Marking a major milestone for equitable care, the collaborative Canterbury and the West Coast Health Disability Action Plan was launched in July 2016. It is an action plan, and so the launch is only the beginning.
The aim of the Plan is to ensure people who experience disability in across the Transalpine area have the health services they need and are included in decisions about their health care. This ten year Plan is the product of more than a year of consultation with Disabled Person’s Organisations (DPOs) to define priorities for the first two years and map our way forward for the next eight.
It’s a work in progress, as it needs to remain responsive to people’s changing needs. Consultation too is ongoing and one of the most important actions for the coming year is to invite input from the wider community, particularly those with a disability who aren’t represented through a DPO.
Disability Steering Group (DSG)
The formation of a steering group with representatives from the community, the disability sector and from across the health system marks the achievement of the first of the Plan’s promised actions
The purpose of the group is to ensure people with disabilities in the Canterbury and West Coast District Health Board areas have the health services they need, and feel included in decisions about their health care. The group has been selected to ensure the right balance of representation and to gather round a single table a wide range of relevant knowledge and expertise.
Read more about the Disability Steering Group (DSG)