Recommendations outlined in the announcement would see investment in more highly trained staff who would contribute to improving services by reducing wait time for approvals and reviews. The College hopes implementation of these commitments would result in better outcomes for people with disability, and improve the situation in the hospital system, where too many people with disability are forced to wait for care they need in the community.
Systemic issues and shortcomings in these areas mean that too often, across Australia, people with disability are stuck living in hospital wards because they are facing lengthy delays for their initial NDIS plan to be approved.
These delays, in turn, have significant impacts on hospital ward occupancy, which then impacts on the ability of emergency departments and the staff who work in them to treat people in a timely and effective manner because new patients can’t move out of ED into an acute hospital bed.
By supporting the shared planning between mainstream services, including the NDIS, we can achieve genuine improvements to the function of Australia’s healthcare system and ensure people in Australia have access to high quality healthcare when and where they need it.
The College also encourages healthcare consumers, carers, and all members of the public to demand improvements in these key areas from all parties and candidates contesting the 2022 election.
ACEM president Dr Clare Skinner says, “Through collaborative engagement, issues with the NDIS, including long waits for much-needed services, can be fixed. We look forward to working with the government and colleagues across the health system as we seek the necessary reforms and improvements to the NDIS scheme.”
