Priorities are different for disabled
IN recent weeks this newspaper has highlighted some of the deficiencies in the island's existing set-up for ensuring that people who need a wheelchair are adequately assessed and receive the right machine in a timely fashion.
IN recent weeks this newspaper has highlighted some of the deficiencies in the island's existing set-up for ensuring that people who need a wheelchair are adequately assessed and receive the right machine in a timely fashion.
We have also drawn attention to the gaps in the service and the unacceptable delays some have experienced in receiving a wheelchair that is vital to their mobility, daily comfort and, ultimately, self-esteem.
Part of that process also involved publishing an apology from the minister of the Health and Social Services Department for what he accepted was a misjudged handling of trying to prevent publication of a report critical of its service.
Today, the story takes a new twist with the Education Department apparently attacking HSSD's service and backing calls made in the suppressed report for dedicated wheelchair provision.
In response, in today's Billet d'Etat, HSSD's lead defence is 'don't try to micromanage us'.
Yet Education says best practice would demand a multidisciplinary team and users actually trying a wheelchair first to make sure it was suitable. It goes on to highlight the difficulty of assessment staff to maintain their skills, the difficulty of getting wheelchair manufacturer representatives to the island when needed and says that the current setup discriminates against children of different ages.
These are all criticisms that HSSD has tried to counter but not respond to. Why? Because it best knows its priorities.
Yet to those waiting to receive a possibly unsuitable wheelchair, to those struggling to use an ill-fitting or poorly-maintained device, there is no greater priority. The wheelchair is a lifeline and something many have to spend all day using.
Equally, both Education and the Social Security Department are involved and may have a different view of what constitutes priority.
No department wants to be told what to do - and Health's management team make a point of advising political members they are not there to interfere or speak to staff - but they have to be prepared to take the consequences of their decisions.
