Progressing Disability Services for Children and Young People Caroline Cantan Programme Co-ordinator

Disability Services for Children Aims of the programme  To achieve best possible outcomes for children with disabilities and their families  To achieve consistency in service delivery across the country  To provide one clear pathway to services for all children according to need, with health and education working together to support children to achieve their potential

Disability Services for Children History of Children’s Disability Services  Children’s disability health services have developed in different ways across the country often for a specific group of children  In some areas many different service providers each have their own criteria for access  Little co-ordination between providers  The route to getting services for your child depends on where you live and the nature of your child’s disability  Excellent intervention services for some children and little or none for others

Disability Services for Children Explanation of HSE structures Four Regions each led by a Regional Director of Operations (RDO) Dublin Mid Leinster Dublin North East South West Each Region is divided into Service Areas – a national total of 17 Previously there were 32 Local Health Offices (LHOs)

Disability Services for Children Explanation of HSE structures cont.  Primary Care Team (PCT) – GPs, public health nurses, speech & language therapists, occupational therapists, psychologists, physiotherapists, social workers and others for a population of 8,000-10,000  Health & Social Care Network (Network) – specialist services including disability services to support a number of primary care teams – a population of 30,000-50,000

Disability Services for Children National Reference Group on Multidisciplinary Services for Children aged 5 to 18 Years  Convened 2008 in context of implementation of EPSEN Act  Health professionals and representatives of disability organisations  Report completed December 2009  Approved by HSE 2010  For implementation under HSE Service Plans

Disability Services for Children National Reference Group Report Recommendations Guiding Principles for Disability Services

Disability Services for Children

National Reference Group Report Recommendations Health and Education  Development of joint working between health and education for children with disabilities  Formal links at local level between health services and schools  Training for health and education professionals on working together and understanding each other’s work  Intervention by health professionals should take place in school when appropriate

Disability Services for Children Progressing Disability Services for Children & Young People  Implementation of Reference Group Report  Encompass early intervention as well as school age services from birth – 18 years  Reconfigure existing staff where required to form new teams and identify additional required  Unified system to deliver health services for children with disabilities  Joint working between health and education

Disability Services for Children Programme organisation  Programme co-ordinated at national, regional and local level  National Co-ordinating Group  Programme Co-ordinator  Regional leads and local leads  Regional Co-ordinating Groups  Local Implementation Groups

Disability Services for Children National Co-ordinating Group Representatives from:  Department of Health  Department of Education and Skills  Health Service Executive  Voluntary service providers  Parents

Disability Services for Children Regional Co-ordinating Groups  Regional Lead  Local Leads  Education representatives  To monitor progress in local areas  Make decisions on specialist services and other regional issues

Disability Services for Children Local Implementation Groups  Local lead  Service providers  Clinicians  Parents  Education Forming sub groups Wide variation in stage reached across the country

Disability Services for Children National Working Groups  Mapping  Structures for Network teams  Education and health  Access to services criteria  Training and development for teams  Team composition  Standards and performance reporting

Disability Services for Children Education and Health Working Group  Members from health and education sectors and parent  To provide a framework for the discussions between the education and health sectors on joint working and achieving a harmonisation of the two systems with a view to progressing disability services for children and young people

Disability Services for Children Education and Health Working Group cont.  Consultation meetings Limerick & Cork  Site visits to disability teams  Identified 4 areas:-  Training for education and health professionals  Key transitions for child  Structures for formal local links  Policies and procedures to support joint working

Disability Services for Children How to find out more…  The Report of the Reference Group on Multidisciplinary Services for Children aged 5 – 18 is on _Services/ _Services/  The HSE Learning and Development website You can log in / enrol (you don’t have to be a member of HSE staff) and then click on Practice Development Hubs, the Change Hub (down the page) and select Progressing Children’s Disability Services from the Reconfiguration section (on the top line).  A dedicated address for queries and comments from parents and service users, health and education staff about the programme: