New scheme allows basic freedoms

‘‘We all do better when everyone is able to participate [in society].’’ Associate Health Minister Julie Anne Genter

Choosing when to get up, when to eat and when to go to bed is a newfound freedom people taking part in a disability support scheme hope to experience.

From October, the Ministry of Health will trial the Enabling Good Lives programme for people who receive disability support in the area covered by the Midcentral District Health Board, from O¯ taki north to Manawatu¯ and Tararua in the east.

It will give people with disabilities flexibility about how care, support, and information is provided to them and a support person to help them achieve this.

They’ll also get money to spend on improving their lives, Minister for Disability Issues Carmel Sepuloni said at a launch in Palmerston North yesterday.

The trial will cost $24.8 million over two years, covering 1600 people under the care of the Midcentral board, and those already participating in a smaller trial in Waikato, which begun in 2015.

It has been designed by people with disabilities, their families and supporters and agencies involved in their care, Sepuloni said.

Palmerston North wheelchair user Toni Burgess said the scheme was a game-changer.

‘‘Most people can choose things like when they just get up in the morning.

‘‘This means they get to choose when they want to get up, or even just when you get dinner, whereas if you’re in residential care, it’s decided by when your carer can come by to get you up and get you dinner.

‘‘In the Waikato, we’ve seen people who were in full-time residential care move out to live independently. People are really looking forward to positive change where they can take more control over their care.’’

Burgess is part of a leadership team of people with disabilities and supporters who will guide the project.

With more tailored support, many disabled people could begin to live more ‘‘ordinary, everyday lives’’, she said.

‘‘We’d like to see flow-on effects. We’d like to see buildings made more accessible, better understanding from the community, making sure there’s large print material available.’’

Sepuloni said the ideas behind the scheme were not new. They had been discussed in the disability community since the 1970s.

The scheme’s flexibility meant it could be ‘‘sensitive’’ to different cultures, and to children and young people, she said.

Associate Minister of Health Julie Anne Genter said the benefits of the trial wouldn’t just be measured financially, but by how successful it was at helping disabled people live more fulfilling and productive lives, and the effect it had on their families and carers.

‘‘We all do better when everyone is able to participate [in society]. We won’t get everything perfect straight away, but this is how we make progress – trialling and learning.’’

Information provided by Genter’s office said no existing services would be cut. People using the scheme, and their families, could use it as a way to access disability support provided by different government agencies.

Cabinet will in June decide how the funding is allocated and more operational details.