Guidelines Needed For Self-Managed AND Agency Health Care

Self-Management in Aged Care, Chronic and Mental Illness, Disability and Special Education will be the focus of a national Self-Management Conference in Melbourne 2-3 May 2011 and a PWF colleague makes some interesting observations below.

About The Conference

Run by Social Enterprise Partnerships Ltd, developments towards self-management of supports and services will be reviewed and participants will examine working models in order to improve self-management practice and enhance infrastructure, technology, peer and professional supports.

The conference will be two days of learning from peers, sharing information, and networking to take advantage of best practice.

FOR MORE INFO click here.

Government’s Current Approach To Self-Management

Horrified at what I read about what I regarded as Government’s inept approach to some self-managed care situations, a colleague made the following points which ‘lifted the veil’ of misunderstanding on my part.

It seems there are definitely TWO areas of care:

(1) Private sector or ‘self-management’ that focuses on the best possible outcome

AND

(2) Government agencies that have to report to senate estimate committees or a similar body within a certain time-frame with the next release of funding being reliant on how previous funds have been spent – An outcomes based model.

What Does This Mean?

Unfortunately this means that incorporated organisations only have to demonstrate that they have achieved guideline outcomes, when reporting and acquitting a grant. The funding body is not interested in how they spent the grant funds in achieving the outcomes.

This is why public servants are trained to tell people what they’re not allowed to have, instead of what they can have and why.

The opposite occurs with the private sector.

It’s Not About What’s Fair But What’s In The Guidelines

Government funding guidelines are written for the delivery of services to go through professional service providers, so, that is where commercial payments go,

BUT

there are no guidelines about funding that goes to family members who manage funding packages themselves.

This is why differentials occur with self-managed care when trying to recover administrative and other out of pocket expenses relating to a client package.

A section needs to be added to the guidelines to cater for family members managing a carers’ package themselves.

Why Not…

Get self-managed carers together and form an incorporated body?

THEN

Find out the funding cycles or when the next round of tenders are to advertised by State or Commonwealth Governments and apply for a contract.

It’s pointless trying to sub contract to the commercial service providers, because the money involved is huge.

Approaches could be made to any of the pro bono departments of big law firms and to any of the Universities for assistance in preparing tender documents etc.

Complying with government guidelines would then be an absolute breeze, because it’s all written down.

Remember this is not about justice or love.

A Contact

My mentor here has been Victor Hunter – email victorhunterderby@yahoo.com.au

Vic suggests that stakeholders could raise funds to engage a consultant to write a paper to support their case to present to government.

A very difficult area.