HaDSCO Connect: January 2013
Disability Services Amendment Bill 2012
Disability Services Amendment Bill 2012
The Disability Services Amendment Bill was assented to in November 2012. The Bill amends the Disability Services Act 1993 and will be proclaimed in the coming months.
Once the Bill is proclaimed, HaDSCO will use this amended legislation and this will result in some changes to the way the agency deals with complaints about disability services. For example, HaDSCO will add the nine Disability Services Standards as grounds for complaint and the agency may refer complaints to a professional registration Board if the Director determines it appropriate.
The change with the biggest impact for HaDSCO is that the agency will be able to prescribe disability service providers to provide an annual return of the number and type of complaints they received, and the actions taken to resolve these complaints. Collation of this data will allow HaDSCO to report trends and make service improvement recommendations across the disability services sector.
HaDSCO will write to key disability services stakeholders once the Bill is proclaimed and will outline the changes in more detail. More information is available on the Parliament of WA website (external site).
Cultural Diversity Training
HaDSCO staff attended a very interesting and informative training session on Cultural Diversity, conducted by the Metropolitan Migrant Resource Centre (MMRC). The session provided guidance to staff on bridging cultural gaps and increasing cross-cultural interaction and communication skills.
HaDSCO’s vision is to empower users and providers to collaboratively improve health and disability services. However, the expanding culturally diverse population in Western Australia (WA) presents opportunities as well as challenges for agencies like HaDSCO to tailor programs and services to meet the needs of all Western Australians. Statistics from the Office of Multicultural Interests indicate that people from more than 200 nationalities live in WA, practising more than 100 religious faiths and speaking 270 languages.
HaDSCO is committed to overcoming communication and cross-cultural barriers and raising awareness of HaDSCO’s services to culturally and linguistically diverse people, by providing appropriate and meaningful information to these communities. In line with this goal, MMRC’s Cultural Diversity training session expanded staff understanding of working in a culturally diverse environment.
The training provided staff with a good insight into the context of cultural diversity and an increased awareness of some of the issues facing existing and emerging multicultural communities in WA. It highlighted the importance of understanding the different perspectives and ways of life within a diverse society and the need to develop appropriate programs and services.
HaDSCO will be presenting at MMRC’s next staff meeting in April this year to promote awareness of the agency and its services.
Medical Practitioner Panel
A large proportion of the complaints made to HaDSCO concern the adequacy of clinical care patients receive. In order to improve the agency’s capacity to handle such complaints, HaDSCO established the Medical Practitioner Panel Contract in 2010.
This contract requires the Medical Panel, which consists of a team of doctors from various medical disciplines, to provide professional advice to the Assessment staff and Case Managers on matters relating to health and disability complaints.
Apart from providing expert medical opinions about complex medical issues related to specific complaints, the Medical Panel has also enhanced HaDSCO’s services by contributing to the improvement of the agency’s internal complaints management procedures.
HaDSCO values the contributions of the Medical Panel as it enables the agency to provide a more comprehensive complaint management service to stakeholders.
Internal Review Program
As part of the Strategic Plan 2012-15, HaDSCO has established an internal review program to streamline the agency’s complaints processes and improve the level of service provided to stakeholders. The program consists of several small project groups assigned to focus and review individual topics, all linked to the Strategic Plan.
The various topics identified will assist with reviewing the agency’s complaint management pathways and enable HaDSCO’s complaints operations staff to resolve complaints more efficiently and effectively.
Case study 1
Mrs X had received notice from a radiology practice about an outstanding payment, threatening legal action if the account was not settled. Mrs X had not paid the account on the grounds that the practice had doubled their scheduled fee and had given her no option regarding the service as she was in the Operating Theatre of a private hospital at the time.
The Assessment Officer discussed the details to establish whether Mrs X had signed forms upon admission consenting to such extra charges. Mrs X recalled that the bill from the radiology practice stated that she had not provided consent for the service, due to being in the Operating Theatre.
The Assessment Officer advised Mrs X to contact the Collections Manager directly, requesting that legal action be put on hold as she wished to dispute the amount. The Officer also sent her relevant information and a complaint form, in case she wished to pursue the matter further.
As advised, Mrs X contacted the Collections Manager and explained her reasons for not settling the account. Following the discussion, it was agreed that she would only have to pay half the amount. Mrs X was very pleased with the positive outcome. This case demonstrates the benefits of early resolution of complaints, without third party involvement.
Case study 2
Mrs Y had been going to the same medical practice since it started operating and had always been bulk billed. On one occasion, her regular doctor was not available and she was booked to see another doctor at that practice. At the end of the appointment, she was charged a full fee of $65.
Mrs Y stated that she would not have accepted the appointment had she known about the fees. She also felt threatened that the provider had told her she would not be allowed to use their services again if she refused to pay the fee. She had written a letter to the practice but had not received a response.
Following HaDSCO’s discussion with the provider, the medical practice acknowledged the situation and has implemented a procedural change to prevent this happening again. They now advise consumers about their bulk billing practices when making the appointment.
