The Work Assessment and Rehabilitation Service is a specialist clinical service within the Mental Health Service, Canterbury District Health Board, providing specialist work assessment, work preparation and securing of employment for people who experience serious mental illness. So says the CDHB website. It could be argued that the announcement that was made last week to shift the provision of the rehabilitation part of the service to the non-government sector and which will be explained to interested parties at a meeting this afternoon will mean they won’t have to change the definition on the website.
But Acheron Works and Lincoln Green will disappear from the website, because the CDHB is getting out of the delivery of the rehabilitation programmes themselves. There are those who will see this as in line with the government’s announcement of devolving service delivery from government agencies to non-government community organisations. So what’s the problem? There is no guarantee in this pre-Christmas announcement about what the nature of the service delivery will be next year. I only found out about the “consultation” because a constituent who uses one of the services let me know what was happening so I was able to make a submission.
I am going to the meeting this afternoon to ask questions about the level of funding that will be provided to the community sector and the security of tenure they might expect. And also what assurances the CDHB will give to vulnerable consumers two days before Christmas about what they can expect next year.
Why do I have a sinking feeling about the response I am going to get?
Also whose interests will these new providers be serving?
When will it end? When National Ltd®’s big business sugar daddies have secured government funding for the provision of all social services. This is just the start.
Well I am glad I went. The CDHB has agreed to engage with those who use the services and their families over the Request for Proposals before it is released. The consultation process has left a lot to be desired and I was pleased that this concession was made to the families of people who have used these services for many years and who face the uncertainty of change. The families are not opposed to change, they just want to know that the interests of their family members are to the fore – and that’s not unreasonable.