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Key Result Areas:
- To improve access to disability and rehabilitation services for persons with disabilities.
- To ensure adequate capacity building and provision of technical support in all
institutions to provide quality health services to disabled persons.
- To assist into formulation, implementation of policy in the field of
rehabilitation and other related sectors.
- To promote inter-sectoral and intra-sectoral collaboration with all relevant
stakeholders including technical support
- To jointly coordinate, implement and facilitate strategies intended to create
disability prevention and rights awareness amongst community, government and
non-governmental providers including marketing and advocacy.
- Monitoring and evaluation of disability and rehabilitation service
Services offered by the Programme:
- Coordination, placement and support of all community service occupational therapists, speech therapists,
physiotherapists and audiologists in the province.
- Manage the tenders for assistive devices such as wheelchairs and hearing aids
- Facilitate the assessment of all hospitals for physical accessibility for persons with disabilities.
- Co-ordinate and support wheelchair repair and maintenance workshops, run by
persons with disabilities either in the communities or at institutions
- Ensure Free Health Care is provided to persons with disabilities
- To support and collaborate with professional forums and societies in order to
promote professional development of specific groups.
- facilitate training and development in health care and other personnel.
- training of mid-level workers for the different therapies.
- To develop provincial Disability and Rehabilitation Policies and guidelines
- training of blind persons on orientation and mobility activities
- community based rehabilitation
- Provide disability support services to the Office of the Premier and other
government departments on disability issues.
- support relevant research in the field of disability and rehabilitation
Target Audience:
- All persons with different disabilities and all age groups
- Disability sector and NGO’s and other government depts
- PHC personnel, other programmes, rehabilitation workers, CHW and CBR facilitators.
- Professional societies, Associations, Professional Boards, if applicable
- District rehab teams, District coordinators
- Specialist and Academic Units, Research agencies.
- Therapists, Mentors, Private Sector, Red Cross.
Achievements in 2007/2008 financial year
The allocation of community service officers has resulted in 85% of hospitals
in the province being in a position to provide rehabilitation services to
persons with disabilities. In addition, where resources permit, the community
service officers also provide services at Primary Health Care level. This is a
very significant stride in our quest to provide access to quality health care to
our people.
A draft policy has been developed which will provide a framework for disability
and rehabilitation activities in the health sector. This policy will serve as a
best practice in the country.
Twenty three workshops which employ 54 people with disabilities to repair
wheelchairs are operating in the province. A 3 year service level agreement with
the workshops was renewed this year. The workshops provide employment to people
with disabilities and ensure that wheel chair repair services are available to
disadvantaged people free of charge.
Workshops (3) were arranged for PWDs regarding:
- Disability and HIV and AIDS
- Women and Disability
- Community based Rehabilitation
An orientation and mobility plan for blind people has been developed in the
province. Fifteen workshops will be conducted throughout the province to build
capacity at grass roots to assist blind people with orientation and mobility. In
addition the Programme is in the process of developing a list of devices for
blind rehabilitation which will be put into a state tender document. This will
also prioritize children who are blind.
Training of mid-level workers -The programme has entered into a partnership with
UKZN to train mid-level workers in the rehabilitation professions. Assistants
currently employed were prioritized – this resulted in 24 physiotherapy
assistants being registered with HPCSA as mid level workers. They will now be
given “top-up”, training to enable them to enter the 2 year course towards a
diploma in physiotherapy and occupational therapy. This programme is
ground-breaking and the first in the country. Another 15 assistants will be
given in-service training within the year to capacitate them to enter the
diploma programme. These are assistants from the Umzimkulu District. The
curriculum for Speech Therapists and Audiologists is in the process of being
developed and this will be the first in the country.
Improve access to assistive devices - The provision of assistive devices to
persons with disabilities does not enjoy high priority when allocating resources
at hospital level. People in need of wheelchairs, hearing aids and spectacles
are sometimes better served at events hosted by the MEC. The programme has
provided input into specifications for tenders in order to make assistive
devices more affordable for day to day service delivery.
Targets for 2008/2009 financial year
- 98% of hospitals to provide rehabilitation services
- 100% hospitals to be physically accessible – meeting the minimum criteria by 2009 (currently 60%).
- Train 2 people per institution to communicate in sign language.
- Train 22 community based rehabilitation workers on community based rehabilitation
- Train district rehabilitation co-ordinators on mobility and orientation for blind people through offering at least 15 workshops in 200
- To increase wheelchair repair sites from 23 to 30.
- To increase the availability of audiology from 15 to 24 sites
- Ensure all hospitals have at least one rehab service available ie. Audio, Physio, speech or OT.
- To guide the availability of essential assistive devices and related consumables at an accessible point
- To evaluate and promote existing wheelchair repair workshops and peruse
existing partnerships in providing effective services while simultaneously
maintaining and sustaining workshops
- Provincial tenders confirmed and finalised
- All hospitals have been assessed for physical accessibility
- To create capacity development among specific groups such as sign language for the Deaf
- Facilitate the mid-level workers training for therapists
Other information relating to the Programme:
Disability Awareness
One of the primary objectives of the Programme is the creation of disability
awareness as a human rights issue. Various disability awareness events were held
to commemorate the International Day of Disabled Persons in the Province. The
Provincial event was held at Ndwedwe. The Programme supported the event with the
provision of various assistive devices including wheelchairs, walking frames and
crutches. Other events around disability awareness were conducted in the
Districts during Health Calendar days such as back week, deaf awareness and
cerebral palsy.
Disability Research
The Programme is currently collaborating with UKZN, The Valley Trust and the
National Health Institute on a research project on children with disabilities.
It is envisaged that this will culminate in a model of early childhood
development for KZN.
State Tender for Communication Devices
The Programme has commenced negotiations with Supply Chain Management to develop
a state tender for people with severe communication disabilities needing
alternative and augmentative communication devices. This also includes devices
for cancer patients post laryngectomee, cleft palates, severe to profound speech
and language disorders and dysphagia. The specifications and costing are in the
process of being confirmed.
Employment of Persons with Disabilities
The Programme is monitoring the employment equity within the department with HR
and the Dept of Labour. The Programme has also launched the Disabled Employees
Forum looking at the health, wellness and safety needs of PWDs employed in the
department.
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HEALTH
KWAZULU-NATAL