Mark Butterworth, Chief Allied Health Practitioner
Metro North Health is developing our first Disability Service Plan 2024 – 2029.
Last year Shaun Drummond, Director-General Queensland Health, recommended all Hospital and Health Services consider developing their own Disability Service Plan. On 17 April 2023, the Department of Health released their Disability Service Plan 2022 – 2024. This plan highlights seven health priority areas:
- Inclusion
- Improving capability
- Accessibility
- Safety, rights, and respect
- Disaster preparedness
- Evidence, research, and data
- Improved service delivery
Following the recommendations made by the Department of Health, Metro North is responding with the development of our own Disability Service Plan 2024 – 2029, the first of its kind for Metro North. The plan will be developed with the purpose of improving the care Metro North provides to people with a disability, ensure people with a disability are an integral part of the Metro North Health workforce, improve health equity for people with disability and make the Metro North physical environment as accessible as reasonably possible for all staff, patients, and family members of the Metro North community.
To kickstart our plan development and ensure a focus on co-design, a Steering Committee has been created inclusive of at least 50% representation from passionate people with lived experience of disability from within our workforce and our community. On 26 April 2023, we held our first Steering Committee meeting, which highlighted the passion and motivation for improvements in this space.
Our plan will be outcomes focussed with targeted actions to improve how we respond to and support people with disability in our workforce and in our community. It is anticipated that the plan will be completed by approximately December 2023.
Mark.