DHS Disability Services News - 11 July 2023
Update as at 11 July 2023
Welcome to our July newsletter, it is hard to believe that we are already halfway through 2023! It has been another busy month as we finalise service summaries for clients under the NDIS.
Importantly, transitioning to deliver services under the NDIS does not stop us from continuing to work with clients who receive disability support funding through arrangements outside of the NDIS – like My Aged Care, Disability Support for Older Australians (DSOA) and Lifetime Support Scheme (LSS). The transition process means that the service continues to work with the clients we have previously supported, and we look forward to working with clients from a range of funding arrangements in the future.
For clients who receive funding through the NDIS, we have been in contact with many of you to confirm the services you would like DHS Disability Services to provide into the future. Thank you all for your efforts and support during this process.
Our process to finalise service delivery with you under the NDIS
We will contact you
To confirm your interest in DHS Disability Services providing:
- Supported Independent Living (SIL)
- Support Coordination, or Specialist Support Coordination
Information Pack
You will recieve a pack with a proposed service summary and information about the services you want us to deliver.
Meet in-person
We will invite you to meet in-person or via phone to discuss the services you would like us to deliver and answer any questions.
Service Summary
After you confirm the services you would like, either at your in-person meeting or via a telephone call, we will provide you with an updated service summary, for you to review and confirm.
Service Agreement
Based on your confirmation of the service summary, a service agreement will be developed, and shared with you soon.
We understand this process can mean you are provided with a lot of information and we will continue to be in regular contact with you to support you through this process. We invite you to attend one of the in-person forums we are hosting through July where we will be speaking in detail about service summaries and can answer any question you may have. You can find more information and RSVP to a location below in this newsletter. If you’re not able to make a Forum session, you can continue to keep up-to-date with information on the Family Update page of the DHS website, Family Update | DHS and if you have specific questions, you can speak directly to the Service Coordinator or by contacting the service using the contact information in this newsletter.
Although we have been experiencing some chilly weather lately, our clients continue to keep busy and get out and about in the community. Last week during NAIDOC Week, we joined staff and clients at Woodville Gardens for a smoking ceremony and lunch to celebrate the occasion, which was a lot of fun. Read more about this and other activities our clients have been up to, further down in this newsletter.
We hope to see you at one of our up-coming in-person forums in July.
Joe Young
Executive Director, DHS Disability Services
Sarah White
Director, DHS Disability Services
Julie Rogers
Director, Quality and Clinical Services, DHS Disability Services
Access to allied health supports
We look forward to sharing more details about the different allied health services DHS Disability Services is now delivering, at our up-coming July forums.
Services that we now deliver include:
- Occupational Therapy
- Physiotherapy
- Dietetics
We can currently access more services on behalf of clients and additional allied health professionals are being hired over coming months to meet client needs in our service.
Individual Support Package for clients funded through DSOA
We support a number of clients funded through the Australian Government’s DSOA funding arrangement, which specifically supports older Australians living with disability.
Funded through the Australian Government’s Department of Health, as a DSOA service provider, each year we need to update the Individual Support Package (ISP) with clients and/or a decision-maker. The ISP is based on individual support needs and outlines the funding amount a DSOA client receives.
If you are a client funded by DSOA, or a decision-maker on their behalf, you will be contacted by a DHS Disability Services team member in July, to discuss the ISP.
If you have any questions in the meantime, you can speak with the Service Coordinator or call 1800 952 962 (and then press option 3).
Virtual Care Service
We can now help you get better access to medical professionals and specialists in your own home. We successfully trialled this service in a few houses earlier in the year and it is now available to all DHS Disability Services clients.
The South Australian Virtual Care Service brings emergency care to our clients that would normally only be available in a hospital emergency department. The service provides an individualised assessment service via video link for urgent patient care, in the comfort of your home.
This might mean avoiding being admitted to hospital. If hospital admission does happen, some of the admission paperwork is already completed for faster treatment.
To learn more about SA Virtual Care Service you can watch this clip.
DHS Disability Services forums
July in-person forums
Please RSVP for our upcoming in-person Forums to be held in Mount Gambier, Adelaide North and Adelaide South.
Date and time | Location | |
|---|---|---|
July | ||
Thursday 27/07/23 | 1:00pm – 2:30pm | Adelaide North Gepps Cross Hotel 560 Main North Road, Blair Athol |
Upcoming forums - save the date
Please save the date for our upcoming forums we are hosting in August and September.
Date and time | Location | |
|---|---|---|
August | ||
Thursday 10/08/23 | 5:00pm – 6:30pm | Mount Gambier Link to forum will be shared soon |
Thursday 17/08/23 | 12:00pm - 1:30pm | Webinar Link to forum will be shared soon |
September | ||
Thursday 7/09/23 | 1:00pm – 2:30pm | Adelaide North Link to forum will be shared soon |
Thursday 14/09/23 | 1:00pm – 2:30pm | Adelaide South Link to forum will be shared soon |
Thursday 21/09/23 | 5:00pm – 6:30pm | Mount Gambier Link to forum will be shared soon |
Updating your contact details with us
With many changes happening this year – we have lots of reasons to be in regular contact with you.
We regularly update the DHS Disability Services Family Update page on the DHS website and we are also sending newsletters by email. If it has been a while since you updated your contact details with the service, you can do this by speaking with your Service Coordinator or calling 1800 952 962 (and then press 3).
How to contact us
If you have any queries you can:
- Contact your Service Coordinator or Team Leader
- Email us at AccomFeedback@sa.gov.au
- Phone us on 1800 952 962 (and then press 3)
If you know another family member or friend who would like to receive this e-newsletter, please encourage them to sign up via the DHS website or phone 1800 952 962.