: So what are some of the issues coming up in the meantime?
Kelly Vincent: Well ahead of the closure, issues around who is eligible to actually attend the Centre for Disability Health have arisen. People who were eligible for disability services through Disability SA but were not receiving them because they might have been receiving them through an external body like say the Down Syndrome Society and only received services through Down Syndrome Society and not Disability SA were previously taken on as clients even though they didn’t technically meet the criteria. I now understand that staff at the CDH have been told that only people who receive services specifically through Disability SA are eligible to attend CDH so that’s really restricting the patients that they are taking in and who is eligible.
Pam Green: Well is there any further implications in service delivery with the roll out of the NDIS?
Kelly Vincent: Well yes, because children of course who are aged under fourteen at the moment are being told or at least their parents or family are being told that because they’re no longer eligible for disability services where they have an NDIS plan, due to the roll out of the NDIS – they will no longer be eligible for services through the Centre for Disability Health. That’s a big concern because as you well know Pam, not every eligible fourteen year old is on an NDIS plan. It could well be people who still need this service are missing out.
Pam Green: So what action are you taking Kelly?
Kelly Vincent: Well certainly, Dignity for Disability has been actively lobbying the government to keep the Centre for Disability Health open, particularly while we don’t have an alternative that’s accessible to people with disabilities in the mainstream health services. And so Dignity for Disability is now seeking clarification from the Health Minister to establish what the eligibility criteria are and importantly to look at what other existing services could take up that role of providing that accessible health service to people with disabilities, because of course we’d love to see the mainstream health service become accessible to all people with disabilities but in reality that isn’t the case at the moment. So ideally we’d like to see the centre remain open while there is no alternative in place so that people with disabilities can still have their health care needs met including those people with behavioural issues who might require a calm environment and longer appointments to make sure that their needs are understood. So we need to get more understanding about disability in the mainstream health service as well as keeping the Centre for Disability Health open while that is not the case.
Pam Green: As always thanks so much for your time today Kelly.
Kelly Vincent: Thanks Pam.
