4 April 2024

In the past six months, significant work on our Disability Action Plan has been completed and we are excited to be providing an update.

In December 2022 Austin Health’s Disability Action Plan (DAP) was launched, as a commitment to creating a more inclusive place for all people with disability.

The DAP 2023-26 is a four-year plan that lays the foundation for our organisational approach to all disability related improvement work at Austin Health. The plan draws together our existing and future activities under three priority areas. It provides targeted strategies and actions to guide our work and key performance indicators to measure our success.

The Disability Liaison Officer (DLO) team has been working hard in collaboration with the Disability Inclusion Committee (DIC) and many other Austin Health departments and teams to progress and complete numerous projects within the DAP.

Since July 2023, a number of projects have been achieved including:

• More than 10 education sessions held to over 400 staff on the role of the DLO team, education on disability and how to support patients
• Pathway to support patients using their own transfer equipment established
• Quick reference guide poster was developed to improve access to interpreters

Importantly, we also saw the rollout of a disability identifier question set. This is now a requirement on admission and allows staff to ask patients questions related to disability and ensure relevant support is provided.

“This identifier allows our DLO team to be notified when a person with disability is admitted, facilitating the additional support and care requirements that are needed by this group.  We have received much positive feedback from consumers and their families for the care that the DLO team have been able to provide as a consequence,” says Brit Gordon, Chief Allied Health Officer.

Read more about our achievements and our priority areas for the next six months.