Attachment to Submission 29
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National and NSW Australian Association of Councils for Developmental Disability Medicine Intellectual Disability POSITION STATEMENT ON THE HEALTH OF PEOPLE WITH INTELLECTUAL DISABILITIES We call for concerted action to redress the We call on the Australian, and State and poor health status experienced by people Territory, Governments to each and together with intellectual disabilities. We make this work to redress the inequity in health care call to the Australian, and State and Territory, experienced by people with intellectual Governments. disabilities. In particular, we call on the Governments to establish a national There are over 300,000 people with network of intellectual disability health intellectual disabilities in Australia. They have services. very high rates of health problems and these problems are often not diagnosed or appropriately treated. Life expectancy is Contacts: reduced by up to 20 years. Jim Simpson, NSW CID There are many causes of this situation, ranging across communication barriers Professor Nick Lennox, AADDM between patients and health professionals, complexity of diagnosis, lack of general and specialised skills in the health workforce, and health promotion campaigns and research not Endorsements - individuals focusing on people with intellectual disabilities. Richard Larkins AO Former Vice-Chancellor, Monash University & As well as the human and financial cost of President, Royal Australasian College of poor health for people with intellectual Physicians disabilities and their families, there is considerable financial cost to the health, Michael Kidd AM social security and disability service systems. Dean of Health Sciences, Flinders University Former President, Royal Australian College of Governments need to take action to provide General Practitioners equity in health care for people with intellectual disabilities. All health care Kevin Cocks planning should include specific Director, Queensland Advocacy Inc consideration of how it will meet the Human Rights Medallist needs of people with intellectual Fiona Stanley AC disabilities. Director, Telethon Institute for Child Health Research There also needs to be a national network of Australian of the Year 2003 health services specialising in the health care of people with intellectual disabilities. These Stephen Leeder AO services would be a consultancy and training Director, Australian Health Policy Institute resource to the mainstream health system so as to enhance its capacity to meet the needs Jeanette Moss AM of people with intellectual disabilities. The Parent advocate specialised services would facilitate collaboration between local health and Bill Carter QC disability services and undertake research. Retired Supreme Court Judge & Royal Commissioner Paul Bauert, Phillip Aspinall Director Paediatric Services Royal Darwin Hospital Primate of the Anglican Church of Australia & President AMA NT Ed Byrne AO Peter Baume AC Vice Chancellor, Monash University & former Emeritus Professor of Community Medicine & Vice Provost (Health), University College London former Federal Health Minister Paul Greenfield AO David Richmond AO Vice Chancellor, University of Queensland Former chief executive of agencies including NSW Health & the Olympic Coordination Authority Robert Strike President, Self Advocacy Sydney & Chair, NSW Council for Intellectual Disability, National Health and Hospitals Reform Lifelong Achievement Award, National Disability Commission final report 2009 Awards 2009 People with intellectual disabilities “face stark Peter Brooks Director Australian Health Workforce Institute, health inequalities”. “Many of our reform University of Melbourne recommendations … will assist”. Chris Mitchell “Access to specialist medical services is also President, Royal Australian College of General a major gap to be addressed for people living Practitioners with an intellectual disability.” (p 82) John Dwyer AO Professor of Medicine & Founding Chair, Australian Health Care Reform Alliance Pre-election promise Errol Cocks “Labor does recognise that people with Professor, School of Occupational Therapy & intellectual disabilities are disadvantaged in Social Work, Curtin University of Technology the health system. ….In many situations, GPs and other health professionals require access Julian Gardner to specialist advice to provide the health Former Public Advocate, Victoria services people with intellectual disabilities require. ….The health of people with Sister Angela Mary Doyle AO Former Administrator, Mater Hospitals & disabilities needs to be part of [our] reform Queenslander of the Year plans.” (Shadow Ministers Roxon and McLucas, November 2007) Bruce Robinson Dean of Medicine, University of Sydney The NSW Government has recently spelt out Gwynnyth Llewellyn the need for a multi tiered framework of action Dean of Health Sciences, University of Sydney on the health of people with intellectual disabilities including the establishment of a Peter Smith statewide network of specialised intellectual Dean of Medicine, University of NSW disability health services to back up Alison Jones, mainstream services. (NSW Health (2007), Dean of Medicine, University of Western Sydney Development of a service framework to improve health care of people with intellectual disabilities) Nicholas Fisk Executive Dean of Health Sciences, University of The NSW Ombudsman, who review deaths Queensland of people with disabilities, has said that the proposed NSW framework “is critical to Richard Bruggemann improve the health outcomes for this Professorial Fellow in Disability Studies & former vulnerable community”. CEO, Intellectual Disability Services Council, SA (NSW Ombudsman, Report of Reviewable Deaths in 2007, Vol. 1, p.i Kevin Stone Parent advocate & Executive Officer, Victorian Advocacy League for Individuals with Disability Ron Mulock AO Specialised resource services would greatly Former Health Minister & Deputy Premier, assist in addressing many of the health NSW inequality concerns identified in research and help Australia meet its commitment to John Hannaford Former Health & Community Services equal health outcomes arising from the UN Minister, NSW Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. Chris Sidoti Graeme Innes Former Australian Human Rights Commissioner Human Rights & Disability Discrimination Justice Sally Thomas AM Commissioner Supreme Court of the Northern Territory Guy Hamilton AM Margaret Ward Former head of intellectual disability services, Parent advocate & former Deputy Chair, Western Australia Disability Advisory Council of Australia John Taplin Bruce Tonge Professor of Psychology, University of Adelaide Professor of Psychological Medicine & Head of the School of Psychology, Psychiatry and Helen Beange AM Psychological Medicine, Monash University Clinical Professor of Medicine Philip Mitchell AM Roger West Professor and Head, School of Psychiatry, Former President, Guardianship Tribunal, and University of New South Wales Community Services Commissioner NSW Stewart Einfeld Adrian Sleigh Professor of Mental Health Professor, National Centre for Epidemiology & University of Sydney Population Health, ANU Julian Trollor Michelle Howard Chair in Intellectual Disability Mental Health Public Advocate - Queensland University of NSW Malcolm Schyvens Adrian Keller Past President, Law Society of Tasmania Chair, NSW Branch, Royal Australian & New Zealand College of Psychiatrists Jeremy Ward Parent advocate & former Director, Leon Piterman AM Queensland Advocacy Inc Professor of General Practice & Deputy Dean of Medicine, Nursing and John Entwistle Health Sciences, Monash University Parent advocate, GP and former member, National Disability Advisory Council Trevor Parmenter AM Professor of Developmental Disability Studies Kim Oates AM & past President, International Association for Professor of Paediatrics & former chief the Scientific Study of Intellectual Disabilities executive, the Children’s Hospital at Westmead Reverend Jim Colville AM Margaret Colville AM Parent Advocate Deputy Public Guardian of Tasmania Eileen Baldry John O’Donnell Justice Medallist & Associate Dean, School of CEO, Mater Health Services, Brisbane Social Sciences, University of NSW Michelle Stagg and Dell Stagg, Philip Montgomery Parent advocate and President, SA Council on Executive Director, Royal Perth Hospital & Intellectual Disability former Director of Medical & Health Services, Disability Services Commission, WA Mark Ierace SC Senior Public Defender, NSW Faye Druett National organisations Former Deputy Chair of People with Disability Australia & Disability Council of NSW Ability First Australia Susan Hayes AO Australian Council of Social Service Professor of Behavioural Sciences in Medicine Australian Federation of Disability Organisations University of Sydney Australian Healthcare & Hospitals Association Jan May OAM Parent advocate Australian Society for Special Care in Dentistry Associate Professor Meg Smith OAM Australasian Society for the Study of Intellectual School of Social Sciences, UWS Disability Grant Lindsay, Donna Rousham and Baptist Union of Australia Esther Tan, Parent advocates, Northern Territory Best Buddies Australia Neil Preston OAM Cancer Council Australia CEO, Greenacres Disability Services, NSW Dietitians Association of Australia Patricia O’Brien Professor of Disability Studies, University of Disability Advocacy Network Australia Sydney & former Director, National Institute for Intellectual Disability, Trinity College, Doctors Reform Society Dublin